FLEET - LAM Mozambique Leases Dash 8-400, Prepares to Introduce Two Embraer E190s

Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) has bolstered its fleet with the ACMI lease of a Dash 8-400 from the South African private carrier CemAir, according to research by NewsAero. Furthermore, the Mozambican national airline announced the imminent entry into service of two Embraer E190s purchased in December 2025.

Newsaero

ROUTES - LAM to Resume Portugal Flights and Launch Brazil, India Routes

Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo has announced that Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) will resume flights to Portugal and open two long-haul routes to Brazil and India, marking the airline’s
most ambitious international expansion plan since entering a major restructuring programme in early 2025.

Photo: LAM

FLEET - Mozambique's LAM seeks five aircraft on ACMI

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) has issued an international tender for the short-term wet lease of five undisclosed aircraft as part of its ongoing investment plan to boost operational efficiency and service quality on national and regional routes.

The airline said in a statement that applicants, preferably IOSA-registered operators, must meet several eligibility conditions, including declarations that they have not defrauded any public or private entity in Mozambique or elsewhere, have no conflicts of interest, are not blacklisted, and do not hold capital derived from illegal activities.

Bidders must also submit financial statements for the past three years, proof of regulatory compliance, and references from at least three clients for whom they have delivered comparable services in the past five years. The tender is open to both local and foreign companies.

Interested parties must apply electronically by 1500L (1300Z) on August 22, 2025. RFP documents can be requested via email.

The loss-making Mozambican national carrier is currently being restructured under the oversight of international aviation consultancy Knighthood Global, which had issued a tender in June for the purchase, finance lease, or operating lease of five B737-700s to address persistent capacity shortfalls at LAM. Proposals were due by June 20, but no announcements were made afterwards. Preferred options at the time were mid-life jets with recent D-checks, dual-class seating for 120-140 passengers, ETOPS 120 certification, EASA and FAA certification, and availability for staged delivery by October 2025.

The call followed the cancellation in April over allegations of corruption of a February tender for seven aircraft, namely three pre-owned E190s and four pre-owned B737-700s.

Mozambique's government has launched a forensic audit into the finances of its troubled flag carrier over the past decade, with a deadline for completion set for October.

In February, the government sold 91% of LAM’s equity to three state-owned entities as part of a last-ditch rescue plan for the debt-ridden airline.

According to ch-aviation and ADS-B data, LAM's current active in-house fleet has dwindled to one DHC-8-Q400.

It already relies heavily on wet leases, including one B737-500, TL-VIP (msn 26538), operated by Via Air RCA on domestic routes since May 5, and CRJ900LR ZS-CMR (msn 15398), operated by CemAir domestically and on the only remaining regional route to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo. Two more leased Q400s are in maintenance and stored respectively, according to ch-aviation data.

CH Aviation / Photo: LAM

 

FLEET - LAM – Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique presented its first Boeing 737-300F

The company announced that the aircraft will begin operating from March 25th.

Remember that the B737-300F with registration number PK-YGH, belonging to Asia Cargo Airlines

. The aircraft will fly as the C9-BAX, representing an investment of three million dollars (2.74 million euros), according to the company's general director.

The aircraft is mainly intended to transport national cargo, to and from neighboring South Africa and Tanzania, but also other countries at a regional level, explained Theunis Crous, after the public presentation of the LAM Cargo brand and the first aircraft of its kind, exclusively for cargo, at Maputo airport.

Photo: LAM

 

Mozambique's LAM to review OEM, lessor contracts

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique's new interim chief executive, Theunis Crous, plans to review the airline's existing partnerships with OEMs and lessors as part of a new strategic plan for the state-owned carrier until 2030.

Crous told the Lusa news agency he would continue to review the loss-making airline's assets and oversee its financial restructuring while implementing the Mozambican government's vision for the company's growth.

"We are going to review the strategic partnerships with Boeing, Bombardier Aerospace, Embraer, and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada," he said, adding the same would be done with aircraft leasing companies. "We're going to work on creating the 2025-2030 strategic plan, renewing and standardising the fleet, and consolidating the new [international] routes Maputo-Lisbon and Maputo-Cape Town International," he said, adding that expanding domestic, regional, and intercontinental routes is also a key objective.

Crous was not immediately available for comment when contacted by ch-aviation. He replaced former general manager João Po Jorge, who was ousted by the LAM board on February 28 after Mozambique's anti-corruption office launched separate investigations into allegations of EUR3 million euros (USD3.2 million) worth of embezzlement in ticket sales through Automatic Payment Terminals that do not belong to LAM, and the management of the airline's fleet.

