When Brazilian airline Gol launched third-party maintenance services via its Gol Aerotech arm in late 2019, it could have had no idea that its target market was about to collapse due to a global pandemic.
Offering services for Boeing 737 and 767 aircraft as well as CFM56 and LEAP engines, Gol Aerotech had been targeting revenue of $33 million for 2020, only to see several of its potential customers enter administration or restructuring.
However, new opportunities may arise from consolidation in South America, with Gol Aerotech’s parent carrier recently announcing that it would purchase Brazilian domestic airline MAP Transportes Aéreos.
Gol said it would maintain its single-fleet strategy after the deal, substituting MAP’s ATR aircraft for the Boeing 737 types that Gol operates.
Presumably, this will mean more internal work for Gol Aerotech, although further acquisition seem unlikely for the time being. "We believe the acquisition of MAP is the only viable opportunity for rational consolidation in the Brazilian aviation market at present,” said Gol chief executive Paulo Kakinoff.
However, consolidation in other parts of the market may present other opportunities, notably Azul’s move to acquire LATAM Brasil.
This would add a fleet of roughly 160 aircraft to Azul, including the Boeing 767s that Gol Aerotech specializes in.
Spanning 145,000 sq. meters, its Confins facility has two maintenance hangars and one paint hangar, plus six workshops capable of repairing and overhauling wheels, brakes and steel structures, as well as the inspection of engines and other components.
It has capacity to serve 80 aircraft per year.
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