Azul Orders More A330neos Amid Long-Haul Expansion Plans

Azul Linhas Aéreas confirmed a new order for the Airbus A330neo following a purchase agreement signed in June. With this order, the Brazilian carrier hopes to expand its widebody fleet and, as a result, its long-haul route offering.

More Widebodies

Azul's new order consists of six Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, with deliveries commencing from 2026. This will bring Azul's total A330neo fleet to 12 planes, as it currently operates five A330-900neos. Azul also has four A330-200s. However, the average age of their A330-200s is around 21 years, so these aircraft will likely be removed from the fleet in the coming years.

Azul has already removed four other A330-200s from its fleet. Two were sold to the Brazilian Air Force to be converted to A330 MRTTs, while the other two were stored.

Alexandre Malfitani, CFO of Azul, had this to say regarding the carrier's new order:

"We are proud to announce this order, as it confirms Azul as the airline with the most fuel-efficient fleet in the region, with over 80% of our capacity coming from next-generation aircraft. With the five A330neos we currently operate and the seven we now have on order, we will standardize our international fleet, allowing us to further enhance Azul's renowned customer experience and on-time performance."

Azul also has two Airbus A350-900s in its fleet. However, these planes will be removed from the fleet soon as the airline shifts to the Airbus A330 family as its only widebody fleet. As Malfitani put it, Azul can standardize its international fleet. This will reduce maintenance and operational costs for the carrier.

Further Expansion?

Presently, Azul operates a handful of long-haul routes. By procuring more widebodies, Azul hopes to increase this number. Here are the current long-haul destinations served by Azul:

• Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Paris-Orly (ORY)
• Lisbon (LIS)

According to CEO John Rodgerson, all of Azul's international routes are profitable and doing well. With this new order, he wants to see more Brazilian cities connected to destinations outside the country.

The most probable new destination is New York. Azul announced a new daily service from Campinas (VCP) to JFK, launching June 15th, 2020. This never happened due to the global pandemic. However, given JFK is a major hub for partner JetBlue Airways, it could be a possibility.

If JFK does not work out for Azul, Newark (EWR) would be its next option if the airline is serious about New York service. Newark's hub airline, United, already has a partnership with Azul, meaning Newark could also be possible. Aside from New York, the West Coast of the United States is a very popular area for Brazilians to visit. These include airports like Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Las Vegas (LAS).

Los Angeles is the only West Coast airport with nonstop service to Brazil offered by none other than LATAM from São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU). LATAM served Las Vegas from São Paulo pre-pandemic but ended up suspending the route. American cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Las Vegas are among the most popular destinations for Brazilian visitors that still lack a nonstop flight to Brazil. Other cities such as Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Los Angeles are popular but already have nonstop service to a Brazilian city.

Azul could also end up resuming service to Porto (OPO) in Portugal, a route that has been suspended. However, the most likely new services coming with these new A330neos are those to the United States. This is further supported by over 2.1 million Brazilians visiting the States in 2019.

Azul's future looks promising. With a growing long-haul fleet and high aspirations, it will be exciting to see what the Brazilian carrier comes up with as it looks to expand.