Today, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes shared that its aircraft were almost as full last month as they were a year ago. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak rocking the aviation industry, the Brazilian outfit's planes were 80 percent occupied on average during April, compared with 81 percent in the same month last year.

Gol 737
Gol is seeing the majority of the seats on its aircraft filled up, despite the pandemic. Photo: Boeing

How do the numbers compare?

Reuters reports that these results sharply contrast with Aeromexico, which is the region's only other carrier to have reported traffic figures for last month. The Mexican flag carrier's planes were 48 percent occupied in April, whereas they were 82 percent full a year ago.

Additionally, United States-based carriers have been impacted so much that they have been seeing flights with just one passenger. Regardless, it won't be physically possible for some operators to reach the same numbers as Gol due to new hygiene measures in place.

Delta Air Lines has blocked all of its middle seats. Therefore, aircraft with three seats on each side of the aisle won't be more than 67 percent full. Even though Gol's 129 Boeing 737s are configured in this way, the firm does not have plans to introduce the same methods. However, it will make the wearing of masks compulsory from May 10th.

Gol aircraft interior
The interior of a Gol Boeing 737 plane. Photo: Boeing

Still facing challenges

Even though each jet is still seeing positive numbers on board, the total passenger activity for Gol is not nearly so healthy. Just like the majority of other commercial airlines across the globe, it has been forced to suspend several of its services.

Additionally, much of its fleet remains on the ground due to ongoing travel restrictions. It flew approximately 39 operations a day in April, which is 94 percent fewer than a year ago.

Many members of the airline's staff remain active. Therefore, there could be a spike of coronavirus cases within the company. Nonetheless, Gol CEO Paulo Kakinoff states that this has not happened so far. Although many crew members exposed every single day, there have been just eight cases of the virus across the company in total.

The firm reported a net loss of $419.28 million (2.3 billion reals) in the first quarter. However, it states that it has enough cash to last the rest of 2020.

Gol Livery
Government figures have been taking up several of the seats on its flights over the last few weeks. Photo: Boeing

The demand is there

Gol's reporting highlights that there is still a demand for air travel among the population. Additionally, São Paulo authorities are have shared that they are struggling to enforce quarantine rules. So, once restrictions are lifted, it won't be a surprise to see several passengers flock to buy tickets, naturally increasing the demand for increased frequencies.

Simple Flying reached out to Gol about its passenger activity across its operations. A spokesperson shared that the carrier does not have any additional comments about the subject.

What are your thoughts on Gol's passenger numbers for April? Do you see the same results repeating this month? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.