Ryanair has said it will bring forward a new long-term strategy for the airline after negotiations with Boeing for an order of up to 200 new planes broke down.
The airline said negotiations for the planes, which were to be delivered from 2013 to 2016, could not be concluded successfully and had been 'terminated'. Ryanair said there were no plans to re-open talks with Boeing or any other plane maker.
The breakdown will not affect its plans to take delivery of 112 planes during the next three years, and Ryanair said this would sustain its growth plans over the medium-term.
But Ryanair said it would now bring forward plans to 'significantly' reduce its growth and capital spending from 2012 to 2015, in order to maximise the cash available to distribute to shareholders during that period.
'I believe it is appropriate to return these surplus funds to shareholders, if we cannot use them to purchase aircraft on terms which enable us to meet our demanding return on capital targets,' said Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary.
He said agreement with Boeing was reached on pricing, but he said the US plane maker was unwilling to include some other terms and conditions from an existing agreement into the proposed new deal.
Ryanair shares closed 5.8% higher at €3.28 in Dublin.
