Ryanair has just taken delivery of what might be one of the world’s least comfortable jets…
In this post:
Ryanair takes delivery of world’s first Boeing 737 MAX
European low cost carrier Ryanair’s fleet consists primarily of Boeing 737s. In terms of fleet renewal, the airline has 210 Boeing 737 MAXs on order. The airline was first supposed to take delivery of these planes a couple of years ago, though that timeline was delayed due to the 737 MAX being grounded globally.
This week Ryanair has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX, which is being called a “game changer” for the airline. The airline will be taking delivery of these planes gradually — Ryanair Group will take delivery of 12 737 MAXs during the summer of 2021 (with six going to Ryanair and six going to Malta Air), and an additional 50 of these planes before the summer of 2022.
The efficiency of this plane is no doubt impressive compared to the previous generation 737-800 (which is the same size):
- The 737 MAX carries 197 passengers, which is 4% more than the 189-seat 737-800
- Per passenger fuel consumption is being reduced by 16% compared to the 737-800
- Noise emissions and CO2 emissions will be reduced by roughly 40% compared to the 737-800
As Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary describes the new plane:
We are delighted to take delivery of our first new technology Gamechanger aircraft. These new Boeing 737 aircraft will help Ryanair lower costs, cut fuel consumption and lower noise and CO2 emissions as we invest heavily in new technology to deepen our environmental commitment as Europe’s greenest, cleanest major airline. Each B737 aircraft offers 197 seats (compared to our 189-seat current 737 fleet). However, our customers will enjoy more leg room, new Boeing “Sky Interiors” and lower fares, while reducing their environmental footprint by switching to these new aircraft.
Ryanair is the launch customer for the 737 MAX 8-200
Ryanair is far from the first airline to take delivery of the 737 MAX, though there is something that makes Ryanair’s 737 MAX order unique. Ryanair is the launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX 8-200.
The 737 MAX 8-200 is a higher capacity version of the 737 MAX 8. No, the plane isn’t actually bigger, but rather there are more seats crammed into it.
Why is there a separate aircraft designation for these higher configuration planes? After all, typically an airline choosing to configure a plane with more seats has nothing to do with the aircraft manufacturer, and doesn’t warrant a different aircraft designation.
The reason is because the 737 MAX 8-200 has an extra set of emergency exits, which are required due to the number of seats. As you can see below, there are four sets of emergency exits — the forward and rear doors, the over wing exits, and another set of exits between the wings and the back of the plane (with that exit in the middle rear of the plane being new).
Ryanair will have 28″ of pitch, and… more leg room?!?
Ryanair’s new 737 MAX 8-200s will feature 28″ of seat pitch, which is in line with what you’ll find on Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Frankly I’m surprised it took Ryanair this long to decrease pitch to 28″.
It’s funny that Ryanair is reducing seat pitch to 28″ all while claiming that these new planes offer “more leg room.” Admitted leg room and seat pitch aren’t the same thing — seat pitch is the amount of space each seat takes up (measuring one point on a seat to the same point on a seat a row in front), while leg room is the actual amount of leg room you have.
But if you reduce seat pitch to 28″ all while increasing leg room, I can’t even imagine how thin these seats are. They must make a piece of paper look thick by comparison. In fairness, a lot of the additional space here comes from galley space being reduced significantly.
Bottom line
Ryanair has taken delivery of its first of 210 Boeing 737 MAXs. The planes are so dense that they need extra emergency exits due to the number of seats. With just 28″ of pitch, Ryanair is ushering in a new era of 737 MAX discomfort.
I would be curious to see what the interiors of these planes actually look like, given the 28″ of pitch and alleged improved leg room.
What do you make of Ryanair’s 737 MAX 8-200s?
I flew one of these back from alicante
I was so worried when I realised it was 737 max I wanted to get off and book another airline. I think this plane is so cheaply made and had so many problems ryan air should cancel its order and buy airbus planes. These planes do not instil confidence in ryan air and I will try to avoid flying ryan air as much as possible because of this.
