Very old news...
Ryanair to fit winglets across entire fleet
David Kaminski-Morrow, London (24Feb05, 11:21 GMT, 205 words)
Irish budget carrier Ryanair is to retrofit its entire fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft with blended winglets, with installations to begin immediately.
It has ordered 225 winglet sets and placed purchase options on another 200, providing the largest single order for winglets supplier Aviation Partners Boeing.
Ryanair, which today ordered 70 more 737-800s taking its total firm commitment to the type to 225, will retrofit its existing 737-800s and, from January 2006, all new aircraft deliveries will have the winglets installed during manufacture.
Speaking at a briefing in London today, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said the airline expected at least a 2% cost saving per year on fuel burn. He says this saving, given the price of fuel, is “significant” and adds: “These winglets would pay for themselves in very short order.”
Aviation Partners Boeing CEO Mike Marino says: “The significance of this order is huge and it really pushes us over the top as far as critical mass goes. A product endorsement of this magnitude makes blended winglet technology the new standard.”
He adds the continued success of blended winglet technology on 737-700/800s is enabling it to develop technology for other aircraft models, including the Boeing 757-200ER and 767-300ER.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news