The Boeing 737 Max aircraft has the potential to be a "game changer" despite its delayed return to service following safety concerns, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said Monday.

Speaking to CNBC, O'Leary said the Irish budget airline is not expecting its first delivery of the 737 Max until March or April 2020, adding that time is running out to have the aircraft available for the summer.

The first of Ryanair's 737 Max orders was due in January, but the embattled aircraft has faced repeated delays. Speaking in a video presentation Monday morning, O'Leary said the carrier had now reduced its expectation of 30 737 Max aircraft being delivered for the summer of 2020 down to 20, adding that there is a "real risk of none," Reuters reported.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg told a Congressional hearing last week that the manufacturer has fixed the aircraft's maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) to allow pilots to override it. The original MCAS system had been at the center of safety concerns which arose after Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes killed a combined 346 passengers and flight crew.

"There have been two tragic accidents with the 737 Max — the MCAS software system wasn't well explained by Boeing, I think, to pilots generally who were flying the aircraft, but it has been flying successfully in North America for over 12 months without any incident," O'Leary told CNBC.