TAP Portugal (Lisbon) and Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) are pursuing a joint venture, in a bid to foster greater collaboration between the two airlines on pricing and procurement, reports FlightGlobal. TAP's Chief Commercial Officer, Trey Urbahn, told the news site that he wants "full co-operation" with his Brazilian counterpart.
The joint venture will bring the two companies – which currently enjoy a codeshare agreement – even closer. TAP Portugal is owned 45% by Atlantic Gateway, whose owners include Azul CEO David Gary Neeleman. Neeleman also owns 67% of Azul.
Under the proposed joint venture, TAP and Azul will work together on the procurement of aircraft and fuel, as well as on ticket pricing and aircraft capacity.
TAP Portugal currently offers 73 flights per week to Brazil from Lisbon and Porto. For its part, Azul flies 7x weekly from São Paulo Viracopos to Lisbon. Between them they have a total weekly seat capacity of 21,850.
