Ryanair has unveiled its biggest-ever aircraft order as one of its top executives said the switch to hydrogen or electric powered planes will not happen “in my lifetime”.
The budget carrier has agreed a $40bn (£31.7bn) deal with Boeing to buy 150 of the manufacturer’s 737 Max 10 jets with an option for a further 150.
The planes will be delivered by Boeing to Ryanair between 2027 and 2034 and be powered by conventional aircraft engines.
Neil Sorahan, Ryanair’s finance chief, who was in Washington to sign the landmark deal with Boeing, said that the deal was a clear sign of what the future held for commercial aviation.
The 51-year-old said: “They [hydrogen or electric powered planes] may be the future. But I’m not sure they will get there in my lifetime,” he said, before likening hydrogen jets to space rockets that carry a handful of passengers with huge tanks of fuel.
Unlike sustainable aviation fuel, made from used cooking oils and other waste, hydrogen was not a “drop-in solution” and would require “massive investment in the infrastructure”, he added.
“So I’m afraid it ain’t going to get there,” Mr Sorahan said. “Batteries don’t have the capacity at this stage to get the range that is needed.”
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