Azul A330-900 jets listed under GOL registration in Brazil

Seven Airbus A330-900 aircraft currently operated by Brazilian airline Azul have appeared in Brazil’s civil aviation registry under new registrations linked to rival GOL Linhas Aereas, according to data from the country’s aircraft registry.

The Brazilian Aeronautical Registry (RAB), maintained by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), now lists the widebody jets with updated registration markings associated with GOL Linhas Aéreas. The aircraft include serial numbers 1876, 1895, 1924, 1934, 1952, 1901 and 1903.

The A330-900 aircraft are owned by Dublin-based lessor Avolon, which signed a leasing agreement last year with Abra Group, the holding company that controls GOL. Abra is also a shareholder in other Latin American carriers.

The registry change is the clearest sign yet that the aircraft may be transferred to GOL. Azul, which has been restructuring its finances through court-supervised proceedings, had been expected to return the jets as part of its fleet adjustments, although more recent speculation suggested the airline might try to retain them.

GOL has signaled interest in launching long-haul operations, a departure from its traditional focus on narrowbody Boeing 737 aircraft. The carrier has conducted customer surveys referencing potential flights to Europe and has requested airport slots for services from São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport to destinations including Lisbon, Porto, Paris, London, Miami and New York.

Most of those routes would require widebody aircraft, as GOL’s current fleet of Boeing 737 MAX jets lacks the range and capacity for sustained transatlantic operations. Slot filings at Guarulhos have referenced aircraft with seating capacity consistent with the Airbus A330-900, even when listed under a different variant.

For Azul, the potential loss of the A330-900 fleet would reduce its long-haul capacity. The airline continues to operate Airbus A330-200 aircraft on routes to North America and Europe and is expected to take delivery of additional A330neo aircraft directly from Airbus in the coming years.

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Ricardo Meier

Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.

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