Earlier in the year US President Donald Trump suggested renaming the Boeing 737 MAX. It seems as though his words may have had some meaning. In a recent press release on the aircraft, IAG completely avoided calling the aircraft the MAX.

Across the world, the Boeing 737 MAX is known, and it doesn’t have a good reputation. The aircraft is currently grounded following two fatal crashes in the space of less than half a year. The aircraft has now been grounded for over three months, with no immediate end in sight for the time being. In fact, yesterday Simple Flying reported concerns that pilots may not have the strength to operate the trim in an emergency situation.

Why is the max so unpopular?

The MAX has had to deal with one problem during its grounding that aircraft before it have not had to deal with. This specific problem is social media, caused by today’s widespread technology.

Almost everybody, regardless of their background in aviation or not has heard of the Boeing 737 MAX. Indeed, the majority of the posts shared on social media have been particularly negative. This has led to a number of people deciding that they don’t want to fly on the Boeing 737 MAX.

The solution?

The United States President, Donald Trump suggested that there was a simple fix to the Boeing 737 MAX crisis. He believes that simply renaming the Boeing 737 MAX would be the solution to getting passengers back onboard the aircraft.

Boeing 737 MAX Donald Trump

While it might seem absurd on the outside, it may not be crazy. People have by now associated the name MAX with the aircraft that is grounded. However, consider how many would be able to pick between the Boeing 737-800 and the Boeing 737 MAX 8 if the two aircraft were side by side?

Is the industry following Trumps advice?

While they may not be directly acting on President Donal Trump’s advice, people have already began to rename the Boeing 737 MAX.

The International Airlines Group, IAG, is a perfect example of this. During the trade days of the Paris Air Show, IAG shocked the world with a surprise announcement. The airline holding ground announced a letter of intent for an order of 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It should be noticed that this has in no way binds IAG to purchase aircraft.

Boeing 737 MAX Donald Trump

However, what was interesting was the phrasing that IAG used in their press release on the matter. The holding group refused to use the term MAX. They instead opted to call the aircraft just “Boeing 737-8” and “Boeing 737-10”.

Do you think scrapping the “MAX” terminology is a good move for the aircraft? Let us know in the comments!