One of GOL Linhas Aéreas’ oldest Boeing 737NGs has been acquired by Aventure Aviation, a company headquartered in Atlanta which specializes in supplying aviation parts. The objective is to teardown this recently retired aircraft and the remaining parts will be relocated to the company’s warehouse and join an extensive stock of existing 737NG inventory. Let’s investigate further.
Tearing down the aircraft
Earlier this week, Aventure Aviation announced it has secured a Boeing 737NG, msn 28584. Its last registration was PR-GOW.
This aircraft, which was recently retired by the Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas, is set to be scrapped for parts in Marana, Arizona by Jetyard. After that, the parts will be relocated to Aventure’s Atlanta warehouse.
Andrew Crombie, Aventure’s product line director, said,
“ With passenger travel on the rise and an increase in 737NG cargo conversions, this acquisition couldn’t come at a better time. This part-out will allow us to continue to support our customers with the latest 737NG inventory.”
Additionally, Talha Faruqui, Aventure president, said the company has vast experience in dismantling and a significant global customer base, which will allow the company to continue offering a “unique global aviation investment platform for investors, leasing companies and owners.”
GOL currently has a fleet composed of 144 aircraft, between 737-700s, 737-800s, and 737 MAX 8s. Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying.
The aircraft
This former GOL aircraft is a Boeing 737-700 first ordered by the leasing company GECAS on January 22, 1996.
Boeing delivered it in December 1998, and it had a capacity to carry 138 passengers (102 in economy and 36 in economy plus).
Throughout its history, this aircraft had two operators only. First it was delivered to Varig, a Brazilian carrier which flew between 1927 and 2006 (and one of the oldest airlines in South America). It was eventually merged with GOL, after a gruesome bankruptcy process and that’s how this Boeing 737-700 went to GOL.
Throughout its 23 years of history, PR-GOW amassed 68,735 flight hours and 55,480 flight cycles.
This was the 14th Boeing 737-700 GOL ever had, according to data provided by ch-aviation. Prior to this jetliner joining its fleet in 2003, GOL received five 737-700s in 2000 (including one with a registration PR-GOL), five in 2001, and three in 2002.
GOL is heavily investing in renewing its fleet by adding more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Photo: Getty Images.
GOL’s fleet plan
The Brazilian carrier is Boeing’s main customer in the Latin American region. It is an only Boeing 737-fleet operator. It currently has 144 aircraft between 737-700s, 737-800s, and 737 MAX 8s, and expects to receive 99 more in the coming years.
GOL is investing heavily in renewing its fleet by adding more MAX units and retiring the old NGs. For instance, GOL has gone from 38 Boeing 737-700s in 2016 to 21 currently.
Last year, the former CEO of the airline, Paulo Kakinoff said,
“We are accelerating our fleet transformation plan in anticipation of the strong recovery of air travel in the post-pandemic scenario. The 737 MAX positions GOL to grow even more competitively with the expansion of routes to destinations, at the same time providing efficiency gains.”
The airline expects its fleet to be composed of 75% MAX aircraft by 2030 (currently is around 24%).
Have you ever been onboard a GOL flight? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: ch-aviation.
