LONDON – An Avianca Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been put up for auction by mba Asset Management, with only a cool $100,000 deposit needed for the aircraft.
It is unclear when the auction will be, but the release is encouraging bidders to register interest in the aircraft.
The Aircraft…
mba mentioned that the aircraft has the line/serial number 39407, which relates back to N795AV, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner belonging to Avianca.
N795AV is a relatively new aircraft, having originally been delivered to the Colombian airline back in October 2017.
The aircraft could seat 28 people in Business, and 222 in Economy.
N795AV is still operating as normal for Avianca, with information from RadarBox.com indicating it is due to fly to Madrid tonight from Bogota.
From there, the aircraft will fly to Cali and then back to Madrid.
Why Is The Jet Up For Auction?
The jet won’t be up for auction on the Avianca side as the airline’s Chapter 11 concluded back in December last year.
After advancing through the Chapter 11 process in 18 months, Avianca has revamped its business model to be significantly more efficient, reaffirming its commitment to providing reliable and on-time service, combining a value proposition that includes the best attributes of low-cost airlines, while retaining key differentiators that allow it to be the most convenient travel alternative for millions of passengers in Latin America and the world.
Speaking at the time about this was Adrian Neuhauser, the President & CEO of Avianca:
“We look forward to the Company’s future success as we continue building upon Avianca’s rich history across Latin America and internationally.”
“We appreciate the support of our loyal customers, partners, and lenders throughout this process. I would also like to thank our dedicated employees for their commitment to providing uninterrupted service to our customers and whose hard work enabled us to complete this process efficiently.”
“I am confident that we are well-positioned to be a highly competitive and successful carrier.”
This is probably just the process of a lessor offloading the aircraft to another asset manager/leasing company, but even so, this causes some interest in why it’s being auctioned.
Therefore, there is no indication into Avianca getting rid of the aircraft, especially with the airline’s plans of wanting 130 aircraft in its fleet by 2025.
Then again, the aircraft could go elsewhere eventually, and be replaced by more cost-efficient aircraft. We just don’t know what the future of this particular jet will be.
Overall…
Whilst this news may not seem so significant, it is something of interest to look out for as it will be interesting to see who acquires this aircraft at auction.
For Avianca, this may not affect the carrier as much, as the aircraft will remain in the fleet for the time being, and the operational ability of the aircraft is uninterrupted.
Even in the Chapter 11 re-emergence press release, the airline even said that it “will continue to fly the Dreamliner, an exceptional aircraft that given its capabilities, features, efficiency, and comfort is the best solution for the company and customers.”
So, the aircraft is safe and will continue to be so for the time being.
