The Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas Aereas now has one aircraft of every subfleet it operates painted with the Brazilian flag as its livery. During the weekend, Azul received three ATR 72-600s in a row, one of them included the Brazilian flag. It is also set to take delivery of an Airbus A321neo with the same design. What other airplanes have this livery? Let’s investigate further.
The complete set
Currently, Azul has a diverse fleet composed of Embraer E1 and E2, Airbus A320, A320neo, and A330 and ATR 72-600 aircraft. It also has a few Cessna planes inherited from TwoFlex.
The Brazilian carrier has four aircraft painted with the Brazilian flag as its livery. Each one of these planes belongs to each one of the airline’s subfleet. Therefore, Azul has one E190, one A330-200, one A321neo, and one ATR 72-600 with the special livery. The registrations of the planes are PR-AYV, PR-AIV, PR-YJE, and PR-AKO, respectively.
In an official statement, Azul said that flying the Brazilian flag all around the country and to some destinations worldwide is something to be proud of.
More info about Azul’s four-flagged airplanes
The Embraer E190 has been with Azul the longest. Azul received the aircraft in 2011, according to ch-aviation. Currently, the airline is renewing its fleet and expects to retire or repurpose the whole E1 fleet as freighters by 2026.
Meanwhile, the A330-200 is the oldest one of the bunch. Middle East Airlines received the aircraft in June 2003 and operated it until 2009 when it went to Gulf Air. It wasn’t until 2014 that Azul took delivery of the airplane.
Meanwhile, PR-YJE and PR-AKO, the A321neo, and ATR 72-600 have only been delivered by Airbus and ATR in the last few days. Interestingly enough, the ATR wasn’t supposed to go to Azul; instead, Wings Air, an Indonesian carrier under the Lion Air group, was supposed to take it (and two more).
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Azul’s fleet plans
Azul currently had a passenger contractual fleet of 179 aircraft at the end of the third quarter. The airline subleased at least 19 planes, including several to TAP Portugal and Breeze.
According to ch-aviation, Azul still has to receive 78 new planes, including 54 Embraer E2 units. The airline is in the midst of renewing its fleet, particularly by retiring the E1 aircraft, as it is looking to decrease costs and increase revenues. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Azul has become Brazil’s leading operator; the airline expects to hold on to that status, although it has been facing pressure from LATAM in the last few months.
John Rodgerson, Azul’s CEO, stated,
“We are continuing our fleet renewal while we are praising the importance of Brazil and Brazilians in our operations. We connect this country like no one else, and these special liveries promote national pride and our constant encouragement of tourism within Brazil. I’ve been saying a lot that Brazilians have to get to know their own country, and I hope that we’ll advance more and more in this direction. We have incredible people and natural beauty throughout our territory, and I hope that everyone who sees our aircraft, whether on the ground or in the air, feels proud to be Brazilian.”
Do you like the special liveries of these four Azul’s airplanes? Let us know in the comments below.
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