Azul Brazilian Airlines

For the Russian airline, see Azur Air.

Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (Azul Brazilian Airlines; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian airline headquartered in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo.^[8] The company's business model is to stimulate demand by providing frequent and affordable air service to underserved markets throughout Brazil. The company was named Azul ("Blue" in Portuguese) after a naming contest in 2008, where "Samba" was the other popular name.^[9] Azul is a publicly traded company on the Brazilian stock exchange, with the ticker AZUL4.^[10] It was established on 5 May 2008 by Brazilian-born David Neeleman (founder of American low-cost airline JetBlue), with a fleet of 76 Embraer 195 jets.^[11] The airline began service on 15 December 2008.^[12][13]

Azul Brazilian Airlines

IATA ICAO Call sign AD AZU AZUL
Founded	2008; 16 years ago (2008)
AOC #	10,123 – 23 December 2022[1]
Hubs	[2] Belo Horizonte Campinas Recife
Frequent-flyer program	TudoAzul[3]
Subsidiaries	Azul Conecta
Fleet size	166
Destinations	162
Traded as	B3: AZUL4 NYSE: AZUL
Headquarters	Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil[4]
Key people	David Neeleman (Founder and Chairman)[5] Abhi Shah (President)[5][6] John Rodgerson (CEO)[5] Alexandre Malfitani (CFO)[5] Flávio Costa (Chief Technical Officer)[5]
Revenue	R$9.97 billion (2021)[7]
Operating income	R$524.9 million (2021)[7]
Net income	R$945.7 million (2021)[7]
Employees	12,485
Website	voeazul.com

According to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), between January and December 2019 Azul had 23.5% of the domestic and 5.0% of the international market shares in terms of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK),^[14] making it the third largest domestic and second largest international airline in Brazil.

History

Azul Airbus A330-900

Azul ATR 72-600

Foundation and early years

Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S.A. was the fourth airline launched by JetBlue founder David Neeleman (after Morris Air, WestJet and JetBlue). Azul inaugurated services in the Brazilian domestic market on 15 December 2008 between Campinas and 3 cities: Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Porto Alegre.^[13] It launched operations with three Embraer 195 and two Embraer 190 aircraft.^{[citation needed]} Another three aircraft were added in January 2009 to introduce nonstop service from Campinas to both Vitória and Curitiba.^[13]

On 28 May 2012, Azul announced the acquisition of TRIP Linhas Aéreas, the largest regional carrier in Brazil. Azul and Trip started comprehensive code-sharing operations on 2 December 2012,^[15] with all flights carrying only the IATA code of Azul. On 6 March 2013 Brazilian authorities gave the final approval for the merger with a few restrictions related to code-sharing with TAM Airlines and slot use at Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont Airport.^[16] On 6 May 2014 the merger process was completed with the final approval from Brazilian authorities. That day the brand TRIP ceased to exist and all TRIP assets were transferred to Azul.^[17]

While the airline is not currently a full member in an airline alliance, it signed a codeshare agreement with Star Alliance airline United Airlines in January 2014, which made it possible for MileagePlus members to earn points when flying with Azul beginning 1 April 2014.^[18][19] Since 2015, Azul is also an equal partner in a Brazilian–Portuguese joint venture that was the majority owner of TAP Air Portugal, another Star Alliance member, before its buy-out by the Portuguese state.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2014, Azul started its first scheduled international flights, to Fort Lauderdale on 2 December and Orlando on 15 December, both in the United States.^[20]

Development since 2015

In early 2015, it was announced that Azul had signed a purchase agreement for 35 Airbus A320neo aircraft. It was also to lease a further 28 of the aircraft type.^[21] In mid-2015, Azul finalised a deal for 30 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft (including 20 options) first announced at the 2014 Farnborough International Air Show. The first delivery was scheduled for 2020.^[22]

On 24 November 2015, it was announced that the Chinese HNA Group, owner of Hainan Airlines, would invest US$450 million in Azul, becoming its largest single shareholder.^[23] This follows the US$100 million investment of United Airlines closed in June 2015.^[24]

Azul signed a nonbinding deal to buy Avianca Brasil's assets on 11 March 2019, calling for the rehiring of all Avianca Brazil's staff and the merger between the two carriers, with Azul as the surviving brand.^{[25][26][27][28]}

On 14 January 2020, Azul Brazilian Airlines signed an agreement to purchase TwoFlex.^[29] On 27 March 2020, the Brazilian regulatory bodies approved the purchase^[30] and sale of flights started on 14 April 2020.^[31] TwoFlex operates as a feeder airline to Azul.