Crous concurrently leads the South African brokerage Fly Modern Ark, which heads a government-appointed commission overseeing the restructuring of LAM. FMA's annual contract comes up for renewal on April 30, 2024, coinciding with Crous's interim term to lead LAM.

Since its appointment in April 2023, FMA's close oversight and involvement in operational decisions, reporting directly to Minister of Transport and Communications Mateus Magala, has created problems for the airline's previous management. Additionally, it has publicly criticised the management on several occasions. This followed scrutiny from opposition politicians regarding FMA's expertise in scheduled airline operations, prompted by a report from the country's corruption watchdog.

When asked by Lusa if his appointment was a sign of confidence in his efforts to revitalise LAM, Crous deferred to the government but expressed gratitude for the opportunity. Magala, meanwhile, told reporters that FMA would continue in its role unless reasons were presented for reconsideration.

Crous previously touted an ambitious plan to expand the fleet to 22 aircraft by 2027. The plan depends on enough capital, revenues, and financing from lenders. LAM expects government financing and debt pardoning. Additionally, the airline is actively pursuing funds to enhance cash flow and has favourable leasing agreements. FMA's involvement has reportedly led to improved payment discipline with suppliers and better contract oversight.

ch-aviation fleets data shows LAM currently operates one B737-700, leased from Aergo Capital; three leased DHC-8-Q400s; three EMB-145MPs used by subsidiary MEX - Mocambique Expresso (MXE, Maputo); and two CRJ900s wet-leased from CemAir (5Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo).

The airline serves 12 domestic destinations. Regionally, it flies to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo and Cape Town (South Africa), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Harare International (Zimbabwe), and Lusaka (Zambia), with Lisbon being its only intercontinental destination.

CH Aviation

 

LAM Mozambique extends Lisbon service until mid-Jan 2021

LAM Mozambique in recent schedule update extended Portugal schedule into January 2021, which sees the airline continue to operate Lisbon – Maputo route in the first half of Northern winter 2020/21 season. Leased Airbus A330-300 aircraft operates this route once weekly, currently scheduled until 14JAN21. Following schedule effective 29OCT20 – 17DEC20.

TM7703 LIS1900 – 0725+1MPM 333 4
TM7704 MPM2355 – 0845+1LIS 333 5

Additional flight also scheduled from Lisbon on 03JAN21 and 10JAN21, Maputo on 04JAN21 and 11JAN21.

Routes Online

LAM Mozambique resumes Lisbon service in Aug/Sep 2020

LAM Mozambique starting today (25AUG20) plans to resume Maputo – Lisbon route, with leased Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The airline’s current schedule lists 1 weekly flight from 25AUG20 to 30SEP20.

TM7703 LIS2000 – 0725+1MPM 333 2

TM7704 MPM2355 – 0945+1LIS 333 3

The airline’s September 2020 International schedule also includes 1 weekly Maputo – Pemba – Dar es Salaam service, subject to Government Approval. 2nd weekly service to be added from 12SEP20.

Routes Online

Photo: KPB

LAM Mozambique moves Lisbon service resumption to 3Q20

LAM Mozambique has delayed planned service resumption on Maputo – Lisbon route, previously scheduled on 02/03JUN20. The airline’s schedule listing shows service is now scheduled on 02/03JUL20, however first flight available for reservation is showing 01AUG20 from Lisbon, 02AUG20 from Maputo.


TM704 MPM1325 – 2315LIS 332 3

TM704 MPM2100 – 0645+1LIS 332 5

TM704 MPM2100 – 0655+1LIS 332 1

TM703 LIS1625 – 0350+1MPM 332 6

TM703 LIS1715 – 0440+1MPM 332 4

TM703 LIS1740 – 0505+1MPM 332 2

LAM Mozambique resumes Lisbon service from June 2020

By Jim Liu

LAM Mozambique from June 2020 plans to resume long-haul operation, with the offering of Maputo – Lisbon route. Operated by leased Airbus A330-200 aircraft, first flight departs Lisbon on 02JUN20, Maputo on 03JUN20. This route will be served 3 times weekly.


Following schedule is effective 02JUL20 – 03SEP20, as schedule varies on certain periods.

