Azul orders 35 A320neo

Courtesy Airbus

Azul Brazilian Airlines has signed a purchase agreement for 35 A320neo Family aircraft. The airline, which is also leasing another 28 A320neo aircraft, has chosen the A320neo Family to carry out domestic long haul flights and high density routes, including Campinas – Salvador and Campinas – Recife. For Azul, an important driver for selecting the A320neo was the aircraft’s low operating costs and excellent fuel efficiency. Azul has selected CFM engines for their A320neo fleet.

“Azul is an airline that truly serves all of Brazil. With more than 100 destinations , Azul will soon offer even more seats on our longer haul flights, allowing us to reduce operating costs,” said David Neeleman, CEO and Founder of Azul. “In addition to its market leading economics, which will allow Azul to stimulate new demand, the A320neo is also a perfect complement to our E-Jet fleet, giving us additional seats and capacity that can be dedicated to strategic projects like TudoAzul, Azul Viagens and Azul Cargo.”

In April, Azul announced that it would start operating long haul flights by early December. The airline expects to fly new international routes with a fleet of 12 leased wide body Airbus aircraft, including seven Airbus A330-200 and later five Airbus A350-900 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines.

Airbus has obtained regulatory approval for training of A350 XWB airline pilots in accordance with the original goal of an A330/A350 “Common Type Rating” (CTR). This will enable Azul pilots to benefit from reduced training time in the transition from one Airbus jetliner model to another, resulting in significant benefits for airline profitability, pilot productivity and scheduling flexibility.‎

Source Airbus / Edited By Airline Adviser 12/01/14