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Boeing better “get their s*** together pretty quickly”, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has warned, as airlines become increasingly restive over the cost of the seemingly endless grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX.

Several US media outlets fudged the words of the notoriously outspoken O’Leary, using terms like “better get their [act] together”.

There is no doubt that O’Leary is fed up, and he’s not the only one.

O’Leary says the prolonged grounding of the MAX could lead to job cuts and slash Ryanair’s growth prospects next year. Ryanair is Europe’s biggest airline and the world’s fifth largest in terms of passengers carried.

Boeing halted deliveries of the jets to all customers in March after two deadly 737 MAX crashes five months apart. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all 737 MAX aircraft within its jurisdiction on 13 March 2019.

Ryanair had been expecting 58 of the planes for the summer of 2020, O’Leary said.

“It may well move to 20, it could move to 10, and it could well move to zero if Boeing don’t get their s*** together pretty quickly with the regulator,” CNBC quoted O’Leary as saying. He spoke without asterisks.

Meanwhile, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines says it has cancelled plans to fly its grounded 737 MAX jets during the busy and lucrative Christmas-New Year holiday season. Southwest has asked Boeing for compensation to help pay for losses – and it is not alone.

Boeing has said it may temporarily halt production of the MAX, if the groundings continue into 2020  – as currently seems likely. The plane-maker could be hit by lawsuits from suffering airlines as well as legal actions from the families of passengers who died in the two crashes, first a Lion Air 737 MAX and then a 737 MAX operated by Ethiopian Airlines.

Southwest Airlines now says it will drop service to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey as it tries to juggle a smaller fleet, the Dallas Morning Post reported.

Boeing 737 MAX 8

“We have had preliminary discussions with Boeing regarding compensation for damages due to the MAX groundings,” Southwest said in a statement. “We have not reached any conclusions regarding these matters.”

Boeing has announced a net loss of USD 2.94 billion for the second quarter, a colossal dive from the USD 2.2 billion profit it declared for the corresponding quarter a year earlier. The doldrums are solely attributable to the 737 MAX fiasco.

A further worry for the plane-maker is that even when the MAX is airborne again, the adverse publicity has been so pervasive, potential passengers may give the MAX a wide berth.

Written by Peter Needham