Azul celebrates its 15th anniversary with the purchase of 4 more Airbus A330neo aircraft

Today, exactly 15 years ago, Azul Linhas Aéreas made its debut in Brazil. There were two flights that marked their national aviation debut and departed from Campinas, in São Paulo, within a three-hour period – one bound for Salvador, the other for Porto Alegre.

No one who followed the take-off at that time could have ever imagined what would become of the company or the paths it would follow from that day on. According to John Rodgerson, Azul’s current CEO, not even the most optimistic CEO was able to predict all of the growth, challenges, or success that would mark the company’s trajectory thus far.

In fact, Azul took off and never stopped, and has many reasons to celebrate 15 years. Now, with nearly a thousand daily flights to 160 destinations – 100 of which Azul operates exclusively in Brazil, the airline is the largest in the country, both in terms of the number of flights and the cities it serves.

“With Azul, Brazil is finally a connected country. Before, only the Saints
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia had good flight options. Today, our company has flights to the United States, for example, which depart not only from Viracopos, in Campinas (SP), but also from Belo Horizonte (MG), Recife (PE), Belem (PA) and Manaus (AM). This changes everything. When we fly to a city, we increase demand, economic activity, number of jobs, and even local self-esteem.executive sums up.

Today, for example, a customer can take off from Tefé, in Amazonas, and arrive in Campinas, with just one connection.

John explains that when you look today at where Azul has become fifteen years in history, it becomes easier to predict the company’s future.

John believes that investment in new, more modern and diverse aircraft should increase and make the company’s fleet more efficient. Thus, from 2026 onwards, 7 new Airbus A330neo aircraft will land in the company’s hangars (3 of which have already been pre-ordered), capable of operating long-haul flights with lower fuel consumption and lower operating costs.

“Having a fleet of different types of aircraft is essential so that we can reach a greater number of cities, including remote ones, and connect them to our national and international destinations. This will always be an important investment to meet our airline network profile. We expect a significant expansion of flights With this acquisition, without losing our regional operating differential, the idea is to connect more of our Brazilian cities to cities outside the country that we increasingly want to include among our international destinations.“, explains Azul CEO.

Written by Azul Linhas Aéreas press office