Just had 2 flights from east mids to malaga and back on the 737 8200 with ryanair didnt realise it was a MAX at first as no mention or text saying max anywhere for obvious reasons the flight staff just said 737 8200.
i was pleasantly surprised great interior more leg room much comfier than any 737 i have travelled on a fantastic flight very powerful engines .
we had a passenger disembark...
Just had 2 flights from east mids to malaga and back on the 737 8200 with ryanair didnt realise it was a MAX at first as no mention or text saying max anywhere for obvious reasons the flight staff just said 737 8200.
i was pleasantly surprised great interior more leg room much comfier than any 737 i have travelled on a fantastic flight very powerful engines .
we had a passenger disembark before take of must have been the maxfactor that scared them but i think boeing have got it right at last .
wouldn't hesitate to fly on one again .
Just flown on a ryanair max 8200 the most uncomfortable flight ever. seats have very thin backs with minimal padding. Cheap plastic seats will only fly ryanair again if absolute last resort
On the ryanair 737 max 8. Does row 35A and 35F have a window??
Was on a max to day / bumpy straight away on take off ,and through hole of take off and in flight and was the worse landing every on a plane ✈️. Would make me think about flying Ryan air again regardless of cost .
I flew Edinburgh to Dublin return this week sitting in row 18 (extra leg room) out and row 8 back. I am 6’2” and leg room ok in Row 8 and of course in row 18. More than previous Ryanair flights. Loading up is a pain taking too long as priority with bags probably oversold and unusually for Ryanair, no check on bag size, many folk had 2 big bags so overhead lockers filled up...
I flew Edinburgh to Dublin return this week sitting in row 18 (extra leg room) out and row 8 back. I am 6’2” and leg room ok in Row 8 and of course in row 18. More than previous Ryanair flights. Loading up is a pain taking too long as priority with bags probably oversold and unusually for Ryanair, no check on bag size, many folk had 2 big bags so overhead lockers filled up well before all passengers on board. Short flight so no need to use the bathroom and actuality pretty pleased with the flight.
Went to dublin on the new plane I'm 6ft6 and could just square in the old seats the hostes had to ask another pasenger to move to an end seat and stick my legs ot the side as I couldn't physically fit in the space this cant be safe for passengers health and and seats now helping to block the emergency exits god help the passengers in a fire
Flew on one yesterday Manchester to Dublin. Very cramped and uncomfortable. Didn't realise it was one of the controversial Max as Ryanair call it a 737 8200. Avoid it if you can.
Just flew fro London Stansted to Ireland West knock on the new 737 8200. It's quieter with more keg room and comfortable thinner seats. Didn't know how to lift the aisle armrest, the 800 model had a little button underneath that you push to raise the rest, the new max dosen't have this button and crew didn't know how to either. Won't help in an emergency will it. If anyone knows email me at [email protected]
Definitely not the worlds least comfortable jet! I’ve flown on their 8200 three four times. The pressurisation is 10x better than their 10 yr old 800’s. The new seats are more comfortable than easyJet’s slimline seats, with a less bulky armrest and what seems to be marginally more leg room. The storage is excellent and the cabin is bright and airy. Quiet, lots of power. Totally suitable for 1-4 hr flights. Very little wait time...
Definitely not the worlds least comfortable jet! I’ve flown on their 8200 three four times. The pressurisation is 10x better than their 10 yr old 800’s. The new seats are more comfortable than easyJet’s slimline seats, with a less bulky armrest and what seems to be marginally more leg room. The storage is excellent and the cabin is bright and airy. Quiet, lots of power. Totally suitable for 1-4 hr flights. Very little wait time for the WC, even on dense flights.
Scaremongering…
You are really just humiliating Ryanair even more for something that is actually very positive for Ryanair.
Whats the difference between this plane and the ones that crashed?
The plane is rebranded from "737 MAX" to "737-8200 Gamechanger".
In terms of safety, these ones have updated software, so what problem could there possible be?
8 this year going to Buzz - the Ryanair subsidiary in Poland: https://warszawa.naszemiasto.pl/warszawa-pierwszy-boeing-737-8200-gamechanger-w-barwach/ar/c1-8446907
Lauda Europe is another brand that is actually Ryanair.
