Aerolíneas Argentinas will begin retiring a significant portion of its Boeing 737-700 fleet starting January 2025 as leasing contracts expire.
According to sources close to the matter, the first aircraft, registered as LV-BZA (featuring Skyteam livery), will officially leave Aerolíneas Argentinas’ fleet in January. Subsequently, one Boeing 737-700 will be retired approximately every two months until January 2026.
Notably, three of these aircraft already have a new destination: Boliviana de Aviación. Sources indicate that Bolivia’s state airline will receive LV-BZA, as well as the fourth and sixth Boeing 737-700 to be retired.
Aerolíneas Argentinas currently operates eight Boeing 737-700s, of which six are leased from AerCap (LV-CAP, LV-BZA, LV-BZO, LV-CAD, LV-CBF, and LV-CBT) and two are owned (LV-GOO and LV-BYY).
This development comes amid a critical moment for the company, affected by conflicts between the government and unions, with unions demanding 90% overdue wages, while Javier Milei’s administration accuses them of political motivations. At least two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are theoretically scheduled to arrive over the next 18 months, although it remains uncertain how the fleet renewal program will unfold given the current context.
For Boliviana de Aviación (BoA), the arrival of these three Boeing 737-700s will allow the airline to phase out its four Boeing 737-300s, which average 30 years of service and are solely used on domestic routes. BoA also operates four Boeing 737-700s, which serve both domestic routes and flights to Asunción.
The Boeing 737-700s will be sent to the Argentine Aircraft Factory (FAdeA) in Córdoba for repainting in BoA’s colors. LV-BZA, the first to undergo this process, arrived in Córdoba on Tuesday after completing its last commercial flight for Aerolíneas Argentinas from Bogotá to Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newbery Airport.
The retirement of the Boeing 737-700s follows the recent departure of two Embraer E190 aircraft (LV-GBK & GAK), which are now being integrated into the low-cost airline VietJet Air for exclusive island operations. Both aircraft are currently at one of Embraer’s facilities at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in the United States.
Current Status of Aerolíneas Argentinas’ Boeing 737-700 Fleet
As previously mentioned, Aerolíneas Argentinas operates eight Boeing 737-700s with an average age of 18.2 years, all delivered in 2009. Two are owned (LV-GOO, with retro livery, and LV-BYY), which are also the only 737-700s delivered directly from Boeing Field, while the rest are leased from AerCap.
According to Cirium, Aerolíneas Argentinas’ Boeing 737-700s serve both domestic routes and international flights to Bogotá.
The state airline once operated as many as twenty-two Boeing 737-700s, which originally replaced the Boeing 737-500s in the early 2010s. Between 2015 and 2017, the airline phased out fourteen of these aircraft in favor of larger Boeing 737-800s and later the 737 MAX 8s.
