By Ian McMurtry
777 Partners and Flair Airlines Confirmed for Boeing 737 MAX
As the Boeing 737 MAX works it way back into the sky, a steady stream of orders are starting to work their way into the Renton orderbooks. Boeing latest customer is 777 Partners, who was confirmed to pick up 24 737 MAX 8 models with an additional 60 more options after entering an originally agreement for the deal back in January. The airline company plans to lease the aircraft, with only Flair Airlines being confirmed to receive the aircraft type. The Miami-based investment firm hopes with the aircraft’s economics will bring forwards plans that it has with its growing list of low-cost carrier investments in the post COVID environment.
Flair Airlines is confirmed to take hold of 13 of the leased aircraft, who will be an inter-company movement as Flair is 25% owned by 777 Partners since 2019. Flair had previously operated over a half dozen Boeing models, but the current COVID market saw the Boeing 737-400 retired and the fleet cut to just three Boeing 737-800s. The airline operates hubs in Edmonton and Vancouver and focuses on low cost flying on inter-Canadian routes.
Formed in Miami in 2015 through means of a buyout from its previous ownership, the 777 Partners investment group has taken interest in aviation as part of the company’s portfolio. The company has a previously mentioned stake in Flair Airlines of Canada, as well as interest in the Air Black Box and World Ticket Solutions companies. The investment firm is also a player in the Value Alliance, an ultra-low-cost carrier alliance consisting of Cebu Pacific, Cebgo, Jeju Air, Nok Air and Scoot.
777 Partners had also previously planned to restart World Airways as a low-cost link between Miami and Los Angeles to Asia and Latin America using Boeing 787s, however, news of a start date or plans past the initial marketing idea have yet to be released. The company also does with in the commercial finance, insurance, litigation finance and entertainment industries.
The investment firm’s founder Joshua Wander commented on the transaction, saying, “the 737-8 aircraft are a fantastic addition to our aviation portfolio and will enable our partners to leverage the jets’ superior economic performance to deliver low fares for their passengers while reducing their carbon footprint.”
777 Partners joins the windfall of support for the narrowbody aircraft type as the Boeing 737 MAX begins its return to service. The aircraft manufacturer inked a 25-jet deal with United earlier this week and appears to be close to landing an additional deal with Southwest to expand its MAX fleet. Boeing currently lists that there are 3,955 undelivered Boeing 737 MAX orders to date with 39 models being confirmed for delivery in the first few months of 2021.
Although Ian McMurtry was never originally an avgeek, he did enjoy watching US Airways aircraft across western Pennsylvania in the early 2000s. He lived along the Pennsylvania Railroad and took a liking to trains but a change of scenery in the mid-2000s saw him shift more of an interest into aviation. He would eventually express this passion by taking flying lessons in mid-Missouri and joining AirlineGeeks in 2013. Now living in Wichita, Kansas, Ian is in college majoring in aerospace engineering and minoring in business administration at Wichita State University.
