Ryanair has announced that its order to purchase up to 200 Boeing ”gamechanger” 737 MAX aircraft has been approved by 99.93 per cent of shareholders who voted at its EGM in Dublin this morning.

When finalised - and if all options are exercised - the deal will be valued at over $22bn at current list prices.

Ryanair has 100 firm order and 100 options in place.

Ryanair is the lead customer for this new Boeing aircraft which will feature 197 seats - eight more than Ryanair’s existing 737-800s.

The plane also has more leg room, new Boeing Sky Interiors, and CFM LEAP-1B engines, which will reduce fuel consumption by up to 18 per cent in Ryanair’s configuration and reduce noise emissions by 40 per cent.

These aircraft will further reduce Ryanair’s industry leading unit costs, and these savings will be passed on via lower fares to Ryanair’s customers, which will now grow from 82 million in 2014 to over 150 million customers per annum by the end of the delivery stream in 2024.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “Ryanair is proud and honoured to become the lead operator of Boeing’s 737 gamechanger aircraft.

“This order will expand our fleet to approx 520 aircraft by 2024 and create another 10,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers in Europe, while allowing us to grow our traffic to over 150 million per annum.

“These new aircraft will allow Ryanair to lower our costs and airfares, while improving our customer experience with more leg room and Boeing Sky Interiors, as part of our ‘Always Getting Better’ customer experience improvement programme.”