LONDON: Irish airline Ryanair on Tuesday ordered 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets worth over $40 billion at list prices, massively boosting the US aviation giant as the sector recovers after Covid.

The announcement, comprising 150 firm orders plus 150 options for the new fuel-efficient aircraft, represented “the largest order ever placed by an Irish company for US manufactured goods,” Ryanair said in a statement.

The jets are set for delivery between 2027 and 2033, while airlines traditionally negotiate substantial discounts on list prices, especially for big orders.

The Dublin-based carrier said the deal would be subject to shareholder approval at its annual general meeting in September, owing to the size and scale of the transaction.

Ryanair added that the new 228-seater jets, alongside a major recruitment drive, would help facilitate a surge in passenger numbers.

The carrier is targeting an 80-percent jump in annual passenger traffic to 300 million travellers by 2034, compared with 2023.

It plans to recruit more than 10,000 new cabin-crew members, engineers and pilots, to help meet the goal.

“Ryanair is pleased to sign this record aircraft order,” said Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary.

“In addition to delivering significant revenue and traffic growth across Europe, we expect these new, larger, more efficient, greener, aircraft to drive further unit cost savings, which will be passed on to passengers in lower air fares.”