Confirming what we had been anticipating in recent months, Aerolíneas Argentinas announced this Friday that it will incorporate two Boeing 737-800 freighters during the first quarter of 2023.
The aircraft will have the capacity to carry 22 palletized tons and will be deployed both in the country and in the region.
This announcement was made in the framework of the signing of an agreement to transport the cargo of Mirgor S.A., an Argentine group with different business units, but best known for manufacturing household appliances and different electronic components that serve many industries.
This agreement, the company said, will enable Mirgor “to continue to enhance its logistics capabilities and strengths and to serve its customers better and faster. The company already has its own logistics center, with the objective of providing answers to logistics needs for the product commercialization process”.
“This center, located in Garín, has almost 24,000m² of floor space, 8,300 pallet positions of different configurations, 3,000m² of block storage, 10 loading docks and 15 unloading docks, electronic security, and 24-hour monitoring,” they added.
The agreement signed with Mirgor covers the use of the cargo planes for 12 hours a day, mainly to transport from Tierra del Fuego, in the southernmost of the country, the products manufactured at its plants in that province. The rest of the time they remain at Aerolíneas Argentinas’ free availability for it to market the capacity on its own.
The development of the cargo unit is one of the objectives set by Aerolíneas Argentinas for 2023. This year the state-owned company had several milestones in that sense, transporting to the United States more than one million Chilean salmon through El Calafate, more than 140 tons of cherries on board special flights to Doha, and other products such as seeds and meat in the holds of passenger flights to Madrid, Miami, Rome and other destinations of its network.
In July of this year Aerolíneas Argentinas had issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the market to incorporate two Boeing 737-800BCF (Boeing Converted Freighters) through operating leases.
Among the requirements in the document were that the lease must be extended for six years, and detailed technical issues such as that the aircraft must be of short field performance, have blended winglets, a sliding carpet system for the lower deck cargo compartments and Honeywell avionics, among others, as well as being delivered with Aerolíneas Argentinas’ livery.
In October, moving forward with the process, the company opened a tender to incorporate B737-800BCF Aircraft Lift Platforms and Pallet Dollies, equipment necessary for the operation of cargo in the holds of the converted 737’s. The tender also included a request for similar equipment for Airbus A330’s, but this may be complementary to the current operation and not necessarily indicative of an intention to operate an A330-200F or -300F.
