Azul Brazilian Airlines

Azul Brazilian Airlines
IATA
AD		 ICAO
AZU		 Callsign
AZUL
BLUEBIRD
Founded 2008
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program TudoAzul
Fleet size 144
Destinations 106
Headquarters Barueri, Brazil
Key people David Neeleman, (CEO)
Antonoaldo Neves, (President)
Revenue Increase US$ 2.2 billion (2012)
Net income Decrease – US$ 187.3 million (2012)
Website www.voeazul.com.br

Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (Azul Brazilian Airlines; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian flag carrier and low cost carrier based in Barueri.[1] 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.[2] It was established on May 5, 2008 by Brazilian-born David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways with a fleet of 76 Embraer 195 jets.[3] The airline began service on December 15, 2008.[4][5]

According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) in March 2013 Azul had 17% of the domestic market share in terms of passengers per kilometre flown.[6]

History

JetBlue founder David Neeleman launched his third airline, Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S.A. The Brazilian domestic carrier inaugurated service on December 15, 2008 between three cities: Campinas, Salvador, and Porto Alegre.[5] Azul launched operations with three Embraer 195 and two Embraer 190 aircraft (with 118 and 106 seats, respectively). Another three airplanes were added in January 2009 to introduce nonstop service from Campinas (State of São Paulo) to both Vitória (State of Espírito Santo), and Curitiba (State of Paraná).[5]

On May 28, 2012, Azul announced the acquisition of TRIP Linhas Aéreas, the largest regional carrier in Brazil. Azul and Trip started comprehensive code-sharing operations on December 2, 2012,[7] with all flights carrying only the IATA code of Azul. On March 6, 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.[8] On May 6, 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.[9]

While the airline is not currently a full member in an airline alliance, it signed a codeshare agreement with United Airlines in January 2014, which made it possible for MileagePlus members to earn points when flying with Azul beginning April 1, 2014.[10][11]

In December 2014, Azul started its first scheduled international flights. They are to Fort Lauderdale on December 2 and Orlando on December 15, both in the United States.[12]

In early 2015 it was announced that Azul had signed a purchase agreement for 35 Airbus A320neo aircraft. It is also to lease a further 28 of the aircraft type.[13]

Destinations

An ATR 72-600 of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, at Maringá Regional Airport, Brazil
Azul's Embraer 195 with livery of Azul Viagens, the airline's travel operator
Azul flagship A330 PR-AIV in Ft. Lauderdale
A bus fleet provides free feeder services between selected cities and airports.

Presently Azul serves 106 destinations in Brazil and the United States[14] plus some other additional locations by means of dedicated executive bus services to the nearest airports.[15]

Fleet

As of April 2015, the fleet of Azul Brazilian Airlines included the following aircraft, with an average age of 2.4 years:[16]

Azul Brazilian Airlines Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A320neo - 63 TBA Deliveries start 2016
Airbus A330-200 5[17] 2
24
249
273
Airbus A350-900 - 5 TBA Deliveries from 2017
ATR 42-500 6 -
-
50
50
ATR 72-500/600 52 -
-
70
70
Embraer 190 22 -
-
106
106
Embraer 195 59 14
-
118
118
Embraer 195-E2 - 30 TBA Deliveries start 2019
Total 144 114

Airline Loyalty program

TudoAzul is Azul's Frequent Flyer Program. Member accumulate points based on the airfare paid rather than on miles flown.

References

  1. ↑ "CONTRATO DE TRANSPORTE AÉREO DE PASSAGEIROS." Azul Brazilian Airlines. Retrieved on February 19, 2010.
  2. ↑ Jessie Scanlon (May 6, 2008). "Braving Brazil's 'Airline Graveyard'". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  3. ↑ "Azul itching to launch low cost services in Brazil". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  4. ↑ Matos, Marcela; Silvana Pereira (November 5, 2008). "Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras recebe o CHETA e já pode pleitear as rotas que pretende operar". Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (in Portuguese).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "A história da Azul" (in Portuguese). Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras. Archived from the original on May 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  6. ↑ "Dados Comparativos Avançados" (in Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Acordo de codeshare entre Azul e Trip leva cliente a 100 destinos" (in Portuguese). Brasilturis. September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  8. ↑ Teixeira Alves, Danilo (March 6, 2013). "Cade aprova fus da Azul e Trip com condições" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Ata da reunião realizada em 6 de maio de 2014" (PDF) (in Portuguese). ANAC. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Azul Earning Miles". United Airlines. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  11. ↑ "United Airlines & Azul Frequent Flier Partnership (Earn & Redeem Miles On Azul)". John Ollila, LoyaltyLobby. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Azul confirma voos para Fort Lauderdale e Orlando" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Azul Orders A320neos". Airliner World: 12. February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Mapa de rotas" (in Portuguese). Azul Brazilian Airlines. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Ônibus grátis" (in Portuguese). Azul Brazilian Airlines. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Fleet Azul CH-Aviation, 11 April 2014
  17. ↑ http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-azul-unveils-new-a330-cabin-interior-407420/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras.