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Irish no-frills airline Ryanair on Friday said it had ended discussions with Boeing on buying 200 aircraft from the US plane maker after a breakdown in talks over pricing.
Ryanair said in a statement that a planned deal to buy 200 new B737-800 series aircraft for delivery between 2013-2016 could not be reached.
The airline said money set aside for the planes would be returned to shareholders but was not clear as to whether this would be via increased dividend payments, the issuing of new shares or by other means.
"I believe it is appropriate to return these surplus funds to shareholders, if we cannot use them to purchase aircraft," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said in the company statement.
He added: "We regret that our prolonged negotiations with Boeing have failed to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.
"While we reached agreement with Boeing on pricing for 200 aircraft deliveries during the 2013-16 period, Boeing were unwilling to incorporate some other terms and conditions from our existing agreement into this new aircraft order.
"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," O'Leary added.
Ryanair said it would continue to hold talks with Boeing regarding the planned delivery of 48 planes in 2010.
A Boeing spokesman, Tom Brabant, later said the company was "disappointed that Ryanair didn't choose our B737."
"We've worked hard to come up with a solution that could provide good value for Ryanair and also be a good business for Boeing.
"Ryanair remains a valued customer for Boeing and we look forward to working with them in the future on their fleet needs."