TM703 LIS1625 – 0350+1MPM 332 6

TM703 LIS1715 – 0440+1MPM 332 4

TM703 LIS1740 – 0505+1MPM 332 2

TM704 MPM1325 – 2315LIS 332 3

TM704 MPM2100 – 0645+1LIS 332 5

TM704 MPM2100 – 0655+1LIS 332 1

The carrier last operated this route with Boeing 767 until February 2012.

Routes Online

LAM Resumes Flight to Lisbon

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique will commence a thrice weekly service to Lisbon starting from the 2nd of June 2020. The flights are scheduled to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Maputo to Lisbon, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Lisbon to Maputo.

The schedule is designed to be nocturnal, so that passengers sleep at dusk in Mozambique and wake up at dawn in Portugal or vice versa.

LAM offers a personalized service that meets the needs of business travelers, students, tourists or leisure travelers, sportsmen as well as historic and cultural exchanges such as the reunion of families, friends and relatives at both ends.

These flights are believed to contribute to the realization of the long-standing reminiscence, dreams and aspirations to know more about each destination and its people,

Flights will operate with Airbus A330 - 200 aircraft, with a capacity of 269 seats, 251 in economy and 18 in business class.

LAM Mozambique confirms European return in late 1Q20

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) will partner Hi Fly (5K, Lisbon) for the launch of non-stop flights between Mozambique and former colonial master Portugal scheduled for March 31, 2020.

According to O País newspaper, the agreement was finalized on Monday, October 7, and will see LAM wet-leasing A340-300 capacity from Hi Fly for a 3x weekly Maputo-Lisbon service. Ticket sales will start later this month, the report added.

State-owned LAM is forced to used ACMI capacity for the route given it is currently banned from European airspace.



The route will compete with TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon) which currently runs a similar 3x weekly service also using an A340-300. However, this will switch to an A330-900 once the quadjets are retired in late October.

Ch Aviation

Photo: Alain Charpentier

LAM Mozambique Airlines took damage while landing, may have hit a drone

LAM Mozambique Airlines has told Portuguese-language media that one of its aircraft was struck Thursday, possibly by a drone. In a Facebook post, the airline said that the crew of the Boeing 737 heard a bang, suggesting that some sort of “external body” hit the aircraft. The 737 was flying from Maputo and on approach to Tete airport when the incident occurred.

The Aviation Herald wrote that “a post flight examination revealed a drone had impacted the right hand side of the radome.” The website Mozambicano also reported the drone strike. The aircraft apparently landed safely with 80 passengers and six crew members on board.

In April 2016, British Airways reported that one of its aircraft may have hit a drone while landing at London Heathrow Airport.
Hundreds of near-misses have been reported at airports across the United States in recent years. Flying a drone within five miles of an airport in the United States is illegal, largely for safety reasons

AIRNATIONCREW

LAM Mozambique curbs fleet, network expansion over debts

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) has put all fleet and network expansion plans on hold while it grapples with growing losses airline chairman Antonio Pinto de Abreu has revealed.

Speaking to the official Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (AIM) this week, de Abreu said the state-owned carrier had USD160 million worth of debt at the beginning of the year although this figure has now been brought down to USD139 million.

“LAM is not in a healthy situation," he said. "Accounts for 2015 show the company running a deficit which can be attributed to structural reasons.”

de Abreu says LAM's decision to acquire a trio of B737 NextGen aircraft (initially B737-700s then converted to B737-800s) from Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare) was partly to blame for its dire financial situation.

“LAM has decided to retreat from the decision to buy new aircraft, the first of which was to have arrived in November, because it does not have the financial means to pay for them," he said adding that talks were underway with the US manufacturer to recover some of the downpayments already made.

LAM currently operates a diverse fleet of three Dash 8-400s (all on lease from AeroCentury), one B737-500, one B737-700 (leased from AerCap), and two EMB-190s while its MEX - Mocambique Expresso (MXE, Maputo) feeder subsidiary operates two EMB-120RTs and three ERJ-145s (one of which is leased from CIE Catalina Bail). The lack of fleet homogenity has also added to the company's debt burden de Abreu noted.

Together, the two carriers serve Beira, Lichinga, Nampula, Pemba, Quelimane, Inhambane, Chimoio, and Tete locally and Harare Int'l, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, and Dar-es-Salaam regionally. Given the decision to freeze its fleet expansion plans, a previous initiative to serve all the capitals of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc has also been put on hold for the time being.

In April this year, Mozambique's credit ratings were cut after the southern African nation disclosed it had taken on over USD2 billion of secret public debt during the Armando Guebuza administration of 2005-15.

