Azul expects year-end leisure passenger revenue to exceed 2019

Brazil’s Azul expects domestic leisure passenger revenue to exceed last year’s figures in the coming weeks as the airline prepares for a strong summer travel season in the Southern Hemisphere. The Sao Paulo-based carrier says on 16 November that forward bookings for the period between end-of-year holidays and the first quarter of 2021 have returned to a level comparable to 2019, after the coronavirus brought aviation to a near standstill earlier this year. By the end of the year, Azul plans to fly to 113 of its 116 pre-Covid destinations – 97% of its network. Executives say they will see more revenue from this segment in the coming weeks than in the same period a year ago. “Domestic demand recovery in Brazil continues to be one of the fastest in the world,” says Azul CE John Rodgerson. “Azul’s September domestic capacity was 49% of the same period last year, while December domestic capacity is expected to reach more than 80%.” That said, the Sao-Paulo-headquartered airline lost R$1.2b ($220m) during Q3, which ended on 30 September. Total revenue for the period was R$805m, down 73% from the same quarter a year ago, but double the revenue from Q2. Azul chairman David Neeleman says customer confidence in air travel is returning quickly in Brazil, and that Azul is uniquely poised to take advantage of that opportunity.<br/>