Ryanair places order for as many as 200 new Boeing 737s

[NEW YORK] Ryanair said on Monday that it had signed a preliminary agreement to buy as many as 200 new 737 jets from Boeing in a configuration that will allow it to squeeze an additional eight seats into the US planemaker's popular single-aisle airframe.

The agreement, which includes an order for 100 of the planes with an option to buy as many as 100 more, is valued at more than US$22 billion at current list prices.

Like most large customers, however, Ryanair, a budget airline based in Dublin, will most likely receive the planes at a steep discount, industry analysts said.