Airline gets permission to buy more planes, avoids bankruptcy

The carrier filed for Chapter 11 protection in February 2024 after a string of losses.

Apr 8, 2025 - 18:02

Airline gets permission to buy more planes, avoids bankruptcy

Racking up more than $3.8 billion in debt while waiting for delayed deliveries of Boeing (BA) planes, Brazil's GOL Linhas Aereas (GOL) has had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York in January 2024.

A reorganization plan approved by a judge the following December proposed converting $1.7 billion of debt into equity and raising $1.85 billion of new investor financing.

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As GOL is Brazil's largest airline by passengers carried, airlines such as United, American Airlines, and Lufthansa are all among those that are reportedly considering pumping funds into the low-cost airline.

In one more step toward definitively emerging from bankruptcy, GOL was able to rework its agreement to purchase 92 Max 737 planes from Boeing (BA) . The Rio-based airline had been under contract with the manufacturer and, according to the revised agreement approved by New York Bankruptcy Court this week, will be able to proceed with it on terms that free up approximately $235 million USD

GOL stressed that the renegotiation occurred on "strictly commercial terms" but said that it expects it to bring the airline and its investors "significant benefits" — the biggest one would be the ability to put the freed-up funds toward paying back some of the creditors and in doing so bring down its total debt load.

"The conclusion of the negotiations with Boeing represents another milestone in GOL’s overall restructuring objectives," GOL said in an investor statement first reported by Law360.

GOL's current fleet includes 139 Boeing 737s including 54 of the modern MAX 8 ones. The plan would also need to be approved by Brazilian regulators.

GOL Linhas Aereas is based in Rio de Janeiro and is one of the largest airlines in Brazil.
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Merger? Going private? There is much speculation on the future of GOL

Along with talking to potential investors in the aviation industry, GOL has also been exploring a potential merger with rival Brazilian carrier Azul (AZUL) .

In January 2025, Azul and GOL executives confirmed that such a merger was among the possibilities for getting the latter airline out of bankruptcy by saying that a combined Brazilian airline would make "a national champion" capable of taking on the flagship giant LATAM (LTM) .

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"With resolution of these issues, the debtors will be well-positioned to begin raising the necessary exit capital required by their business plan and engaging with their other creditor constituencies," GOL said of the restructuring plan filed last December.

GOL was launched out of Rio in 2001 and quickly found its audience as the next two decades brought with them the rise of the low-cost airline.

This week, Florida-based low-cost airline Spirit Airlines (SAVE) parted ways with its CEO in a very sudden manner as the airline had still been reassuring investors that it would "continue to be led by Ted Christie" just a month prior. Spirit had been reporting quarterly losses throughout 2024 and filed for Chapter 11 protection in November.

Three months later, it announced plans to go private by converting $795 million of debt into equity and scrap its low-fare model for one in which it tries to sell travelers more premium offerings.