Boeing appears to have decided to rename its troubled 737 Max program, with photos showing that the 737 Max 8 has become the 737-8200.
The photos, from Woody’s Aeroimages on Twitter show an undelivered Ryanair aircraft, currently one of 135 currently on order. At this point Boeing or Ryanair have provided no comment and we are therefore awaiting some sort of official press release from Boeing.
7629 EI-HAY 737-8 200 @Ryanair has been painted and wears the new model designation on the nose. pic.twitter.com/Ok7jdyYsNR
— Woodys Aeroimages (@AeroimagesChris) July 15, 2019
It is also unknown whether or not the branding will be Boeing wide or Ryanair specific, with International Airlines Group (IAG) which owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus amongst others ordering “200 B737 aircraft” during last months Paris Air Show, describing the aircraft as “a mix of 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft”.
The 737 Max, which has been troubled by issues since a Lion Air flight crash in October last year, has been rumoured to be the subject of a rebranding exercise for sometime, with President Donald Trump going as far as recommending doing so in April this year.
What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name.
No product has suffered like this one. But again, what the hell do I know?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2019
It is understood that the name itself isn’t new, referring to the high density, 197 seat configuration however to brand the aircraft as such isn’t normal and it is as yet unknown if the type will be referred to by a similar name instead of the MAX branding.
Nick Ashwell-Rice has worked in aviation and defence journalism since 2014 whilst also maintaining a career outside of the industry. He has been Editor-in-Chief at Talking Aero since its inception