Azul Linhas Aereas has the second-largest fleet in Latin America, just behind LATAM Airlines Group. The Brazilian carrier operates many types of aircraft, despite being a sort of low-cost airline. It has Airbus widebodies, narrowbodies, Embraer, ATRs, and even Cessnas. Let’s find out more about Azul’s diverse fleet.

Azul’s fleet

As of September 30, 2021, Azul had a total passenger operating fleet of 160 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 179 aircraft.

Of these remaining 19 airplanes, nine are subleased to TAP Portugal, three to Breeze, and one to the local government of Minas Gerais. Additionally, two Cessna aircraft are in process of entering service while four are exiting Azul, explained the company.

On average, Azul’s fleet is 6.8 years old, excluding the Cessna fleet that operates for the Azul Conecta branch.

Looking at each plane

Azul has 11 widebodies. The carrier operates A330-200 and A330-900 aircraft connecting long-haul routes to Fort Lauderdale and Lisbon and domestic trips like Campinas-Rio de Janeiro and Campinas-Manaus to Cirium’s database.

The Brazilian carrier also has 47 Airbus narrowbody aircraft. It has A320neo and A321neo. In November, it is operating 7,617 flights with these airplanes, offering 1.3 million seats across Brazil. Compared to 2019 levels, Azul is offering 39% more flights with its A320 and A321s.

Azul has nine Embraer E2 jets, the newest on the fleet. The Brazilian carrier is currently the only Embraer active customer in Latin America receiving new aircraft. Additionally, Azul also has 47 Embraer E1 jets.

The E-jet family is the core of Azul’s connectivity. It has 9,289 scheduled flights this month, although it still is 19.6% below its pre-pandemic numbers.

Finally, Azul also possesses 33 ATR aircraft and 13 Cessna units. The latter is used in the Azul Conecta branch, carrying cargo and a small number of passengers in small regional airports throughout Brazil.

Regarding the ATR, Azul is operating 4,803 flights this month, 18.1% below November 2019.

Azul Getty
Photo: Getty Images

The incoming planes

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Azul is already focusing on improving its market share in the Brazilian market. Two years ago, Azul was the third carrier in Brazil, by the number of passengers carried. Nowadays, due to the impact of the crisis, it has surpassed both GOL and LATAM.

Up to September 2021, Azul had carried 15.9 million domestic and international passengers. It had a 36.38% market share, followed by LATAM with 12.9 million passengers (29.47%) and GOL, 12.45 million passengers (28.39%).

Compared to 2019 levels, Azul has recovered 80% of its pre-pandemic traffic, while LATAM remains at 48% and GOL at 46%, according to Brazil’s Civil Aviation Authorities.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Azul is looking to increase its fleet. The carrier has orders with two OEMs, Airbus and Embraer.

With Airbus, Azul expects to receive 13 A320neo and five A321neo aircraft, according to the OEM’s Orders & Deliveries database. Meanwhile, with Embraer, it has a firm order backlog for 51 E195-E2 aircraft, according to the Brazilian manufacturer.

There’s plenty of room to grow for Azul in the near future.

Have you traveled with Azul? Onboard which aircraft have you been in? Let us know in the comments below.