18 December 2009 | Jake Kanter

Irish airline Ryanair has terminated negotiations with Boeing over the purchase of new aircraft.

In November, the company’s chief executive Michael O'Leary said he would ditch the supplier if it failed to pass on cost reductions for an order of 200 aircraft to be delivered between 2013 and 2016. Boeing was given to the end of the year to cut its costs.

Today Ryanair confirmed talks had broken down and it had pulled out of the deal.

“We regret that our prolonged negotiations with Boeing have failed to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion,” O’Leary said. “Ryanair has made clear to Boeing that we will not order aircraft if we believe that either the pricing or the other contractual terms and conditions will be inferior to those which we currently enjoy, as this would not be a wise or sensible use of shareholders’ funds.”

He added that the budget airline has no plans to re-open talks with Boeing or any other supplier and will instead focus on growing new travel routes.

The breakdown in negotiations will not affect Ryanair’s existing order for 112 Boeing aircraft between 2010 and 2012.

A Boeing spokesman said the company was “disappointed” that Ryanair decided not to expand its fleet. He added that the Irish airline remained a “valued customer”.