GOL grounded 14% of its fleet when it requested judicial recovery

GOL Linhas Aéreas had a good percentage of its fleet not flying when it decided to enter the judicial recovery process in the USA. Data released today by Folha de São Paulo indicate that the company has reported the grounding of 20 aircraft on the eve of its judicial recovery in the USA, which is called Chapter 11.

This amount is equivalent to 14.5% of the company’s fleet, considering the 138 aircraft currently registered in its name. The company's number of idle Boeing 737 planes is noticeable when you look at its maintenance center at Belo Horizonte International Airport, in Convince.

Much of this backlog of grounded aircraft is not the result of restructuring, but rather what led to it. The company had intended to bring back the 737-700 and 737-800, but multiple Boeing delays in deliveries of the 737 MAX ended up disrupting the schedule.

To return these planes to service when the Max planes have not arrived, and extend their operational life, you will need to send more planes out of the country for maintenance, obtain more spare parts, increase contracts with suppliers, and renew leasing agreements. This all added up, as the company was already operating at maximum capacity with its own maintenance capacity in its sheds in São Paulo and PH.

It has now been revealed that at least 5 of these aircraft will head to the US, to be operated by an ultra-low-cost airline.