In another case of quality control issues with the Boeing 737 MAX series, two MAX 8 jetliners that only began service with Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aéreas six months ago are already expected to be parted out. A View from the Wing reported that the planes immediately suffered from frequent shop visits and malfunctioning equipment after delivery, being chronically down for maintenance due to factory issues.

The problems with the planes include the CFM LEAP-1B turbofans that power them, but also center of gravity and numerous other small issues that resulted in low dispatch rates and higher operating costs. Instead of fixing the two defective jets, the two planes are now expected to be sent to a scrapper in Arizona where their most valuable components will be sold off.

Gol’s Troubled Trio Of Boeing 737 Max 8s

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The new twin jets were only able to fly passengers for a few months before being sent to the Confins International Airport (CNF) in Belo Horizonte. The two aircraft were returned to the lessor that GOL sourced them from after spending seven weeks in the depot. The planes are described as the result of a ‘bad batch,’ but their line numbers are separated by more than 100 units.

Serial number 9264 is registered as PS-GRM and first flew on July 25, 2025, while aircraft serial 9370 bears tail number PS-GRN and took its first flight on October 9 of the same year. In March 2026, the planes were officially handed back to the lessor and flown to Pinal Airpark (MZJ) in Marana, Arizona, for final teardown. Both jets touched down for the last time on March 29, according to Aviation Flights.

Notably, users on Airliners.net pointed out that a third plane, PS-GRO, that was delivered between the two defective MAX 8s never entered service but was recently delivered to Air Algerie. According to Planespotters.net, this aircraft’s line number is 9494, which also contradicts the bad-batch theory. This aircraft spent approximately three months in the care of Lufthansa Technik after being ferried from GOL, according to Aviation Flights.

GOL’s Delivery Refusal and the Outlier

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PS-GRO was never formally accepted by GOL Airlines and never entered passenger service. It is unclear if the plane has any mechanical issues like the other two in the trio that were originally intended for the Brazilian carrier. When GOL refused delivery, the jet was sent back to the lessor. It was inducted by Air Algerie just this month as part of an ongoing fleet modernization program.

The plane appears to have been found mechanically sound and fully operational, thus the leasing company immediately placed it back on the market. As of July 13, the aircraft has been re-registered from its Brazilian code to its new Algerian tail number, 7T-VLQ. The otherwise uneventful fate of this plane further highlights the incredible anomaly of the other two jets that are at the scrappers now.

The Financial Logic Of Parting Out New Jets

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For an airline, a plane only makes money when it is in the air. Keeping these two defective jets would have severely damaged GOL’s bottom line. Operating a plane with chronic center-of-gravity and engine faults requires burning significantly more fuel and flying inefficient routes. GOL avoids millions in excess jet fuel expenses over the life cycle of the aircraft. Scrapping the two Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets saves millions of dollars for both GOL and the aircraft lessor by avoiding a financial ‘black hole’ of compounding maintenance costs and asset depreciation.

Keeping the planes meant paying for specialized engineers and round-the-clock troubleshooting at their Confins maintenance hub. Scrapping completely cuts these ongoing labor and hangar overhead costs. GOL would still have to pay lease rentals on aircraft that were constantly broken. By rejecting the planes and returning them to the lessor, GOL stops paying lease fees for zero operational return.