Summary
- GOL Linhas Aéreas has sent two aircraft to Bulgaria for maintenance, as a part of their collaboration with Lufthansa Technik Sofia.
- GOL Aerotech, GOL’s own maintenance center in Brazil, has been using third-party workshops to extend capability.
- GOL’s fleet consists of 141 aircraft, with plans so as to add more Boeing 737 MAX planes in the long run.
On September 12, 2023, an odd-looking flight took place in Europe. A Brazilian GOL Linhas Aéreas Boeing 737-700, registration PR-GED, departed from Espargos International Airport (SID) in Cape Verde en path to Sofía International Airport (SOF) in Bulgaria. Why did this flight happen, and why is that this plane to date away from Brazil, where it often operates? Let’s discover.
Maintenance in Bulgaria?
That is GOL’s second aircraft to achieve Bulgaria within the last months. Between August 19 and 20, a Boeing 737-800 registration PR-GUL flew from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte, then continuing to Espargos in Cape Verde before finally landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, in response to data from FlightRadar24.com.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Easy Flying.
Since then, PR-GUL has been stationed in Sofia. The rationale behind the visit to this European city is maintenance. GOL Linhas Aéreas has an ongoing collaboration with Lufthansa Technik.
Lufthansa Technik Sofia (LTSF) is a three way partnership of the German company with the Bulgarian Aviation Group, specializing in the upkeep, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of narrowbody aircraft of the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 737 series (Classic and Next Generation). GOL has a fleet of 141 aircraft, including 19 737-700s, 78 737-800s, and five 737-800(BCF)s.
Each PR-GED and PR-GUL are currently stationed in Sofia until further notice.
But does GOL have its own maintenance center?
As reported by the Brazilian media outlet Aeroin, for several months now, GOL has been using third-party workshops to extend its maintenance capability for its aircraft, and it has been common to see flights of the corporate’s Boeing 737s heading to numerous places world wide, from nearby locations reminiscent of DIGEX in São José dos Campos or further away.
Nonetheless, GOL Linhas Aéreas does have its own maintenance center. GOL Aerotech is their
Photo: rafastockbr/Shutterstock.
The airline’s MRO has 760 members working in 145,000 square meters of hangar and ramps area. On the MRO, GOL has several capabilities, including the repair & overhaul of electro and electronic parts, a painting hangar, an interior shop, an engine shop to repair CFM56-7 Band Leap-1B engines, and more. On this hangar, GOL recently painted an aircraft to honor one in every of Brazil’s historical figures, Alberto Santos-Dumont.
GOL Aerotech is certified to supply maintenance services to Boeing 737-Classic 300/400 Series, 737 MAX 8 series, 737-700/800 series, 767-200 and 300 series, in addition to CFM56-7B engines. Aerotech has six maintenance slots.
GOL’s fleet
The Brazilian airline’s fleet consists of 141 aircraft, as previously stated. It only operates the Boeing 737 family because it gains fleet commonality and other advantages. GOL is currently within the technique of renewing its fleet, adding next-generation Boeing 737 MAX planes. It currently has 39 MAX 8s, but it surely is hoping to receive 66 additional in the approaching years, in addition to 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s.
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