<span>Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline</span><span>, </span><span>said the grounding of Boeing 737 Max jets and continued weakness in fares will trim its annual profit for this fiscal year. </span> <span>The Dublin-based airline forecast a net income of €750 million (Dh3 billion) to €950m for the year to March 2020, depending on whether revenue per passenger rise </span><span>2 per cent or </span><span>4 per cent, Ryanair said yesterday, in a regulatory filing to the London Stock Exchange, where its shares trade. </span> <span>Profit for the fiscal year 2019 declined 39 per cent to €885m, and the company said earnings could decline further.</span> <span>“Our outlook for FY20 remains cautious on pricing,” said Michael O’ Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive. “We are guiding broadly flat group profits.” </span> <span>Ryanair, which has an order</span><span> placed for 135 737 Max 200s and </span><span>the option </span><span>for 75 more, will </span><span>take deliveries </span><span>in October and expects to fly them by November, assuming that the<br/> European Union Aviation Safety Agency clears the plane to return to service </span><span>before that. Deliveries of the first Max jets were due in April but were deferred after it was grounded globally </span><span>for being </span><span>involved in two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a span of five months.</span> <span>“We continue to have utmost confidence in these aircraft,” Mr O’Leary said in a boost to the troubled Boeing model.</span> <span>Ryanair</span><span>, which </span><span>operates the older 737 model, expects costs to increase because of the delivery delays</span><span>.</span> <span></span><span>The new jets </span><span>would have added </span><span>4 per cent more seats, 16 per cent fuel efficiency and delivered "significant" cost savings for the airline in the next five years. </span> <span>"The delayed deliveries in 2019 means that we will not see any meaningful cost benefit until FY21," the company </span><span>said.</span> <span>The grounding has forced Ryanair to cut around a million seats this year</span><span> but it still expects passenger traffic to grow </span><span>8 per cent in fiscal 2020 to 153</span><span> million, up from 139 million in 2019.</span> <span>The </span><span>airline plans to hold discussions with Boeing about "modest compensation", Neil Sorohan, Ryanair's chief financial officer, told Reuters.</span> <span>Shares in the budget airline fell 3 per cent per cent on the LSE yesterday after its profit forecast for the year to March 2020 fell short of analyst estimates.</span> <span>Ryanair joined the ranks of other European airlines </span><span>bracing for a tough </span><span>year as overcapacity, weaker economies and higher oil prices squeeze profit margins.</span>