Azul CEO mulls new fleet cuts in ‘sick’ Brazil airline industry

Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras is studying another reduction to its fleet as air-travel demand shrinks to the lowest in four years. The carrier may eliminate eight planes in addition to the 20 it’s cut since November, CEO Antonoaldo Neves said. In addition, China’s HNA Group, Azul’s biggest shareholder, has agreed to take delivery of two Airbus Group A350 jetliners the Brazilian company had expected to receive in 2018. Airlines including Latam Airlines Group SA and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA have been cutting capacity in Brazil amid a two-year recession in Latin America’s largest economy. Air travel demand has tumbled to the lowest since 2012 after dropping for the ninth straight month in April, according to the Brazilian Airline Association trade group. “The sector is sick,” Neves said at Azul headquarters in Barueri, Brazil.<br/>