Corporate affairs

The key trends for Azul are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):^[32]

	Total revenue (R$ b)[33]	Net profit (R$ b)[33]	Number of employees (FTE)	Number of passengers (m)[a]	Passenger load factor (%)	Cities served[34]	Total aircraft[b][34]	References
2010	0.87	−0.09	2,940			28	27	[35]
2011	1.7	−0.10	4,329			43	49	[35]
2012	2.7	−0.17	8,914			100	124	[35]
2013	5.2	0.02	9,848	19.8	79.1	103	137	[35]
2014	5.8	−0.06	10,501	20.4	79.4	106	153	[35]
2015	6.2	−1.0	10,533	21.7	79.6	102	152	[35]
2016	6.6	−0.12	10,311	20.6	79.7	102	139	[35]
2017	7.7	0.42	10,878	22.0	82.1	104	147	[36]
2018	9.0	−0.63	11,807	23.1	82.3	110	143	[36]
2019	11.4	−2.4	13,189	27.6	83.5	116	166	[37]
2020	5.7	−10.8	12,004	14.7	80.0	112	192	[38]
2021	9.9	−4.2	13,163	23.3	79.2	147	192	[39]
2022	15.9	−0.72	14,247	27.4	79.7	158	212	[40]
2023	18.5	−2.3	16,017	29.2	80.4	162	209	[41]

Destinations

In November 2024, Azul and Azul Conecta served 162 destinations in Brazil, Argentina, Curaçao (Netherlands), France, Portugal, the United States, and Uruguay plus some other additional locations by means of dedicated executive bus services to the nearest airports.^[42][43]

Codeshare agreements

Azul has interline agreements and codeshare agreements with the following airlines:^[44]

• Ethiopian Airlines
• Emirates^[45]
• ITA Airways^[46]
• JetBlue Airways^[47]
• TAP Air Portugal^[48]
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines^[49]

Interline agreements

• Aerolíneas Argentinas^[50]
• Air Europa^[50]
• Copa Airlines^[51]
• Etihad Airways^[50]
• Hainan Airlines
• Lufthansa^[50]

Fleet

The Azul Brazilian Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft, as of October 2023^[update]:^{[52][53][needs update]}

Azul Brazilian Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers				Notes
			B	E	E	Total
Airbus A320neo	48	7[citation needed]	—	—	174	174
Airbus A321neo	6	5[citation needed]	—	—	214	214[54]
Airbus A330-200	4	2[citation needed]	27	—	222	249	2 sold to Brazilian Air Force for Airbus A330 MRTT conversion.[55][56][57]
Airbus A330-900	5	7[58][59]	34	—	264	298
ATR 72-600	40	3[60]	—	—	70	70
Embraer E195	43[61]	—	—	—	118	118
Embraer E195-E2	17[61]	58[62][63]	—	—	136	136
Azul Cargo fleet
Airbus A321-200/P2F	1[64]	1	Cargo				Deliveries from October 2024
Boeing 737-400SF	2[65]	—	Cargo
Total	167	83

See also

• List of airlines of Brazil

Notes

1. "Passenger flight segments"
2. Includes aircraft held under finance and operating leases

