Former U.S President Donald Trump criticised the decision of Boeing to launch the 737 MAX and said that they should have updated the 757 instead. Should they have done this instead?
According to Aerotime, Trump said on Truth Social that they shouldn’t have lengthened “the unattractive, fat, and slow 737 to get a larger plane”.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Donald Trump: Boeing Should Have Updated the 757…
Donald Trump labelled the American planemaker as “bad maintenance Boeing”, and said the following on the 737 MAX:
“Had they listened to me, years ago, they wouldn’t have had the disaster known as the 737 MAX”.
“As they say, ‘Trump was right about everything”.
He believes that Boeing should have updated the “fast, beautiful, and sleek 757”, with him even going as far as calling it the “Praying Mantis”.
AviationSource has reached out to Boeing for a comment on Donald Trump’s words about the 737 MAX and at the time of publication, they have not responded to our queries.
Was This Decision A Difficult Conundrum for the American Planemaker?
Let’s take a deeper dive into this. Was Boeing right to introduce the 737 MAX, or should they have followed Donald Trump’s words and updated the 757 instead?
Now that in itself can be perceived as a difficult conundrum, especially over the last few years, when there was talk of a NMA aircraft.
Updating the 757 would have probably been placed in alignment with the Airbus A321LR & XLR variants, whereas the main fight was against the standard A320neo Family, which Boeing wanted to address.
Back at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2022, Boeing’s Vice President of Commercial Marketing Darren Hulst, said to AviationSource that he believes the A321XLR & LR variants were “niche”.
“I think my view is that it’s a niche market (The A321XLR). Airbus is obviously marketing that level of additional performance, but it has a specific corner of the market where that actually fits above it.”
“You need a wide body like the 787 for long-haul travel, and even with the MAX, there are some transatlantic routes with it already.”
“So the versatility of that product I think comes into question in terms of where you could deploy it and actually generate value.”
“I think longer term we’re always looking at where a product fit could exist in our future opportunities, especially with future development of our future families.”
So, for some time now, Boeing has been justifying why it opted to create, design, and deliver the 737 MAX instead of opting for a competitor to the A321LR/XLR.
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Is Donald Trump Correct On The 737 MAX?
Based on what Hulst said at the Farnborough Air Show last July, sceptics may argue that this was a line given to move away from the NMA project, which theoretically would have been a new and updated look at the Boeing 757.
This would be because the two crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 caused a major ripple effect to the 737 MAX program because of the MCAS system.
It ultimately meant that to get the aircraft back into commercial service safely, other projects and aspects had to be put aside, as they were no longer business priorities.
On top of this, once the 737 MAX re-entered service, Boeing then had to focus on getting things up to scratch with their 787 program, as deliveries had to slow due to a flaw found in the aircraft.
Finally, they also have to get the 777X into the air, with certification expected in 2025, which is a significant delay as it is already.
Donald Trump also wouldn’t have known if the same instance would have happened if Boeing updated the 757.
There are a few uncertainties in his statements that wouldn’t have been predictable if the American planemaker went the other.
In this case, he would be wrong to suggest this as people can’t really see into the future like that.
Overall…
Overall, it is a very difficult thing to predict, based on what Donald Trump has said about the Boeing 737 MAX.
If the American planemaker did go the other way and opted for an updated version of the 757, would that have had the same success as the A320neo Family, and more notably the A321LR/XLR? It’s a hard one to decipher.
Looking ahead, we will never know that answer. But for Boeing, their priority is to continue deliver aircraft in a safe manner, which they are doing so at the present moment.
This is because ultimately, no matter what Donald Trump says, the past cannot be changed, and that Boeing have to roll with the punches and get back to its previous glory.
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