Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (''Azul Brazilian Airlines''; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian carrier based in
Barueri, a suburb of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...
. 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. It was established on May 5, 2008 by Brazilian-born
David Neeleman (founder of American low-cost airline
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
), with a fleet of 76
Embraer 195
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding E ...
jets. The airline began service on December 15, 2008.
[
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 share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
s in terms of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), making it the third largest domestic and second largest international airline in Brazil.
History
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
A domestic market, also referred to as an internal market or domestic trading, is the supply and demand of goods, services, and securities within a single country. In domestic trading, a firm faces only one set of competitive, economic, and market ...
on December 15, 2008 between Campinas and 3 cities: Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Salvador
Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
, and Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...
. It launched operations with three Embraer 195
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding E ...
and two Embraer 190
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...
aircraft. Another three aircraft were added in January 2009 to introduce nonstop service from Campinas
Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...
to both Vitória and Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...
.[
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, 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. 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.
While the airline is not currently a full member in an ]airline alliance
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within c ...
, it signed a codeshare agreement with Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenge ...
airline United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. in January 2014, which made it possible for MileagePlus members to earn points when flying with Azul beginning April 1, 2014. Since 2015, Azul is also an equal partner in a Brazilian-Portuguese joint venture that is the majority owner of TAP Air Portugal
TAP Air Portugal is the currently state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and oper ...
, another Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenge ...
member.
In December 2014, Azul started its first scheduled international flights; to Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...
on December 2 and Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
on December 15, both in the United States.
In early 2015 it was announced that Azul had signed a purchase agreement for 35 Airbus A320neo
The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus.
The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...
aircraft. It was also to lease a further 28 of the aircraft type. 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 Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...
. The first delivery was scheduled for 2020.
On November 24, 2015 it was announced that the Chinese HNA Group
HNA Group Co., Ltd., is a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. Founded in 2000, it was involved in numerous industries including aviation, real estate, financial services, tourism, logistics, and more. It is a part owner ...
, owner of Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company ...
, would invest US$450 million in Azul, becoming its largest single shareholder. This follows the US$100 million investment of United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. closed in June 2015.
Azul signed a non-binding deal to buy Avianca Brasil
Avianca Brasil S.A. ( pt, Avianca Brasil), officially Oceanair Linhas Aéreas S/A, was a Brazilian airline based in Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), which cancelled its ...
'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.
On 14 January 2020 Azul Brazilian Airlines signed an agreement to purchase TwoFlex
Azul Conecta, formerly known as TwoFlex Aviação Inteligente, is a domestic and regional airline based in Jundiaí, Brazil, established in 2013.
History
Azul Conecta was formed as TwoFlex on April 1, 2013 as a result of the merger of Two Táxi ...
. On March 27, 2020 the Brazilian regulatory bodies gave the nihil obstat to the purchase and sale of flights started on April 14, 2020. TwoFlex operates as a feeder airline to Azul.
Destinations
Azul and Azul Conecta serve 157 destinations in Brazil, Portugal, the United States, and Uruguay plus some other additional locations by means of dedicated executive bus services to the nearest airports.
Codeshare agreements
Azul has interline agreement
Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreement ...
s and codeshare agreement
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with the following airlines:
Codeshare agreement
* Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by ...
* Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
* ITA Airways
Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, E ...
* JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
* TAP Air Portugal
TAP Air Portugal is the currently state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and oper ...
* Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the ...
* United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
Interline agreement
* Aerolíneas Argentinas
Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is Argentina's largest airline and the country flag carrier. The airline was created in 1949 from the merger of four companies and started operations in . A consortium led by Iberia ...
* Air Europa
Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport ...
* Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., (commonly referred to as Copa and branded simply as "Copa Airlines") is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa i ...
* Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
* Hahn Air
Hahn Air is a minor German airline headquartered in Dreieich, offering business jet scheduled and charter flights within Europe from its base at Düsseldorf Airport.
The company's core business, however, is a ticketing solution that gives trav ...
* Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company ...
* Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding ...
Fleet
Current
The Azul Brazilian Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft, :
The airline also operates 2 Pilatus PC-12/45 for logistics and maintenance support.
Loyalty program
TudoAzul is the frequent flyer program for Azul. Members accumulate points based on the airfare paid rather than on miles flown.
See also
* List of airlines of Brazil
References
External links
Azul History sketch at Aviação Brasil
{{IATA members, latinam
Airlines of Brazil
Airlines established in 2008
Brazilian brands
Low-cost carriers
Private equity portfolio companies
HNA Group
2008 establishments in Brazil