Air Europa first in Spain to fly Boeing 737-800 with blended winglets

Air Europa has become the first airline in Spain to operate a Boeing 737-800, leased from Tombo Aviation, with Blended Winglets. Based in Palma, the carrier plans to install visually distinctive Blended Winglets on all 737-800s in its fleet. “We chose to equip our 737-800s with Blended Winglets because they will increase the distance the airplanes can fly, and also significantly lower fuel costs,” said Air Europa President Juan Jose Hidalgo. “The winglets are capable of reducing fuel burn by up to 4% on flights longer than 1'850 kilometers, and we plan to use our 737-800s on routes from the Canary Islands to Europe.” Besides decreasing fuel burn, Blended Winglets increase the distance a 737-800 can fly by up to 150 miles (240 kilometers), improve takeoff performance, increase the amount of weight the airplane can carry by 6'613 pounds (3 metric tons), reduce noise on takeoffs and lower engine maintenance costs. Blended Winglet Technology was developed by Seattle-based Aviation Partners Inc. in cooperation with the Boeing Company. Air Europa, founded in 1986, has become one of Spain's largest private airlines, flying more than 6.5 million passengers on domestic and international routes so far this year. The carrier, which has operated 737-800s in its fleet since 1999, also flies Boeing 737-300s, 737-400s and 767-300s.