References

1. "Empresas Aéreas - Consulta". ANAC (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2023.
2. "Mapa de rotas". Azul magazine (in Portuguese). Diretoria de Marketing, Comunicação e Marca. December 2018. p. 159. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
3. "TudoAzul e Itaucard lançam Primeira Compra que dá descontos de até 10% em passagens aéreas". TURISMO SA (in Brazilian Portuguese). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
4. Azul Brazilian Airlines website ^{[dead link‍]}
5. "Management".
6. "Azul Linhas Aéreas tem um novo Presidente: Abhi Shah". 5 October 2022.
7. "2021 Financial Results". Azul IR. 24 February 2021. p. 14. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
8. "CONTRATO DE TRANSPORTE AÉREO DE PASSAGEIROS Archived 13 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine." Azul Brazilian Airlines. Retrieved on 20 February 2010.
9. Jessie Scanlon (6 May 2008). "Braving Brazil's 'Airline Graveyard'". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
10. "AZUL4 - AÇÕES AZUL: cotação e indicadores". Análise de Ações (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 12 June 2023.
11. "Azul itching to launch low cost services in Brazil". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
12. Matos, Marcela; Silvana Pereira (5 November 2008). "Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras recebe o CHETA e já pode pleitear as rotas que pretende operar". Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 January 2009.
13. "A história da Azul" (in Portuguese). Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
14. "Relatório demanda e oferta do transporte aéreo". Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
15. "Acordo de codeshare entre Azul e Trip leva cliente a 100 destinos" (in Portuguese). Brasilturis. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
16. Teixeira Alves, Danilo (6 March 2013). "Cade aprova fus da Azul e Trip com condições" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
17. "Ata da reunião realizada em 6 de maio de 2014" (PDF) (in Portuguese). ANAC. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
18. "Azul Earning Miles". United Airlines. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
19. "United Airlines & Azul Frequent Flier Partnership (Earn & Redeem Miles On Azul)". John Ollila, LoyaltyLobby. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
20. "Azul confirma voos para Fort Lauderdale e Orlando" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
21. "Azul Orders A320neos". Airliner World: 12. February 2015.
22. "Azul Signs for E-Jets". Airliner World: 12. July 2015.
23. "HNA Group and Azul Brazilian Airlines Forge Longterm Strategic Partnership". HNA. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
24. "United Airlines to pay $100 million for Azul stake, for foothold in Brazil". Reuters. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
25. "Azul buys Avianca". 11 March 2019.
26. "Brazil's Azul hopes to take over Avianca Brasil's planes at lower lease rates". Reuters. 14 March 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
27. Yeo2019-03-14T18:37:00+00:00, Ghim-Lay. "ANALYSIS: Azul expects to close Avianca Brazil deal quickly". Flight Global.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
28. Yeo2019-03-11T12:40:25+00:00, Ghim-Lay. "Azul signs nonbinding deal to buy Avianca Brazil assets". Flight Global.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
29. "Azul faz acordo para compra da Two Flex por R$ 123 milhões". Panrotas (in Portuguese). 14 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
30. "CADE aprova a compra da ultra-regional TwoFlex pela Azul". Aeroflap (in Portuguese). 27 March 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
31. "Azul inicia venda de voos operados pela TwoFlex". Panrotas (in Portuguese). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
32. "SEC filings". Azul RI. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
33. "Azul SA (AZUL) Income Statement & Earnings - Moomoo". www.moomoo.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
34. "Form 20-F - 2022". Azul. p. 105. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
35. "Form 20-F - 2017" (PDF). Azul. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
36. "Form 20-F - 2018" (PDF). Azul. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
37. "Form 20-F - 2019" (PDF). Azul. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
38. "Form 20-F - 2020". Azul. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
39. "Form 20-F - 2021". Azul. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
40. "Form 20-F - 2022". Azul. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
41. "Form 20-F - 2023". Azul. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
42. "Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
43. "Ônibus grátis" (in Portuguese). Azul Brazilian Airlines. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
44. "Profile on Azul". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
45. "Azul e Emirates fecham acordo para compartilhamento de voos". CNN Brazil (in Portuguese). 18 August 2021.
46. "ITA Airways announces codeshare agreement with Azul" (PDF). ITA Airways (Press release). 7 June 2022.
47. "Azul - Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras. Você lá em cima". 30 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
48. "Anac autoriza Azul a ter 7 voos semanais para Portugal - 21/03/2016 - Mercado - Folha de S.Paulo". 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
49. "United anuncia compra de 5% da Azul por US$ 100 milhões - 26/06/2015 - Mercado - Folha de S.Paulo". 6 September 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
50. denis (10 July 2014). "Azul assina acordo de interline com Aerolíneas Argentinas". www.melhoresdestinos.com.br. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
51. "Azul assina acordo de interline com panamenha Copa Airlines | EXAME.com - Negócios, economia, tecnologia e carreira". exame.abril.com.br. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
52. "Airbus Orders & Deliveries". Airbus. November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
53. "Brazilian Aircraft Registry (RAB) Inquiry". Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). Retrieved 10 October 2023.
54. "Brazil's Azul adds first A321neo". ch-aviation.
55. "Brazilian Air Force to buy Azul A330s for $80.6mn". Ch-Aviation. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
56. "Segundo Airbus KC-30 da FAB chega ao Brasil". www.aeroflap.com.br. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
57. "Aircraft configuration". International flights. Azul Brazilian Airlines. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
58. "Brazil's Azul orders four A330neo, confirms A350 phase-out". ch-aviation.com. 19 December 2023.
59. "Azul Linhas Aéreas adds three additional A330neo to fleet | Airbus". www.airbus.com. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
60. "Brazil's Azul orders three ATR72-600s". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
61. "Azul Linhas Aereas Fleet of E190 (Active) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
62. "Embraer Order Book" (PDF).
63. "Embraer E-Jets Orders and Deliveries" (PDF). Azul. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
64. "Brazil's Azul receives first A321 freighter". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
65. "Azul Linhas Aereas Fleet of B737 (Active) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

External links

Media related to Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras at Wikimedia Commons

• Azul History sketch at Aviação Brasil