Gol Linhas Aereas said it will replace 13 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft with the newer Boeing 737 MAX-8 between 2019 and 2021 as part of a plan to accelerate its fleet renewal and reduce debt costs. In a securities filing Wednesday, Gol said the decision to execute sale and leaseback agreements with investment firms Castlelake and Apollo Aviation comes during a favourable time for selling NGs. Under the plan, 13 NGs will be returned upon receipt of the more fuel-efficient 737 MAX-8 jets, which will make up the backbone of the carrier’s fleet. Gol’s planned capacity will not change as a result of the renewal plan, it said. The move will reduce the company’s net debt by approximately US$280.48m, it said. <br/>
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Crash investigators have concluded preliminarily that improper calibration of an airspeed sensor during maintenance touched off the sequence of events that led to October’s fatal Lion Air jetliner crash in Indonesia, according to people familiar with the details. The conclusion is subject to further analysis, these people said, but it is the firmest indication so far that a suspected maintenance lapse was the initial misstep that ended with the months-old Boeing 737 MAX aircraft plunging into the Java Sea. Investigators also continue to delve into shortcomings discovered in the design of a new safety system on the plane. Lion Air co-founder Rusdi Kirana has disputed that any maintenance error occurred, saying that calibration was performed properly in accordance with the manufacturer’s manual. <br/>
The family of a man who was killed when a Lion Air flight crashed in October has sued Boeing, alleging the 737 MAX 8 aircraft was "unreasonably dangerous" and demanding a jury trial in Chicago, where the US manufacturer is based. The lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of the estate of Sudibyo Onggo Wardoyo, who died when Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta Oct 29. The lawsuit alleges that the 2-month-old Boeing aircraft was unreasonably dangerous because its sensors provided inaccurate data to its flight control system, causing its anti-stall system to improperly engage. It also alleges Boeing failed to provide adequate instructions to pilots on how to respond to and disengage the plane's anti-stall system. <br/>
The new year will mark Michael O’Leary’s 25th anniversary as CE of Ryanair. It’s been a transformational period during which he has led the company from struggling upstart to Europe’s biggest airline, flying some 135m people a year around the continent. His 5-year contract with the company ends in 2019. O’Leary said 3 months ago that he still enjoyed the job, and wanted to stay on as over the next 5 years Ryanair takes delivery of 200 Boeing 737 Max-8 200s, a slightly larger craft the airline helped design, which will expand its fleet to 520 and could bring passenger numbers closer to 200m. However, some are looking to a time when O’Leary will no longer lead the airline. <br/>