AZUL Airlines
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (Azul Brazilian Airlines; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian carrier based in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo. 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), with a fleet of 76 Embraer 195 jets. The airline began service on December 15, 2008.
According to Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), between January and December 2017 Azul had 17.8% of the domestic and 11.8% of the international market shares in terms of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), making it the third largest domestic and second largest international airline in Brazil.
With a 32% departure share in the Brasilian aviation market, Azul have established the third largest airline in the country.
A differentiated business strategy, customer experience, and innovative branding are the key drivers of the continuous growth.
Among other awards, Azul was named the third best airline in the world by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice in 2017, the best low cost carrier in South America for the sixth consecutive year by Skytrax in 2016, and the world’s most on-time low-cost airline in 2015 by the Official Airline Guide (OAG).
Azul Airlines is now one of the most profitable in the world. Azul’s income excluding interest, taxes and amortization, or EBITDA, was R$ 935.8 million, 24.4% higher, representing a margin of almost 31%. Net income, excluding the non-cash impact of exchange variation, totaled R$ 444.4 million, up 56.7% from July to September 2018.
In addition, 27.1% more passengers traveled with Azul in the period, compared with a 26.1% growth in supply, resulting in a load factor of 84.3%, 0.6 percentage points higher than in 3Q18. .
Azul’s fleet closed September with 133 aircraft. One third of this is considered new generation equipment, which represents 45% of the airline’s capacity in the quarter.
In October 2019, Azul presented a 40.1% growth in its demand in the month. It also accounted for 25.3% of domestic demand, up 35% from the same month last year.
The company achieved 17% share and 23.3% growth compared to the same period of 2018.
Azul earned R $ 3 billion in the third quarter of this year, a record net revenue for the company and growth of 25.5% compared to the third quarter of 2018. The company’s operating income increased 31.4% to R$ 559.3 million, with a margin of 18.5%.
