On Wednesday, Brazilian airline GOL will become the first airline in the world to fly passengers on the Boeing 737 Max in almost two years, the airline announced late Monday.
The plane was cleared to carry passengers again by the US Federal Aviation Administration on November 18. So far Brazil is the only other country whose aviation regulator has cleared the plane to fly passengers, although authorities in Europe and Canada are close to doing so.
The plane was grounded by aviation authorities around the globe in March of 2019 following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.
GOL (GOL), Brazil's largest domestic airline, said it will use the plane on routes to and from its hub in São Paulo, the nation's largest city, although it did not disclose the exact route for the first flights.
It said passengers will be informed that their flight now will be flown on the 737 Max, and any passengers who do not want to fly on the plane will have their tickets exchanged for flights using other equipment.
GOL flies nothing but Boeing (BA) aircraft in its fleet of 127 jets, making it a major customer for the aircraft maker. It has seven of the 737 Max planes in its fleet. It expects to have all seven back in service by the end of December. It also has orders for 95 other 737 Max planes, and is scheduled to take delivery of those aircraft between 2022 and 2032.
