Aerolíneas Argentinas set to receive Latin America’s first 737 MAX 8

CEO Mario Dell’Acqua said Aerolíneas Argentinas will take delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 Nov. 29. The aircraft will make its first commercial flight Dec. 1.

“It is a great honor to be the first Latin American airline to fly the MAX,” Dell’Acqua told ATW on the sidelines of the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Buenos Aires Nov. 20. “Having the MAX will allow us not only to improve our costs but also to potentially serve routes to the Caribbean with the MAX that we now serve with widebody aircraft, due to its improved autonomy.”

Buenos Aires-based Aerolíneas will receive an additional MAX 8 in December. Three more will be delivered in 2018 and a total of 12 will arrive by 2020, Dell’Acqua said. The airline intends to continue operating its 737-800s.

According to the airline’s fleet plan, Aerolíneas will end 2017 with 12 Airbus widebody A330/A340 aircraft, 41 Boeing 737 aircraft, including 39 737NGs and two new 737 MAX 8s, as well as 26 Embraer E190s that operate on Aerolíneas’ regional subsidiary Austral.