[Source/Observer Network, Lin Chenli] According to a Reuters report, on May 1st local time, Ryanair, an Irish airline, stated that if the tariff war led by the United States causes a significant increase in aircraft prices, the company might cancel hundreds of Boeing aircraft orders and consider other suppliers including COMAC.

On the same day, Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, wrote a letter to a senior US senator, stating that President Trump's tariff policies may threaten the 330 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft already ordered by the airline, which have a list price exceeding $30 billion (approximately RMB 218.14 billion).

O'Leary said, "If the US government continues its unwise tariff plan and these tariffs substantially affect the export price of Boeing aircraft to Europe, we will certainly reassess our current Boeing orders and the possibility of transferring these orders elsewhere."

In the letter, O'Leary mentioned that although Ryanair has not yet discussed aircraft procurement with COMAC, if COMAC's aircraft is 10% to 20% cheaper than Airbus, one of Boeing's main competitors, Ryanair "certainly" would consider purchasing them.

COMAC assembly workshop, Aviation Week of Singapore

This letter was a response to previous remarks made by Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic congressman from Illinois. On April 29th local time, Krishnamoorthi, citing so-called "security concerns," warned Ryanair against purchasing Chinese-made aircraft and claimed that COMAC, the Chinese aircraft manufacturer, has close ties with the military and "steals intellectual property."

Last month, O'Leary had stated that he would order C919 aircraft from China if the price was right. This aligns with Ryanair's previous signals indicating it plans to seek aircraft suppliers beyond Boeing and Airbus.

Ryanair was founded in Ireland in 1985 and now operates over 1600 routes globally with 76 hub bases, making it the largest low-cost carrier in Europe and one of Boeing's largest customers in Europe.

The report points out that the threat to cancel orders marks a hardening of O'Leary's stance, as he had previously threatened to delay Boeing aircraft deliveries in April. In March, he mentioned that Boeing executives privately expressed confidence that the aircraft would be exempt from Trump's tariff policy.

Reuters analysis indicates that Ryanair's threat is a latest sign showing that if Trump does not exclude the aerospace industry from his tariff plan, the global aerospace industry may face a reshuffle.

At the time when Ryanair issued the threat, Boeing was attempting to resell dozens of aircraft that were potentially shut out of China due to tariff issues. On April 23rd local time, Kelly Ortberg, President and CEO of Boeing, confirmed that Boeing withdrew all three undelivered 737 MAX aircraft from Zhoushan back to Seattle.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China stated on April 29th that China and the US have maintained long-term mutually beneficial cooperation in the civil aviation sector, effectively promoting trade and personnel exchanges between the two countries. The US waving the tariff stick severely disrupts the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, disrupting the international air transport market. Many companies are unable to conduct normal trade and investment activities; both Chinese airlines and American Boeing are deeply affected. China is willing to continue supporting normal commercial cooperation between enterprises of the two countries. It hopes that the US side can listen to the voices of businesses and create a stable and predictable environment for normal business trade and investment activities.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499649562580320777/

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