One of the world’s largest airlines, Ryanair appears to be re-branding its Boeing 737 MAX as potential customers state that they don’t want to fly on the jet after the two fatal crashes. Images taken outside Boeing’s Renton facility in Washington by Woodys Aerospace, a blogger and photographer, appear to show the 737 MAX, writing on the side of a jet’s nose replaced by ‘737-8200’. Ryanair had ordered a version of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 and called it a 737 MAX 200, but has since changed it to 737-8200, which combines a mixture of the two names, but with the word ‘Max’ left out. The 737-8200 represents: 8 recognises that the aircraft is based on the MAX 8, and the 200 represents the number of passengers that the aircraft will be able to carry.
This is not a complete surprise by Ryanair, which prior to this incident has begun referring to the aircraft as the “new Boeing 737 game-changer aircraft.”
The 200-seater Boeing 37 is part of Ryanair’s future growth strategy. The group currently has 456 Boeing 737 aircraft. These are all Boeing 737-800s with the exception of one 737-700. The airline has ordered 135 MAX aircraft from Boeing. It’s reportedly interested in acquiring more aircraft once this first order is complete. This latest delivery batch will bring Ryanair’s fleet to 666 aircraft.
