** Update 29/12/19 @ 16: 30 UTC - Surinam Airways A.340-300 (PZ-TCR) left Amsterdam on December 19th and flew to Aeropuerto Central Ciudad Real (code CQM / LERL) in Spain**

Surinamese national flag carrier Surinam Airways has just taken delivery of it’s first-ever Boeing 777. The new long-haul jet was flown from Frankfurt am Main Airport (FRA) to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM). This flight occurred on Friday the 20th of December 2019.

CH Aviation reports that registration number PZ-TCU was formally in service with Singapore Airlines as 9V-SVL. The 17-year-old aircraft is now being leased to Surinam Airways by Boeing Aircraft Holding.

The new arrival will be placed on the airline's flights between Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport in Paramaribo to Schiphol Airport (AMS) in Amsterdam.

Surinam Airways used to fly an Airbus A340 on the PBM-AMS route

Prior to the arrival of the Boeing 777-200ER, the tiny South American government-owned airline operated an Airbus A340-300 on the route between the former Dutch Colony and the Netherlands.

Surinam Airways took delivery of the plane from Air China in 2015 to replace a former KLM Boeing 747-300 that operated on the mid-Atlantic route.

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Surinam Airways new Boeing 777-200 used to belong to Singapore Airlines. Photo: GB_NZ Wikimedia Commons

With not having ETOPS-certifications Surinam Airways was forced to operate a four-engine aircraft on the long-haul route rather than a newer more fuel-efficient twin-engine jet.

Presumably, the airline is now ETOPS certified to fly the Boeing 777-200 on the Paramaribo to Amsterdam route.

Currently, the airlines 21-year-old Airbus A340 remains stranded at Schiphol Airport following a host of mechanical issues including problems with its main landing gear.

What will now happen to the aircraft remains unclear as it takes up space at Schiphol-East with a bankrupt Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER. Additionally, there are three Boeing 737 MAXs that belong to TUI fly at the airport.

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Surinam Airways has two Boeing 737-700s. Photo: Surinam Airways

Surinam Airways have been wet-leasing a Boeing 777-200

In the interim, while the plane has been out of service, Surinam Airways have been wet-leasing a Boeing 777-200 from Spanish air charter company Privilege Style.

Suriname Airways also operates a codeshare agreement with Dutch leisure airline TUI Airlines NL. This airline operates a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner between the Dutch and Surinam capitals once a week.

However, this deal will come to a conclusion at the end of the year with Surinam Airways ending the codeshare agreement with TUI Airlines NL and the wet-lease agreement with Mallorca based Privilege Style.

Surinam Airways will take delivery of a Boeing 787 in 2021

Furthermore, given the newly arrived Boeing 777-200ERs age, Suriname Airways plans to replace it with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2021 as it looks to modernize its fleet of aircraft.

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The flight between Paramaribo and Amsterdam takes nearly nine hours. Image: GCmap

Besides the flights between Suriname and the Netherlands, the state-owned carrier offers international flights to:

  • Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) in Guyana
  • Cayenne - Félix Eboué Airport (CAY) in French Guiana
  • Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) in Aruba
  • Curaçao International Airport (CUR)
  • Piarco International Airport(POS) in Trinidad
  • Val de Cans International Airport (BEL) in Belém, Brazil
  • Miami International Airport (MIA) in the United States

Furthermore, along with its newly delivered Boeing 777-200ER, Surinam Airways has two 128 seater 737-700s. It operates these on all its other international routes.