Thursday, September 26, 2024

FLEET UPDATE: Aerolineas Argentinas returned E-190 LV-GBK to lessor, Embraer fleet presently at 25

Austral (later Aerolineas Argentinas) E-190, LV-GBK (c/n 19000291), taxis out for departure at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 19Dec18. (Phil Perry Photo)

After having accumulated 26 E-190's between 2010 and 2016, with 22 owned examples and four leased airframes, Aerolineas Argentinas for the first time had one of its E-jets leave its fleet when the lease on LV-GBK (c/n 19000291) recently expired.  

The aircraft departed Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), with the Austral titles removed from its fuselage, on 18Sep24 bound for Middle Georgia Regional Airport (MCN) in Macon, Georgia, via Asuncion (ASU) and Manaos (MAO) for return to the lessor Azorra.  It was flown by a Brazilian crew due to the refusal of three Aerolineas pilots to operate the ferry flight, claiming that the aircraft's return, along with another E-190 LV-GAQ (c/n 19000275) slated to leave the fleet before year's end, indicated an intent on the part of management to start downsizing the company in preparation for the carrier's planned privatization by the Argentine government.   

Aerolineas' senior management claimed that the accusations were unfounded, noting that three 737 MAX 8's have been added to the airline's fleet so far in 2024 and proceeded to fire the three pilots who refused the flight due to damages that management claimed to be US$ 26,000 (apparently per day) possibly amounting up to US$ 800,000, resulting from penalties corresponding to the late return of the aircraft. 

LV-GBK was originally delivered to Republic Airways in 2009 operating regional flights on behalf of mainline carriers American, Delta and United before joining the Aerolineas Argentinas fleet on lease in 2016.    

FLEET STATUS:

Aerolineas Argentinas' current fleet of E-190's consists of the following 25 aircraft:

Registration - C/N - Delivery Date - Remarks
  • LV-CDY - 365 - 20/9/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CDZ - 377 - 20/9/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CET - 383 - 4/10/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CEU - 389 - 12/11/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CEV - 390 - 12/11/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CHO - 395 - 11/12/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CHQ - 397 - 14/12/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CHR - 400 - 22/12/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CHS - 402 - 22/12/2010 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CID - 409 - 11/02/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CIE - 414 - 25/02/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CIF - 421 - 28/03/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CIG - 427 - 02/05/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CIH - 428 - 29/04/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CKZ - 439 - 18/06/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CMA - 445 - 26/08/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CMB - 448 - 26/08/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CPI - 457 - 16/9/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CPJ - 463 - 23/09/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-CPK - 474 - 23/09/2011 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-FPS - 639 - 27/09/2013 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-FPT - 640 - 25/10/2013 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral
  • LV-GAQ - 275 - 16/04/2016 - Remarks: Originally delivered to Republic Airways on 27/08/2009 as N164HQ.  On lease to Aerolineas Argentinas.
  • LV-GIK - 715 - 26/06/2016 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral. On lease to Aerolineas Argentinas. 
  • LV-GIQ - 716 - 29/07/2016 - Remarks: factory-delivered new to Austral. On lease to Aerolineas Argentinas.       

Sources:

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Saturday, September 21, 2024

FLEET UPDATE: Aerolineas Argentinas 737 MAX 8 - Fleet of 22 expected by end of 2028 - Details

FLEET UPDATE:

Aerolineas Argentinas took delivery of its 12th 737 MAX 8, LV-KID (c/n 66359/8936), when it flew from the Boeing manufacturer's delivery center at Boeing Field (BFI) to Miami (MIA) and onward to  Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 24Jul24.  

One more MAX 8, LV-KIV (c/n 43919/7581) (ex-UR-MXC), originally planned for delivery to Ukraine International, is set to be delivered to Aerolineas before the end of 2024, making for a total fleet of 13 737 MAX 8's flying with the Argentine national carrier by the end of the year.  

2016 Order for 14 737 MAX 8's:

Aerolineas placed an order for 14 737 MAX 8's with Boeing in September 2016.

Of this order, five have either been cancelled or delivered as part of the 13 expected to have been  delivered by the end of 2024:  

* Two aircraft, LV-GVD (c/n 64207/6661) and LV-GVE (c/n 64208/6717) were delivered in late 2017 under a "lease financing" agreement.

* Two planes were cancelled and replaced with two other MAX 8's, LV-KEI (c/n 65899/8121) and LV-KEJ (c/n 43321/8051) that were scheduled for delivery to Belavia, the national airline of Belarus, but were ntu (not taken up) because of sanctions against Belarus due to its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  Aerolineas received these two examples in August and June 2022, respectively.  

* Aerolineas Argentinas cancelled one more MAX 8 in early June 2024. 

This leaves nine more MAX 8's of the original 2016 order to be delivered, all scheduled for 2027 and 2028 handovers, which when added to the 13 MAX 8's expected by the end of 2024, will make for a total of 22 737 MAX 8's in the Aerolineas fleet by the end of 2028.

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Saturday, September 14, 2024

ROUTE UPDATES: August 2024 - Aerolineas Argentinas, Andes, Avianca, COPA, Flybondi, Jetsmart Argentina

Route Updates - August 2024

The following airlines / flights are confirmed to have started or re-started service on the indicated routes on the listed dates.  Many of the services are the resumption of flights that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Increases / decreases in flight frequency are verified by your editor only where indicated.

