Mavi Gök Airlines (4M, Antalya) has taken delivery of its first VIP-configured B737-800, namely TC-MGJ (msn 28828).
The aircraft was ferried from Lourdes/Tarbes to Istanbul Atatürk on January 24, 2024, and spent the next six months undergoing maintenance at the Turkish airport. It was ferried to Antalya on June 13, and has since been operating proving flights between Antalya, Istanbul Airport, and Lefkosa/Ercan in northern Cyprus.
The 24.2-year-old aircraft, formerly operated by Mango Airlines (MNO, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), has been reconfigured to seat just 60 passengers in a two-class configuration comprising first and business class.
The aircraft currently sports the livery of Luxxglobal tour operator, which operated from Türkiye to northern Cyprus and Europe, although Mavi Gök told ch-aviation that this it did not own the brand and will not use it.
The Turkish leisure specialist also operates seven B737-800s in a standard, all-economy-class configuration, as well as two B737-900ERs, one B777-300(ER), and another executive aircraft, a B737-700(BBJ) configured for 30 passengers, plus a single Cessna (single turboprop) C208EX Grand Caravan seaplane used for sightseeing flights around Bodrum.
Editorial Comment: The article has been corrected to remove the inaccurate information about planned flights to Russia under the Luxxglobal brand. Mavi Gök "does not have any flight plans to or from Russia, nor any plans under any operator or brand to Russia today or in the future," the carrier said. - 02Aug2024 - 20:18 UTC