This week, the last of the six Boeing 737-800 aircraft that GOL Linhas Aéreas converted into freighters to serve a contract with the e-commerce giant from Argentina, Mercado Libre (Mercado Livre in Portuguese), entered commercial service.
The aircraft, registered PR-GGK, previously operated with GOL carrying passengers, but was sent to China to be converted into a pure freighter. It returned at the end of September to be stored at the airline’s maintenance center at the Confins airport in Belo Horizonte, as reported by our associated media, Aeroin.
In this way, GOL and Mercado Libre concluded the first stage of the service agreement which also anticipates, if market conditions are favorable, reaching a fleet of 12 aircraft by 2025.
Both companies began operating with their own fleet in September 2022 to transport products to the bases in Brasilia, Fortaleza, Recife, Sao Luís, Manaus, Joao Pessoa, Teresina, and Porto Alegre.
Since then, they have carried out more than 3,200 flights, transporting 11.2 million packages and shipments.
«The partnership with Mercado Libre, which is a leader in the e-commerce market in Latin America, was unprecedented for the Company and, throughout this first year, it proved to be a very beneficial business for both companies,» said Rafael Martau, Executive Director of GOLLOG, GOL’s cargo unit. Thanks to this agreement, the company became the leader in the paid cargo market in Brazil, according to ANAC data.
The 737-800BCF is based on the 737-800 passenger aircraft and guarantees lower operating costs per ton of payload compared to standard fuselage freighters of the 737 Classic series.
The aircraft is 39.5 m long, has a wingspan of 35.8 m, and is 12.6 m tall. Its maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 79,000 kg, while its maximum landing weight is 66,350 kg. The model can carry up to 23.9 tons of cargo. The main deck offers 141.5 m³ of cargo space, while the lower deck provides 43.7 m³ of bulk cargo space.