Airline - Route - Eff Date - Aircraft Type - Flight Frequency - Remarks  

* Aerolineas Argentinas - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - New York Kennedy (JFK) - 08Aug24 - A330-200 - 3x/weekly - Remarks: Route cancelled due to consistent financial losses.  Aerolineas Argentinas started flying between EZE and JFK in 1950 wth DC-6's, followed by Comet 4's in 1959, 707's in 1966, and 747's in the early 80's, until the route's cancellation in 2008 due to financial losses, only to be resumed in 2013 with A330's until now.  

* Andes Lineas Aereas - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Bariloche (BRC) - xxAug24 - 737-800 - 2-4x/daily - Remarks: Operated EZE-BRC round-trip 2-4x/daily on most days in August using their fleet of two 737-800's, LV-HKS and LV-KFW. 

* Andes Lineas Aereas - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Porto Seguro (BPS) - xxAug24 - 737-800 -Remarks: 22 charter flights for student tour company Soulmax through October 2024 using their fleet of two 737-800's, LV-HKS and LV-KFW. 

* Avianca - Bogota (BOG) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - 01Aug24 - A320neo, 787-8 - 17x/weekly - Remarks:  Increasing frequency from 14x/weekly. Flights operated by 787-8 1x/daily and A320 10x/weekly for a total of 17x/weekly. 

*Avianca - San Jose (SJO) - Quito (UIO) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - 31Aug24 - type ? - 1x/daily - Remarks: Increasing frequency from 4x/weekly until 25Oct24 when will revert to 4x/weekly because Avianca will start San Jose (SJO) - Guayaquil (GYE) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) 4x/weekly, eff 27Oct24 for a total of 8x/weekly flights from SJO through Ecuador to EZE.    

* COPA - Panama City (PTY) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - xxAug24 - 737-800 - 31x/weekly - Remarks: Increasing frequency from 28x/weekly.  Additional frequencies to be operated by 737 MAX 9's

* Flybondi - Ushuaia (USH) - El Calafate (FTE) - 02Aug24 - 737-800 - 3x/weekly - Remarks: New year-round service increasing frequency to 4x/weekly in October.  Per aviacionline.com, the USH-FTE route is the Argentine interprovincial route (not originating/terminating in Buenos Aires) with the most passenger traffic, with 88,525 passengers and a load factor of 89% in the first six months of 2024. (this equals 486 per day, which seems high)

* Jetsmart Argentina - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Florianapolis (FLN) - 30Aug24 - A320-200 - 2x/weekly - Remarks: Decreasing frequency from 3x/weekly until 13Dec24 when will increase flights up to 5x/weekly for the summer

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Saturday, September 7, 2024

FLEET UPDATE: Republica Argentina 757-23A, T-01, "Tango Zero-One" flown to Dothan, Alabama, USA to be broken up for spares

Republica Argentina 757-23A, T-01 (c/n 25487/470), taxiing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 01Oct10.  (Phil Perry Photo)

Republica Argentina 757-23A, T-01 (c/n 25487/470), the country's former presidential transport aircraft from 1992 to 2015, left Argentina for the last time on 06Jun24, bound for Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Alabama, USA, via technical stops in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI), Manaus (MAO), Baranquilla (BAQ) and Opa Locka (OPF), Florida, finally arriving at Dothan on 08Jun24.  Local sources indicated that T-01 flew the first leg of the journey with its undercarriage deployed (safety precaution due to no flying time over the previous nine years ?).    

T-01 was delivered to Argentina fresh from the Boeing factory in 1992 where it flew extensively for Argentine presidents, ranging from Carlos Menem to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, until 2015 when the aircraft was parked indefinitely at El Palomar Air Force Base near Buenos Aires due to extensive maintenance requirements required for its airworthiness certificate, including a heavy C-Check on its airframe plus major work on its engines and landing gears and updating of avionics and other electronics that would have cost US$ 20 million to carry out, well above the value of the aircraft itself. 

Although the airframe had only accumulated approx. 14,000 hours over 1,500 cycles (very low compared to 757's in regular commercial service, which typically accumulate 8-12 hours flying time per day) its estimated value was only some US$ 2 million due to the above-noted cost of the maintenance required for it to become airworthy again (T-01's airworthiness certificate expired in 2016), plus:

  • A history of recurring mechanical issues, especially with its Rolls-Royce engines, the worst of which was an inflight engine fire, forcing an emergency landing at El Palomar minutes after taking off from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 19Oct04.    
  • An executive interior that, if sold for continued use in that role, would probably have entailed extensive and costly modifications to the new owner's tastes.
  • Conversion to a cargo role would have been expensive with the addition of a cargo door.
  • Significant modifications to the airframe might also have required costly system / equipment upgrades to be in compliance with 2015 safety standards.                  

T-01 remained forlornly on the ramp at El Palomar, when finally in late 2022 it was traded in towards the purchase of a replacement, 757-200, ARG-01 (c/n 29306/920) with a US$ 3 million credit towards the US$ 25 million purchase price of the new addition to the fleet, which arrived in Argentina on 25May23.  

The plane's new owner, C&L Aviation Group of Bangor, Maine, USA, subsequently sold T-01 to Bischoff Aerospace of Hialeah, Florida, an aircraft parts dealer.  In early 2024, the aircraft  underwent extensive preparations for delivery to Bischoff in Dothan (DHN), wearing its new registration, N757CL, where it finally arrived on 08Jun24.  The aircraft will presumably be broken up for spare parts. 

Sources:

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