Azul Brazilian Airlines has been slowly working away, operating its fleet of Embraer E-Jet and ATR Turboprops, growing is domestic Brazilian operation for some time now.
Well today, it made a splash with an announcement the airline is to obtain eleven long-haul Airbus aircraft, with the aim of operating services United States of America.
For its long haul fleet Azul is to lease the following:
- Six Airbus A330-200s, which will commence operations in 2015.
- Five Airbus A350-900s, , which will commence operations in 2017.
The future Azul Airbus Aircraft – A350-900 in the foreground, A330-200 in the background. Image Azul.
This will change the airline from a regional player to an international operation
Azul will lease the aircraft from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) for eight of the aircraft, and is negotiating over the lease or purchase of the remaining A330s. The plans will be powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 and Trent XWB engines.
The planes are planned to be three class planes.
So who are Azul going up against? Well, there’s the LATAM combined airline (TAM) and Avianca Brazil who both run long haul international services, domestic and regional services in the area. In addition, there are the big US carriers who are flying in and out of the area too.
This could be really interesting if the product can compete with TAM, Avancia and other international airlines who serve the region.
Price will also be a differentiator as it always is. Will the new aircraft give Azul a big push forward?
Time will tell. It is exciting though!
Rumors are that the initial routes will be jetblue strong hold hubs of JFK and FLL.