FILE PHOTO: Airplane fuselages bound for Boeing's 737 Max production facility await shipment at Spirit AeroSystems headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ryanair is confident of receiving its first delivery of 737 MAX 10 jets from Boeing on schedule in early 2027 after the expected certification of the planes by the third quarter of 2026, Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Thursday.

O'Leary said last month that he was "optimistic, but not confident" on the timing of the first tranche of 150 MAX 10 jets it has on order.

His more upbeat assessment followed a conversation two weeks ago with Boeing commercial airplanes head Stephanie Pope.

"They've written to us confirming they expect to deliver those Max 10s to us in the spring of 2027... We do not believe there will any be any delays to our first (delivery)," O'Leary told a news conference.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries, writing by Padraic Halpin; editing by William James)