Although there are still about three years to go before the first 737 MAX 10 arrives in its fleet, Gol Linhas Aéreas already knows how it will use the largest version of the Boeing aircraft ever manufactured.
According to Celso Ferrer, the company’s CEO, the MAX 10, with 216 seats, will distribute passengers from abroad on partner airlines.
The strategy, as Ferrer explained to Flight Global, is for the 737 MAX 10 to take passengers from its hub in São Paulo to destinations in the Northeast region of Brazil.
The new CEO, who took over in July, explained that Gol does not compete with the widebodies of foreign airlines, unlike LATAM and Azul, which fly to North America and Europe. “As a feed for the long-haul carriers, the Max 10 is unbeatable,” he said.
Partnership with American Airlines
The low-cost carrier has American Airlines as its main international partner, with whom it has code-share agreements used mainly at the airports of Guarulhos, Miami, Brasília and Galeão. Gol also has a close relationship with Air France-KLM, which flies the Brazilian company’s planes from the tourist city of Fortaleza.
Gol has an order for 30 737 MAX 10 jets and another 12 recently agreed with Boeing, which will be configured with fewer seats than the total capacity of the version, which is 230 seats in a single class.
The aircraft is in the certification process, expected to be approved by the FAA, the US civil aviation agency, in 2024, if Boeing obtains an exception for the model not to be framed in a new safety legislation approved by Congress.
In Gol’s plans, the 737 MAX 10 should be received from 2025, when it expects that its fleet will already be mostly 737 MAX instead of 737 NG.
