Boeing 737 Max ordered by Ryanair undergoes name change
A Boeing 737 Max due to be delivered to Ryanair has had the name Max dropped from the livery, further fuelling speculation that the manufacturer and airlines will seek to rebrand the troubled plane once it is given the all clear to fly again.
Photos have emerged of a 737 Max in Ryanair colours outside Boeing’s manufacturing hub, with the designation 737-8200 – instead of 737 Max – on the nose. The 737-8200 is a type name for the aircraft that is used by aviation agencies.
The Max aircraft remains grounded worldwide after two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people. Boeing has yet to convince regulators that software modifications are sufficient to ensure the plane’s safety.
Ryanair has 135 of the 737 Max models on order, the first five of which are due for delivery in the autumn, once regulators have declared the plane safe. The airline’s fleet order is comprised entirely of a larger version of the Max 8, with 197 seats, which it has until now referred to in official Ryanair announcements as the 737 Max 200.
Neither Ryanair nor Boeing has commented on nor confirmed the substitution of the 737-8200 for the better known Max, as seen on the photographs taken at Renton in Washington, US, and posted on social media by Woodys Aeroimages. In previous photos from the same source, new Ryanair 737 Max 200 planes from Boeing are shown with 737 Max on their noses.
It is understood that what is painted on the plane is a matter for the airline rather than the manufacturer. According to sources reported in the Wall Street Journal, the Max plane is unlikely to return to the skies before 2020.
Ryanair would not be the first airline to use a different formulation in referring to the plane. International Airlines Group, which owns carriers including British Airways and Aer Lingus, was equally coy when purchasing discounted Max planes from Boeing last month. Announcing the letter of intent signed at the Paris airshow, IAG referred to “200 B737 aircraft” that would join its fleet from 2023, which it described as “a mix of 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft”.
Plenty of observers – among them Donald Trump – have advised Boeing to rebrand the plane before its eventual return to service. The US president tweeted in April: “If I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name.”
Boeing told reporters at the Paris show that it would consider changing the name to help the model return to the skies, although the company said it was not working on a name change in its most recent statement on the matter: “We remain open-minded to all input from customers and other stakeholders but have no plans at this time to change the name of the 737 Max.”
The Max is Boeing’s top-selling aircraft, with about 5,000 ordered, although deliveries have ceased since the grounding in April and IAG’s is the only significant – and provisional – order.
Investigations into the two disasters involving the 737 Max have highlighted the role played by anti-stall software that countermanded pilots’ commands as both planes crashed soon after ta
keoff. Airlines fear some passengers will refuse to fly on the Max. United Airlines, one of the main operators to date, has drawn up schedules without the 737 Max until November.