Ryanair is to speed up pilot recruitment for the next three years as it prepares to introduce its first Boeing 737 Max 10s in spring 2027.

It states that Boeing is expecting Max 10 certification in mid-2026 and that the airframer expects to meet Ryanair’s contracted delivery dates for the budget airline’s first 15 aircraft.

“We need to accelerate cadet and first officer recruitment for the next three years,” says Ryanair in a first-half briefing, adding that it will invest about €25 million ($29 million) per year.

It says the training will increase first officer crewing ratios but provide a “strong pool” of “home-grown” first officers ready for transition to captaincy when the Max 10 deliveries increase over 2028-30.

Ryanair is nearing completion of its order for 210 Boeing 737 Max 8-200s, and improved Boeing delivery times have the airline “confident” that its final six aircraft will arrive “well ahead” of next year’s summer season.

Over the first half it took delivery of 23 Max 8-200s and, by the end of October, its fleet of the type stood at 204 out of a total fleet of 641 aircraft.

Ryanair adds that half of the powerplants from a purchase of 30 CFM International Leap-1B engines – intended for operational resilience – had been delivered by 30 September.

As a result of the earlier-than-expected 737 deliveries, and strong first-half demand, the airline is forecasting higher passenger numbers for the full year – around 207 million.

Over the first half the airline generated a 42% rise in net profit to €2.54 billion as revenues increased by 13%.

But it points out that, while third-quarter forward bookings are “slightly ahead” of the previous year, the airline faces “more challenging” situation with fare growth.

It says fare outcome will be determined by close-in bookings for the Christmas holiday season, and it will not benefit from an Easter holiday in the fourth quarter.

While it is not able to provide detailed full-year profit guidance, Ryanair expects to recover “all” of the full-year fare decline of the previous year, and generate “reasonable” net profit growth for fiscal 2025-26.