AIRBUS: Brazilian Airline to buy 35 A320 neo jets

Azul Brazilian Airlines has signed an agreement to purchase 35 A320 neo Airbus aircraft.

The Brazilian flag carrier and low cost airline has chosen the A320 neo (new engine option) to carry out domestic long haul flights and high density routes, due to the aircraft’s low operating costs and excellent fuel efficiency.  Azul has selected CFM engines for their A320neo fleet, the wings for the A320 neo are made in Broughton.

David Neeleman, CEO and Founder of Azul said:

“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, 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.”

John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers said:

“Airbus welcomes Azul to the A320 Family and is proud that they will rely on the A320neo’s unbeatable productivity and fuel efficiency to expand their services, we are pleased that Azul recognizes Airbus’ commitment to Brazil and the importance of operating the high performance A320neo in key airports such as Santos Dumont in Rio. This order truly underscores the leading position of the A320neo in the single aisle market.”

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.