Austral and Aerolineas retire B737-200s
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Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral said goodbye to their Boeing 737/200 and will ground them after having flown for almost 40 years.
On November 15th at 7:10pm the last commercial flight served by a Boeing 737/200 landed at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP) operating as AR1424 Catamarca -La Rioja - AEP.
During the years, Aerolineas and Austral had a total of 37 B-737/200, which in total flew around 1.500.000 hours, an equivalent to 1.200 million Km; 30.000 trips around the world and transported almost 100.000.000 passengers and 1.300.000 tons of cargo.
These impressive figures show the reliability and versatility of the aircraft that now are being “retired” to give space to newer and more comfortable B-737/700 NG. The company has bought some of these new planes and leased others in order to gradually incorporate them to the fleet.
The “retirement” of the fleet is a significant event for both, Aerolineas Argentinas & Austral. It marks the beginning of a new era of fleet modernisation and efficiency with high-performance aircraft, lower fuel consumption, more comfort for passengers and more environmentally friendly.
History
The history of the B-737/200 goes back to the 29th February 1970, when the first plane landed at EZE airport, then during the next four years Aerolineas Argentinas will see another 11 B-737/200 added to its fleet until 1974.
Upon request of the Argentine Air Force, two B-737/200 -LV-JTD and LV-LEB were used to transport staff and cargo during the Malvinas conflict. The idea was to create a shuttle service between Rio Gallegos and Malvinas Island during the conflict with UK in April 1982.
It was remarkable to see last 15th November, outside Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, a crowd of enthusiasts waiting to say goodbye to these legendary aircraft. Maybe it was more emotive and impressive how so many young people aged between 14 and 18 waited outside the arrival hall for the last plane to arrive. Also to see how after so many years, Argentineans consider Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral as their airlines, and it is for this reason that a blog was created to share with everyone this unique moment in the almost 60 year history of this carrier
After such a reception, Aerolineas’ President Dr. Mariano Recalde and his team invited this group to our main offices in Buenos Aires to share with our young generation the chance to meet the captains and first offices that flew for the last time the LV-ZEC 737/200.
Blog: http://adiosalaschanchas.blogspot.com
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