Brazil’s Azul Linhas Aereas has posted two consecutive quarters of positive earnings and recovered to “109 percent” of its domestic capacity compared with the first quarter of 2019, according to the airline.
With the closure of its purchase of TWOFlex in May of last year, Azul added routes and 24 Caravans to its existing fleet of Embraer and ATR aircraft, further increasing its reach and operational flexibility, which helped reduce year-to-year operational expenses by 22.4 percent for the period.
As the airline has gradually recovered and expanded its network, load factors dropped from 81 percent during last year’s fourth quarter to 76.5 percent during the first quarter of 2021.
Azul’s growth had been stymied by its established rivals, who in 2019 blocked its acquisition of parts of the failed Avianca Brasil and so gaining entrance to the coveted Congonhas Airport, from which it had been frozen out.