Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) has added further detail to its planned Joint Venture (JV) with TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon), which was mooted by the airline's Founder and Chairman David Neeleman during an investor update on November 7. The transaction has subsequently been approved by Azul's Governance Committee and Board of Directors.
In its market presentation, the airline says that the non-corporate JV aims to "provide benefits for customers, communities, and marketplace between Brazil and Europe."
The collaborative revenue-sharing agreement intends to deliver a "seamless service" to passengers "through better coordination of flight schedules." It is hoped that the JV will drive traffic growth between both regions. The additional revenues will be distributed according to "the pre-JV capacity deployed by each carrier."
TAP is currently the leading operator of scheduled services between Europe and South America, with over 19,000 weekly seats and 69 weekly flights from Lisbon and Porto, according to the ch-aviation capacities module.
By contrast, Azul currently offers just 14 weekly services and a capacity of nearly 3,700 weekly seats, from São Paulo Viracopos to Porto (3x weekly) and Lisbon (11x weekly).
The Brazilian carrier expects the JV to deliver a growth in revenues for both airlines, and it will also allow the two companies to align frequent flyer programmes. It also expects improved connectivity to the Brazilian domestic network and better access to the Europe market. It hopes the agreement will increase the competitiveness of both airlines in the transatlantic market, giving Azul and TAP an enhanced market presence.
The proposed JV agreement is contingent on the two carriers gaining the relevant approvals from the governing authorities. If successful, it will sit alongside other transatlantic JV's between the likes of Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow), Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson), and Air France-KLM as well as United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare), Lufthansa Group, and Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau).
