Luxair recently added its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 as a part of its fleet modernisation process. The four-year old aircraft is on lease and was previously flew with Air Italy from November 2018 to March 2019. The aircraft was in storage for the next three years. It is one of the eight 737 MAXs to join the airline fleet in the coming years.
The B737 MAX is one of the two leased aircraft to join Luxair fleet this summer till 2027 and will complement the airline’s 737NG fleet. The two aircraft are a part of the total order of four MAX jets, with two on lease while the remaining two will be purchased from Boeing.
As per Cirium data, the aircraft comes from a 2016 Qatar Airways 737max order, and was delivered in November 2018 to Qatar now defunct Italian arm Air Italy. Owned/managed by Pembroke and Standard Chartered, following a PLB on delivery and it entered storage when the Max was grounded in March 2019.
Air Italy ceased in early 2020, with QR taking over the lease in storage.
But for the last 12 months, Cirium data shows the lessee as the Boeing Commercial Airplanes customer finance arm formerly BCC, before its delivery to Luxair on 29 June 2023.
This revised deal was announced in March with Boeing agreeing to alter the deal and allowed the airline to lease two and buy two aircraft instead of purchasing all four. Boeing expects the delivery of the remaining two max jets by 2026.
Boeing claims that the 737 MAX 8 will be a significant improvement over the airline’s existing fleet by providing 20% fuel burn. Luxair has a fleet of four 737-700s and four 737-800s.