• 

  Azul

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  AD/AZU

  Airline Type:

  Low-Cost Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Belo Horizonte International Airport, Sao Paulo Viracopos International Airport, Recife/Guararapes International Airport

  Year Founded:

  2008

  CEO:

  John Rodgerson

  Country:

  Brazil

  Region:

  South America

The Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas Aéreas and Embraer are celebrating the six-month anniversary of introducing the new E195 Class F freighter. In this period, Azul’s Cargo’s E195F fleet has carried over 3.7 million packages throughout Brazil, fueling the growth of the logistics segment of this airline.

Introducing the Class F Freighter

In February, Azul and LHColus Tecnologia announced they had developed the first Embraer E190 Class-F Freighter in the world. The Brazilian airline was looking at ways to employ its aging passenger E190 fleet. Azul found a way to provide e-commerce services throughout the country by converting these units into freighters. At that time, Abhi Shah, the airline’s Chief Revenue Officer, commented,

“We are reformulating our E1s, and we have an opportunity to do what we did on the passenger side of the industry 13 years ago. What we are doing is removing all the seats, and we are putting fire bag containers on the aircraft, doubling the payload. We are using the E1 trip cost. Azul grew using the E1’s trip cost; that’s how we built our hubs in Confins and Recife. And now, using the E1 trip cost, we can fly to secondary cities and provide dedicated e-commerce delivery services.”

Up to the end of the second quarter, Azul had converted five E1s into freighters and is looking to add three more between 2022 and 2023, the airline announced earlier this month.

Six months of the Class F Freighter

Azul’s E195 Class F fleet has transported more than 7,000 tons in gross cargo weight in 5,000 flight hours in the last six months. Izabel Reis, director of Azul Cargo, said that the company is delighted with this impressive number of packages delivered in only half a year. She added that Azul’s network fuels the cargo business unit, making deliveries available in up to 48 hours to more than 2,000 Brazilian cities. Additionally, the Azul logistics unit has 310 stores serving more than 4,500 cities in Brazil. In the first half of 2022, Azul earned around US$135 million in cargo revenues.

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“In a country of continental dimensions like Brazil, guaranteeing delivery in up to two days to more than 2,000 cities is something that only we can achieve, thanks to Azul's extensive and comprehensive network that allows us to quickly reach the most distant points in the country with excellence and super competitive prices,” added Reis.

The freighter and Azul’s new planes

Converting a passenger E195 into a freighter expands the cargo capacity of the plane from seven to 15 tons, significantly leveraging its low trip costs. In the second quarter of 2022, the cargo division of Azul tripled its revenue compared to the same period in 2019.

At the same time, Azul is renewing its passenger fleet. The airline has the largest Embraer E2 order in the Latin American region and still expects to receive over 50 units in the next few years. These planes will substitute the aging E1 fleet, deliver extra capacity and help Azul reduce costs per trip.

What do you think about Azul Cargo’s Embraer E195 Class F fleet? Let us know in the comments below.