Azul Airlines has activated its second Airbus A350-900, and is using it to start flying international routes between Viracopos International Airport (VCP) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Azul’s newest Airbus A350 goes into action
Azul Airlines has now started using its second Airbus A350 for commercial flights. The aircraft, named “Onde os Sonhos Voam” (roughly translated to “Where Dreams Fly”), is used on one of Azul’s routes to the United States.
Before its commercial launch, Azul had deployed its second A350 on eight round flights between Campinas and Porto Alegre (POA).
Azul Airlines has Airbus A350s that can carry up to 334 passengers in a two-class configuration. There are 33 seats in business class and 301 in economy class.
Azul Airlines got two new Airbus A350 planes in 2022 after a long delay. They’ve only been used on flights to Orlando so far, despite having other long-haul destinations such as Fort Lauderdale, Lisbon, and Porto. The first A350 commercial flight happened in December, just in time to celebrate Azul’s 14th anniversary.
Azul’s fleet is not so new
After the COVID-19 crisis made it difficult for Airbus to sell the A350 planes, it sent some of them to Hainan Airlines and its subsidiaries. At the time, Hainan Airlines was an investor in Azul, which had changed because of the crisis.
The new Airbus A350 fleet that Azul has is not brand new. The planes, PR-AOY and PR-AOW, are both five years old. They both belong to the leasing company AerCap and have an estimated lease contract with Azul until 2029. The planes flew between 2017 and 2020 with Hong Kong Airlines.
Azul will receive three more Airbus A350 planes in the future. One of these planes is currently registered to Hong Kong Airlines and is flown by a French-based crew. Hainan Airlines has three planes: one with a French registration, F-WTAL, and two with Chinese registrations, B-1069 and B-2023. The two planes with French registrations are stored at Lourdes Airport (LDE), while the plane with a Chinese registration is stored at Beijing Capital Airport (PEK). It is expected that all three planes will arrive in Azul in 2023.
Azul’s fleet in 2023
The Brazilian airline, Brazilian carrier, and Brazilian subsidiary all operate fleets of aircraft. This week, the 3,000th Cessna Caravan was delivered to the subsidiary.