In reference to the Boeing 800 MAX, Ralph Nader said you can't correct a hardware problem with software.
This aircraft has a major design flaw - it's not balanced because Boeing rushed its production to keep up with Airbus.
I wouldn't fly this aircraft if you paid me. There will be more tragic accidents and the next one(s) will seal Boeing's fate.
I love the typo in the quote from the Ryanair CEO... "GAMchanger" indeed.
Once you've flown on the MAX 8 200, your legs, or 'gams' will never be the same! OUCH!
With 6.7 I technically do not fit the seat, since my leg in horizontal dimension measures 27 inch.
But due to the new exit, it could become an alternative to the A321 where the legroom at the exit as especially huge, much better compared to over-the-wing exit.
The way the 737 Max crash another pair of emergency exits won't make a difference.
Ryanair - The Airline of Last Resort!
Make sure you pay with a credit card so you have a chance of getting your money back if there are any issues with your flights!
Oh get a grip. If you don’t like them, shimmy off to BA and pay £117. They’ll give you your desired cup of tea, packet of crisps and the 35 minute delay in pushback - that comes as standard. I’m sure you can forgo the £17 your Ryanair ticket cost you.
I see 5 exits 1) forward 2) 2x overwing 3) mid 4) aft? Lot of exits.
Doesn't sound conformable but with the price you pay still a good deal. I like how the malta air plane looks.
Ryan air, LOL, never in a million years would I fly with these Irish wankers
Re "As you can see below, there are four sets of emergency exits":
I can see FIVE sets of emergency exits!
@Luis, please read again and then say you’re sorry.
"The planes are so dense that they need extra emergency exits due to the number of seats." Says it all.
Ryanair, comfortable, and galley are words that don't seem to make much sense in a single sentence. FR is great for its point-to-point low cost, not for its flight experience value.
I have found the slim Recaro seats on some Alaska Airlines flights to be very comfortable, much easier on my back than previous seats that were thicker.
Is there a seat map to check on the ‘slimmed’ galleys?
My God have mercy on their souls (& Butts) ;-)
Several 737 series of a/c have always had that plug style door aft of the window exits, most airlines just don't use them. It's nothing "new"...do your homework...
Sounds terrible.
I just need to reiterate how bad your redesign is. I'm running a 24" monitor at 1920 x 1080 resolution, and when I load the blog page I don't see any content -- just a photo of an airplane ceiling, a ton of banner ads, and a huge blue box that says "Blog." I have no idea what machines you were designing and testing on but to real-life users this is not good.
It was designed for mobile as it looks much better there.
The galley looks too narrow to fit those food/beverage carts, and also many carry on bags to roll I think.
An extra row of extra leg rooms seats is always welcome, they're usually reasonably priced.
So sit in the back of the plane if you want a better chance getting off the plane quicker in an emergency
Historically, LCCs often offered slightly better seat pitch by virtue of having one class only. Given the hard limit on the number of seats, 189 evenly spaced seats on a 737-800 would naturally come to about 30" pitch.
Ironically this is worse on aircraft with extra-legroom seats up front, since the extra space there needs to be compensated in economy. My most uncomfortable flight to-date was on an Iberia Express A320 with 28" pitch, whereas...
Historically, LCCs often offered slightly better seat pitch by virtue of having one class only. Given the hard limit on the number of seats, 189 evenly spaced seats on a 737-800 would naturally come to about 30" pitch.
Ironically this is worse on aircraft with extra-legroom seats up front, since the extra space there needs to be compensated in economy. My most uncomfortable flight to-date was on an Iberia Express A320 with 28" pitch, whereas LCCs like Wizz Air, Easyjet or Volotea were all pretty comfortable by comparison.
Nailed it. Iberia Express A320 by far the tightest, most uncomfortable flight I’ve ever taken. Made Ryanair seem like Comfort+
It seems counterintuitive that a ULCC seat would have more legroom but I've experienced this too. I had booked a flight on Allegiant because they were the only airline that served my destination. Being 6'4, I was dreading the 2 1/2 hours crammed in like a sardine but to my surprise, the legroom was adequate, the seats were leather and had a good amount of cushioning. I enjoyed the flight. Admittedly this was several years...
