Aerolíneas Argentinas (AR, Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery) has signed an agreement with electronics manufacturing and exports company Mirgor to operate two B737-800(F)s on its behalf starting in the first quarter of 2023.
The airline did not disclose the variant of the freighters or their identity. Spokesperson told ch-aviation that the lease contracts had not been signed yet.
"After 16 years, Aerolíneas Argentinas will once again have freighters. The arrival of these two new aircraft means a new milestone for the flag carrier and is part of our growth and development plan for the cargo transportation business," Chief Executive Pablo Ceriani said.
The carrier clarified that the first two aircraft, each capable of carrying up to 22 palettes of cargo, will "mainly" operate for strategic partner Mirgor. The stock-listed holding owns its own logistics centre in Garín in the northern part of the Buenos Aires province. Ceriani had already disclosed the airline's plans to operate two freighters in close cooperation with an as-of-then unnamed customer during an exclusive interview with ch-aviation in October 2022.
The ch-aviation fleets history module shows that Aerolíneas's last maindeck freighter was a B737-300(F) retired in 2006. The airline announced an RFP for two B737-800(BCF)s on six-year operating leases in July 2022. Its narrowbody passenger fleet comprises eight B737-700s, twenty-nine B737-800s, and seven B737-8s.
