=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/07/25/financial/= f154137D66.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, July 25, 2005 (AP) Brazilian Carrier Orders More Boeings By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer (07-25) 15:41 PDT Renton, Wash. (AP) -- The Boeing Co. won an order for 30 narrow-body 737s on Monday, when fast-growing low-fare Brazilian airline GOL doubled its order for 737-800s. The Sao Paulo-based carrier's total order for 60 of the narrow-body jets is worth $3.9 billion at list prices, though airlines typically negotiate steep discounts. During a visit to the plant where Boeing assembles 737s, GOL President Constantino Oliveira Jr. said the company's goal is to double its current fleet of 35 planes — all 737s — over the next four years. "The market is growing very fast in Brazil and South America," Oliveira said, moments after his father, Constantino Oliveira, chairman of GOL's board, signed an agreement for the new order. The airline is scheduled to take delivery of the first of its new 737s next year. Besides the 60 firm orders, GOL has options for an additional 41 737s between 2007 and 2012, which Oliveira Jr. said he expects the company will exercise. GOL's new 737-800s will seat 178 passengers in a single coach class. They'll also be fitted with winglets, tips at the end of each wing that point skyward and boost fuel efficiency by reducing drag. GOL — its full name is GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA — took to the skies in 2001, serving seven cities. Now it flies to more than three dozen destinations in Brazil. ___ On the Net: Boeing: GOL: www.boeing.com www.voegol.com.br/english/index_ie.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP