Boeing ‘renames’ Ryanair’s 737 MAX

Boeing ‘renames’ Ryanair’s 737 MAX
By Christian Fleetwood


A Boeing 737 MAX set to be delivered to Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier has seemingly had its model name changed.

Ryanair, which has more than 200 of the 737 MAX on order, appears to have had the name of one of its new jets changed to 737-8200, fueling media speculation that the jet will have its name rebranded once cleared to fly.

Pictures of the jet shared on Twitter appear to depict a Ryanair jet outside Boeing’s manufacturing base, with the name 737 MAX changed on the nose of the plane to 737-8200.

The 737-8200 is reportedly a type name for the aircraft that is used by aviation agencies.

In a separate report, American Airlines revealed on Sunday that it will extend cancellations for the 737 MAX through to 2 November, the fourth time that the airline has extended cancellations on the jet.

In a statement, American Airlines said that it remains confident that impending software updates to the Boeing 737 MAX, along with the new training elements the manufacture is developing in coordination with union partners, will lead to the recertification of the aircraft this year.

“We are in continuous contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other regulatory authorities,” the airline said.

“Our Reservations and Sales teams will continue to work closely with customers who are impacted by these cancellations.”

In June, the timeline for the return to service of the Boeing 737 MAX was pushed back to address a further update to the jet, after the FAA discovered an issue that would account for “a potential source of uncommanded stabilizer motion”.

The FAA said at the time that it was not operating on a prescribed timeline for returning the Boeing 737 MAX to service and that it “will lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so.”

“We continue to evaluate Boeing’s software modification to the MCAS and we are still developing necessary training requirements,” the FAA said in a statement.

The announcement came after predictions that the jet would return to service by June, after its four-month international grounding following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that resulted in the combined deaths of 346 people.

More conservative estimates have put the return to service of the jet around October or November.

Boeing CEO Denis Muilenburg has repeatedly stated that once the jet returns to service it will be among the safest airplanes ever to fly.

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