In May, the IMF and the Group of 14 (G14) budget support donors, which includes the United States, Canada, and Portugal, suspended all direct funding forcing government to embark on an austerity programme to help mitigate the budgetary hole. Thus far, the fiscus has throttled back disbursements to all government entities, with the exception of health and education.

ch aviation

LAM - LINHAS AÉREAS DE MOCAMBIQUE - DHC-8-Q400 - C9-AUL

Paul Denton - Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Int'l - South Africa

FIRST B737-700 for LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - N855AM

First 737-700 for Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique after undergoing a full check and paint change at Coopesa.
To be registered C9-BAQ. Delivery expected in the next few days. Seen here heading out for a test flight as AMX8588. Named "Poelela".

Tomás Cubero Maingot - SJO Spotter - San Jose Juan Santamaria Int'l - Costa Rica

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique expecting first B737-700

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique is set to take delivery of its first B737-700, C9-BAQ (msn 33792), formerly with AeroMéxico

Boeing, LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique Announce Next-Generation 737 Order

Order for three Next-Generation 737-700s with purchase rights for additional three airplanes

MAPUTO, Mozambique, Feb. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique (LAM – Mozambique Airlines) announced an order today for three Next-Generation 737-700 airplanes. The order, valued at $228 million at list prices, includes purchase rights for three additional Next-Generation 737s.

The order, formally signed in November 2013 and was previously unidentified on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website, is part of the Mozambique flag-carrier and the country's Ministry of Transport and Communication's long-term strategy to increase flight frequency and provide greater route flexibility to and from the southern African nation.

"In order to thrive in this highly competitive environment, LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique has developed an in-depth Strategic Business Plan which resulted in the restructuring of its network to facilitate its growth and expansion," said Dra. Marlene Mendes Manave, chief executive officer, LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique. "This investment in the Next-Generation 737-700s will help Mozambique to remain at the forefront of the growing demand for air travel in our region and enable expansion into several new markets."  

LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique's new 737-700s will be fitted with Boeing's latest Performance Improvement Package (PIP), delivering an additional two percent improvement in fuel efficiency for what is already the most fuel efficient single aisle aircraft. The airplanes will also feature the popular passenger-inspired Boeing Sky Interior, with modern sculpted sidewalls and window reveals, LED lighting that enhances the sense of spaciousness and larger pivoting overhead stowage bins.

"With record passenger numbers in recent years, LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique understands the value of the 737 as it has already successful utilized the airplane's capabilities to become a key player in southern Africa," said Van Rex Gallard, vice president of Sales for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Today's order for Next-Generation 737-700s will enable LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique to realize greater efficiencies, improved performance and enhanced passenger comfort, as the airline continues to move forward with its ambitious growth."

Capable of carrying up to 126 passengers in a two-class configuration, the 737-700 is one of the most successful selling versions of the Next-Generation 737 family. Known for its reliability, fuel efficiency and economical performance, the 737-700 has been selected by leading carriers throughout the world, and has contributed to the strong success of over 6,600 Next-Generation 737 family orders.

"The development of gas and other hydrocarbon resources, including oil, will have major implications for Mozambique – a strong aviation infrastructure with a modern fleet of Next-Generation 737 jetliners will be of enormous benefit to the people of Mozambique, business travelers and our tourism industry, and will substantially contribute to our economic development," said Dra. Manave.    

Based at Maputo International Airport in Mozambique's capital city, LAM - Linhas Aereas de Mocambique currently operates flights domestically and regionally, across southern Africa with a fleet that currently includes Boeing 737-500s, and other smaller regional aircraft.

  

LAM plans ERJ-145 lease later this year

LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique has announced plans to lease two ERJ-145 regional jets from later this year. The aircraft will complement LAM's existing regional fleet of three EMB-190s as well as three Dash 8-400s and two EMB-120s operated on its behalf by MEX - Mocambique Expresso.

LAM gets a B737-500, Embraer E190

During a speech on Friday to welcome the national carrier Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique LAM's (TM) latest aircraft - a Boeing 737-500 leased from GECAS (MSN: 29074 | C9-BAP) and an unknown Embraer E190 - Mozambican Transport and Communications Minister Paulo Zucula stated that Mozambique’s air space has been liberalised, and invited everyone that was interested in the sector to “come and invest, come and fly.”

The acquisition now brings LAM's fleet size up to seven aircraft - 3 x Embraer 190s (with another due in October 2013), one Boeing 737-500, and 3 x Bombardier Q400s - though only 2 are actually LAM property; the rest are leased.