Brazil’s number 3 airline Azul has announced its plan to increase the number of Sao Paulo- Rio flights. The route between Brazil’s two largest cities Rio de Janeiro- Sao Paulo, is the most transited one in the country.
The airline said that it would operate 17 flights per day on the route.
The decision has caused a huge blow to Latam airlines group and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, Brazil’s number one and number two airlines respectively. Latam and Gol already operate more than 100 flights daily in the Rio de Janeiro- Sao Paulo route.
The need for new Sao Paulo- Rio flights arose after Avianca Brazil, the number four airlines in Brazil stopped operating due to bankruptcy.
Azul received the rights to operate more flights in the Sao Paulo-Rio route after dispute with its rivals Latam and Gol.
ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency), the civil aviation regulator reported that it would take back Avianca Brazil’s landing and departure rights in Sao Paulo airport with a plan of redistributing them later.
The newly assigned flights will begin their services on August 29.
Brazil’s Azul earlier saw a growth in profit beyond expectations, as it focused more on domestic flights and trimmed down its international expansions. The airline reported a profit of R345 million against the expected profit of R84.6 million. The airline also saw an increase of 21 percent in the passenger traffic.
“We have reduced our international capacity growth at the same time as we are strengthening our presence in domestic markets, where there is more potential to increase profitability,” the company said in a statement.