Past noon on Wednesday (22), the Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration LV-KIT of Aerolíneas Argentinas, landed at the Guarnición Aérea Córdoba of the Argentine Air Force.
There, it will be stored at the Fábrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA) facilities, where technical staff will apply the Aerolíneas Argentinas livery.
This 737 MAX has the peculiarity that, although it comes directly from the factory (colloquially «brand new»), it sports the livery of Ukraine International Airlines, the airline for which it was originally destined. However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company was forced to suspend its plans.
Aerolíneas Argentinas will receive a total of three «Ukrainian» Boeing 737 MAX 8. In addition to the LV-KIT, LV-KIU, and LV-KIV will be added. Their Ukrainian registrations were UR-MXC, UR-MXB, and UR-MXA. Another one is expected to arrive before the end of the month.
Following the «Ukrainian» planes, Aerolíneas Argentinas is expected to receive four 737 MAX directly from Boeing, as these are part of the original order placed during Isela Costantini’s tenure. According to Pablo Ceariani, former CEO of Aerolíneas Argentinas, it was scheduled that between 2024 and 2025, the state company would have 17 MAX in its fleet.
The LV-KIT had arrived at Ezeiza International Airport from Seattle on Friday night. The company reported that the painting work will take approximately 20 days, after which it will enter commercial service.
Current Boeing 737 MAX fleet of Aerolíneas Argentinas
Aerolíneas Argentinas currently operates nine other Boeing 737-8 aircraft (LV-HKV, -HKW, -HKU, -GVE, -GVD, -KEI, -KEJ, -KKD, and -KKE), which operate domestic and regional flights, including one of the upcoming longest routes for this model.
According to Cirium, the link between Córdoba and Punta Cana (PUJ), Dominican Republic, which will be inaugurated in September 2024, will be the eleventh longest route of the 737 MAX.
The company mainly operates them on regional routes including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Santiago de Chile, Lima, and occasionally to Asunción and Montevideo.
On a national level, Aerolíneas Argentinas has scheduled the 737 MAX to most domestic destinations, although the top ten cities are Ushuaia, El Calafate, Bariloche, Neuquén, Iguazú, Córdoba, Mendoza, San Martín de los Andes, Río Grande, and Tucumán.
