Brazilian airline Azul expects to expand its routes by 30% next year, with plans to add new slots at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, one of the busiest in the country, Chief Executive Officer John Rodgerson said.
In an interview on at the company’s headquarters on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Rodgerson said Azul currently has only 26 slots in Congonhas, whereas its rivals Gol and LATAM Airlines each have around 250, Reuters reported.
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“The new rules are fairer,” he said, referencing national aviation regulator ANAC’s decision in July to distribute 86 slots at Congonhas to increase competition, with 45 new slots and 41 previously used by Avianca Brasil.
Bradesco BBI analysts estimated last month that nearly all the new slots – 84 of 86 – would go to Azul, allowing the company’s presence in the airport to grow fourfold.
Rodgerson said the company is now mainly focused on its domestic operations and in 2023 expects to increase the number of Brazilian cities it serves to 200 from the current 154, targeting destinations in the North, Northeast and Central-West regions.
Azul, which has a 164-aircraft fleet and expects to receive a new Embraer plane every two months in the next few years, expects to hit the milestone of 1,000 flights per day this month, a 10% increase from late 2019, its CEO said.
Photo: Patrick Mutzenberg/Wikimedia
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