Brazilian low-cost carrier GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has placed a $6bn firm order for 60 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
This makes the order the largest in both the company’s 12-year history and South American aviation industry.
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GOL chief executive officer Paulo Kakinoff said the decision to order Boeing 737 MAX was a part of the company’s strategy to maintain an advanced and safest fleet to enable it to sustain a competitive advantage in the long-term.
"The new airplanes will have one of the best cost-benefit ratios in the market due to its unique operational economy, so it is fully compatible with our low-cost model," Kakinoff added.
The Brazilian carrier plans to deploy 737 MAX’s in 2017 in order to boost operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Powered by CFM’s LEAP-1B engines, 737 MAX is a new version of Boeing’s workhorse single-aisle aircraft and features improvements such as the advanced technology winglet.
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By GlobalDataIt reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 13%, and according to Boeing, it offers an 8% operating cost advantage over future competition.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner said that the company has been partnering with GOL since it was founded in 2000.
"The unmatched operating economics of the 737 MAX make it the absolute best airplane for the world’s low-cost carriers and legacy carriers alike," Conner added.
Meanwhile, The Seattle Times reported that Boeing was set to develop an enhanced version of the MAX, which can take off and land on short runways.
This version is likely to be developed by the end of this decade.
GOL operates a fleet of 737-700s and 737-800s to 63 destinations in Brazil and 12 in South America and the Caribbean.
Image: Brazilian carrier GOL plans to deploy the new 737 MAX jets to boost operational efficiency and reduce costs. Photo: courtesy of Boeing.
