Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) has signed a commercial non-corporate joint venture (JV) agreement with TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon), according to an investor relations statement issued by the Brazilian carrier. Approved by Azul's shareholders in December, the agreement will now be submitted to regulatory authorities for their approval.
"We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with TAP. Through this JV, we will offer expanded flight schedules, competitive fares and increased access to European and Brazilian destinations to our customers,” said Abhi Shah, Azul’s Chief Revenue Officer.
Both airlines hope that the commercial JV between Azul and TAP will bring more connectivity to the Brazilian domestic network and improved access to the European market.
Azul is the largest airline in Brazil by the number of flight departures and cities served, offering 916 daily flights to 116 destinations on a network of 249 non-stop routes. According to the ch-aviation capacities module, it currently offers 15 weekly services and a capacity of over 4,000 weekly seats to Europe, from São Paulo Viracopos to Porto (3x weekly) and Lisbon (12x weekly). Azul has a long-haul fleet consisting of eight A330-200 and two A330-900neo widebodies.
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. The Portuguese flag carrier's long-haul network is currently serviced by its fleet of seven A321-200neo(LR), seven A330-200 and seventeen A330-900neo aircraft.
If the Azul-TAP agreement gains approval, it will sit alongside other transatlantic JVs 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).
