Gol revises fleet-growth forecast to reflect slower pace of 737 deliveries

Delays by Boeing in delivering 737 Max have led Brazilian discount airline Gol to significantly par back its fleet expansion plans through 2028, leaving it unable to fully capitalise on increasing demand for air travel. “We are seeing the market be healthy at this point and we are not able to grow at the pace we had planned,” Gol CE Celso Ferrer says during the company’s investor day on 14 December. “We were counting on those planes to renew the fleet…This is constraining our growth.” Last year, Gol, which only operates 737s, expected to have 53 737 Max in its fleet by now.<br/>But quality and supply chain problems have kept Boeing from reaching its delivery goals, leaving Gol with just 39 737 Max at end-September. The carrier’s total fleet stood at 136 aircraft – including 737 Max and 737NGs – when the month closed, and Gol’s capacity (in available seat kilometres) remains at only 89% of the pre-pandemic 2019 level. Gol has now revised its multi-year fleet plan to reflect aircraft-delivery delays. Its latest forecast, disclosed on 14 December, calls for the airline to have just 130 737s in 2025 and 140 (including 108 737 Max and 32 737NG) in 2028. That is 20 fewer aircraft in each year than Gol predicted in the forecast it released last year.<br/>