During these first five months of the year the health crisis reached critical levels in Brazil, dragging the airlines with it, but the winter season generates optimism.
According to our partner media in Brazil, AEROIN, with the flexibility of circulation measures and the reinforcement of health protocols in Brazilian destinations, Azul expects to expand services on 50 existing routes and inaugurate another twelve, most of which will be carried out by its regional subsidiary Azul Conecta.
In July, the company will strengthen its connections with the northeast of Brazil, and the airports of Campinas, Belo Horizonte, Santos Dumont, Recife, Salvador and Porto Seguro.
Strengthening the operations of its main bases, Azul will make more frequencies available in Campinas to Caldas Novas, Fortaleza, Maceió, Natal, João Pessoa, Porto Seguro, Salvador, Bonito and Rio, as well as new routes to Cabo Frio, Sinop, São Luís , Ilhéus and Vitória da Conquista.
Belo Horizonte will have new operations to Ilhéus, Salvador, Porto Seguro, Rio, Recife, Natal, Maceió and Salvador, in addition to returning the frequencies to Florianópolis, Cabo Frio, Foz do Iguaçu and João Pessoa.
The capital of Pernambuco, Recife, is once again connected with Palmas, Cuiabá, Aracati and Uberlândia, in addition to other options, especially for flights to other capitals in the northeast.
In addition, they will launch an unprecedented route from São Paulo / Congonhas to Maceió, which will be operated daily with Airbus A320neos for 174 passengers.
“We are preparing a peak season that focuses even more on the leisure markets than in previous years. We know that people who have been traveling at this time seek to reconnect with family and friends who have already been vaccinated, taking advantage of well-deserved days off in tourist destinations in our country,” commented Vitor Silva, Azul’s route planning manager.
“Cities continue with reinforced health protocols, we continue to adopt strict measures on board our planes and some Brazilian regions have already made the movement of people more flexible. So, we understand that July can be propitious for a new horizon for our clients,” he added.
On the other hand, the Brazilian company reinforces the state of Amazonas with eleven new routes from Manaus. With these new operations, the Amazon capital will have 27 daily flights serving 23 destinations, being the new ones Sao Gabriel Cachoeira, Eirunepé, Barcelos, Apuí, Humaitá, Novo Aripuana, Borba, Itacoatiara, Coari, Labrea and Maues.
These connections are in addition to the new domestic service between Recife and Patos.
“Our agreement with the government of Amazonas and the federal administration will allow, for the first time in its recent history, to have a large number of cities served by a national and international airline, providing connectivity to our customers. We are going to use all the aircraft models in our fleet, basing the crew, aircraft and maintenance in Manaus, thus guaranteeing continuity and regularity in operations,” commented John Rodgerson, President of Azul.
The executive was enthusiastic about the reactivation of the airline after the crisis, given that the company aims to reach 200 destinations in the coming years. With this announcement, the network reaches more than 120 Brazilian cities.
The company´s mixed fleet that includes the Cessna Grand Caravan with a 9-seat configuration from Azul Conecta, ATR 72-600 for 70 passengers, Embraer E190 with 106 seats, Embraer 195 with 118 seats and Embraer E195-E2 for 136 passengers, allows it to have no limitations. The Airbus A320neos and A321neos are available on the most popular routes.
Such is the airline’s ambition that there is an intention to acquire another company in the market to continue expanding. If the purchase is made, it can win slots in some cities with tight grids of schedules that make it impossible to continue growing. This is the case of its secondary bases such as Recife, Porto Alegre, São Paulo / Guarulhos, São Paulo / Congonhas and Rio de Janeiro / Santos Dumont.
See also: Azul is analyzing buying LATAM Brazil
To counteract this growth, GOL Airlines went ahead by acquiring the regional airline MAP Linhas Aéreas, which would help expand its available slots at Congonhas Airport and its network with turboprop aircraft.
