Clover Aviation Capital, an international airplane lessor, has announced the delivery of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to its first customer in the Canadian market, WestJet. The delivery is part of a multi-aircraft sale and leaseback transaction.
To date, WestJet operates a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, along with a greater Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 fleet.
Their total Boeing 737 fleet accounts for 105 airframes across the types, and in the time ahead, Aventure Aviation will acquire seven of the 737s WestJet currently have.
The new MAX
As recently announced, Clover Aviation Capital’s first Canadian market customer, WestJet, took delivery of a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
The new aircraft becomes WestJet’s 24th Boeing 737 MAX 8 and carries the registration C-GTSW (MSN 60549). The airframe was delivered by Boeing at the Boeing Field Airport (BFI), from which it flew to Calgary (YYC) under the flight number WS8990.
“We are thrilled to have delivered our first of these B737 MAX 8 aircraft to WestJet and support their fleet expansion plans, marking the beginning of our partnership with one of North America’s leading airlines.” stated Joe Ye Tian, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Clover Aviation Capital.
He continues by saying: “We are confident that this fuel-efficient and modern aircraft will continue to serve WestJet well for years to come.”
WestJet Interim Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Bue, also commented on the delivery and said the following: “We are excited to add another B737 MAX 8 to our fleet as we further expand on our robust fleet growth while continuing to offer our guests with low fares by leveraging the latest technology aircraft.”
“We appreciate the support of Clover Aviation Capital in helping us to expand our operations and look forward to delivering an exceptional travel experience for our guests.”
Out with the old – In with the new
WestJet is gradually continuing the expansion of their Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet, which also likely means the older Boeing 737-700 and 800NG aircraft will gradually disappear – a trend seen in a range of other airlines today.
Per Planespotters.net data reviewed at the time of writing, WestJet currently have 28 historic Boeing 737-700NG and 12 737-800NG aircraft, leaving the NG size per date at 81, with one Boeing 737-800 freighter due for their cargo operations.
However, WestJet also recently got rid of a more rare 737NG type, the Boeing 737-600.
Back in February, Atlanta based Aventure Aviation announced their acqusition of seven Boeing 737-600NG aircraft from WestJet’s fleet, an aircraft type the carrier had thirteen of until 2021.
Unlike a greater number of Boeing 737NG aircraft who gets to fly for years more as converted freighters, these Boeing 737-600 aircraft will be dismantled for parts.
The seven aircraft are to be dismantled into parts by highly experienced technicians and sent to Aventure Aviation’s Atlanta warehouse as available stock for onward sale. This stock will then be available for purchase to Aventure’s strong worldwide customer network.
