Summary
- Donald Trump criticized Boeing for not updating the Boeing 757 and instead focusing on the Boeing 737 MAX family, calling the 737 MAX “unattractive, fat, and slow.”
- He argued that Boeing should have gone with an updated, faster, and sleeker 757 instead, which is a favorite among commercial pilots.
- Trump also criticized the Air Force and Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Fighter Jet, stating that it is flawed due to having only one engine and advocating for the need for redundancy with two engines.
Former US President Donald Trump criticized Boeing for not updating the Boeing 757 and instead focusing on the Boeing 737 MAX family, particularly the MAX 10. He also had harsh words against the Air Force and Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Fighter Jet.
Criticizing Boeing
First reported by AeroTime, Donald Trump posted a publication on his social media network, Truth Social, slamming the Air Force, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing for what he sees as poor decisions when developing the F-35 and Boeing 737 MAX programs. About Boeing, he said,
“I also recommended to ‘bad maintenance’ Boeing that they should not lengthen the unattractive, fat, and slow 737 to get a larger plane. They should go, instead, to an updated, fast, beautiful, and sleek 757, the ‘Praying Mantis’.”
Photo: Truth Social
The former US president argued the 757 is a favorite for many commercial pilots. Instead, he said Boeing had to go through the MAX crisis, referencing the accidents of flights JT610 and ET302 of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines in October 2018 and March 2019. These two accidents led to the 20-month grounding of the Boeing narrowbody family worldwide.
Donald Trump is known for being a fan of the Boeing 757. He owns one, better known as the ‘Trump Force One.’
So, why did Boeing never update the 757?
The 757 family received its first order in 1978. It was designed initially for routes that needed more seats than a smaller Boeing 737 and quickly became a critical part of many carriers’ fleets. Nonetheless, the US manufacturer took this aircraft family out of the production lines in 2005.
Photo: Nick Photoworld/Shutterstock
In the years following 9/11, Boeing saw its order book shrink as airlines faced very little demand. It was in this scenario that the OEM decided to pull the plug on the 757. But now, with new planes like the Airbus A321XLR making a strong entrance to the market, a revamped 757 could be a strong competitor. Perhaps now it’s too late. Restarting the 757 production line and updating the program to current-day standards could prove too costly for Boeing and would not be made in time for the company to commercially compete against Airbus’ programs.
Photo: James Arup/Shutterstock
According to ch-aviation, there are currently 534 Boeing 757 active operated by 52 carriers globally.
What did he say against the F-35 Fighter Jet?
Donald Trump also slammed the US Air Force and Lockheed Martin. According to him, the development of the F-35 Fighter jet program is flawed because the combat aircraft only has one engine. The comments from the businessman come a few days after the US Army briefly lost an F-35 in South Carolina following an engine failure that forced the pilot to eject. Mr Trump said,
“ON numerous occasions, I told the Air Force and Lockheed Martin that the F-35 Fighter Jet is, in effect, DEFECTIVE because it only has one engine. They told me that the engine is so good and reliable that it will never break down. I said that’s not possible; everything breaks down at one time or another (…). You need redundancy; you need TWO ENGINES!”
What do you think about Donald Trump’s thoughts on the 737 MAX family? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: AeroTime, ch-aviation.