Brazil's Azul could join Avianca-United Airlines alliance

Two Brazilian airlines, Azul and Avianca Brasil, are targets for expansion in the new alliance between United Continental, Avianca Holdings and Copa Airlines on US-Latin America routes, an Avianca executive said. There was little reference to Brazil, by far Latin America's largest market, when the joint venture was announced Friday, but Avianca Holdings' CFO, Gerardo Grajales, said Monday that the partners already had in mind Azul and Avianca Brasil, which operates independently of Colombia-based Avianca Holdings. "The two airlines complement each other in the Brazilian market," Grajales said. "From the beginning we thought that Brazil should be covered by our agreement. However, no partnership would be authorized if it did not have an Open Skies agreement." <br/>