Gol announced on Monday a financing agreement of up to $600 million with Castlelake LP to enable the acquisition of 12 new Boeing 737 Max 8s.
The amount will be used in a finance lease for 10 aircraft and in a sale-leaseback scheme for another two jets. In addition to covering the cost of acquiring the planes, the agreement allows for a lower interest rate than operating leases, the company explained.
The new aircraft will begin to be delivered from January and the loan also includes the costs for returning 737-800 NG jets, two of which Gol expects to withdraw 18 planes from service in 2022.
Currently, the Brazilian airline has orders for 102 Boeing 737 MAXs, including the MAX 10 variant, which has a higher capacity and has not yet been certified.
“The financing for these 737 MAX aircraft initiates a new cycle of value creation in our fleet,” said Paulo Kakinoff, CEO. “With favorable market conditions for new MAX aircraft and our strong partnership with Boeing, as one of its largest customers, these aircraft further advance our market leadership position.”
Gol has accelerated the renewal of its fleet after the civil aviation authorities authorized the operation with the 737 MAX, just over a year ago. The company already has 24 aircraft of the model in Brazil, two of which were received this month, and intends to end the year with a fleet of 44 737 MAXs.
