O’leary attacks ‘headless chickens’ over Boeing delay

Ryanair chief Michael O’leary criticised Boeing’s leadership after the plane-maker admitted that the launch of its new jets will be delayed.

Mr O’leary said Boeing executives are “running around like headless chickens,” both struggling to sell planes and failing to deliver those that they have sold.

Boeing recently revealed that its 777X widebody will not arrive until 2025 and that the short-haul 737 Max 10 may suffer long delays if it misses a key certification deadline.

“Boeing needs a management reboot in Seattle, and either the existing management needs to up its game or they need to change the existing management,” Mr O’leary said.

The broadside follows verbal attacks on Boeing from aircraft leasing firms that are among its biggest clients.

Air Lease chairman Steven Udvarhazy said last week that issues with wide-body planes, including stalled production of the 787 Dreamliner, have become a major annoyance and that management changes could be likely.

Avolon chief executive Domhnal Slattery said that Boeing has lost its way and needs fresh vision and leaders.

Mr O’leary, known for driving hard bargains with Boeing on fleet orders, stopped short of calling for chief executive Dave Calhoun to be ousted.