It seems counterintuitive that a ULCC seat would have more legroom but I've experienced this too. I had booked a flight on Allegiant because they were the only airline that served my destination. Being 6'4, I was dreading the 2 1/2 hours crammed in like a sardine but to my surprise, the legroom was adequate, the seats were leather and had a good amount of cushioning. I enjoyed the flight. Admittedly this was several years ago on an MD-80 so I can't speak to their current offering.
The extra doors are available on the 737-900ER but deactivated by most US airlines because they don't need them. Boeing just offered them on the MAX 8 in order to increase the capacity that the MAX 8 can carry.
The max like the DC10 will become one of the safest aircraft to fly. The DC10 had the cargo hatch problem and the press like now made the worst of everything but never come back and say they were wrong.
The max has inherent design flaws - made by trying to cram enormous turbofan engines on a 60+ year old airframe design that was never intended to have the engines in this position/configuration. The result is that without significant computer input, the airplane is unflyable. Airlines taking delivery of this flying disaster in waiting will live to regret it, exponentially more than they already do. This “airplane” is Boeing’s commercial swan song.
Apparently you haven’t read all the details of why MCAS was implemented; it was originally only meant to prevent aerodynamic stalls in rare pitch-up situations (which still would have been recoverable without it), but was later modified to provide additional flight handling enhancements because the center of gravity was making the plane fly rougher than the 737NG. MCAS was *not* added to make the plane flyable, which is why it can now be easily turned...
Apparently you haven’t read all the details of why MCAS was implemented; it was originally only meant to prevent aerodynamic stalls in rare pitch-up situations (which still would have been recoverable without it), but was later modified to provide additional flight handling enhancements because the center of gravity was making the plane fly rougher than the 737NG. MCAS was *not* added to make the plane flyable, which is why it can now be easily turned off. I’m not at all excusing Boeing’s criminal behavior in concealing MCAS and completely failing at its original implementation (which caused horrible tragedies), but it’s incorrect to say that simply hanging larger engines on an older airframe makes the plane dangerous.
They have more seats at the expense of the galleys and nothing else. You should do your homework.
That’s not true. To have this high pax count, they have to add another pair of exits between the overwing and the aft most exits. There are FAA and EASA rules on egress. There have to be enough space for proper evacuation. It’s a lot more than taking out the galleys. Don’t insult people. You don’t know what you are talking about.
Flew the max 8200 for the first time this week. Found seats much better than Ryan -800. Food was much better too. Plane felt less crowded than the 800 too. If it were not for 2 things (RyanAir + inherent flawed design) I migjt even choose to fly so long as there was no A320 available...
They simply took those plastic seats you see on buses and rapid transit. It has been like riding a bus for years now.. they just made the experience more so.
Legroom is a function of both seat pitch and seatback thickness. If the seatback is as thin as cardboard, a 28” seat pitch and provide as much legroom as 31” seat pitch with a 3” thick seatback.
The most cramped economy seat I have ever been in was on a BA A380. That seatback must have been 5 inches thick, if not more.
True that both are factors. However, there is no way to "gain" additional space with thinner seats, you just loose less space.
My upper thigh measures 29.8 inches, which definitely more than 28, i.e. regardless how thin the seat back is, I won't fit.
At least they added new exits. Too many times airlines cram in new people with tighter seats while claiming there is zero impact on safety because 30 years ago they did an evac test in a pool
Kind of disappointed O'Leary didn't go for 200 seats.
I believe that 200 seats would require another flight attendant.
I couldn't even fly this configuration if I wanted to. My legs are up against the seatback at 30". Jeez.
The recipient is Malta Air, and not Air Malta. The former is a JV between Ryan Air and the Maltese Govt. while the latter is the flagship carrier for Malta.
The deliveries in the summer will not go to Air Malta (KM), which is the national carrier of Malta, but to Malta Air (AL), which is the Maltese Ryanair/Gov't of Malta joint venture.