SAO PAULO, April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Azul S.A., "Azul", (B3: AZUL4, NYSE: AZUL), the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served and flight departures, announces today its preliminary traffic results for March 2019.
Consolidated passenger traffic (RPKs) increased 15.6% compared to March 2018 on a capacity increase (ASKs) of 15.3% resulting in a load factor of 80.8%, an increase of 0.2 p.p. compared to the same period in 2018.
Domestic passenger traffic increased 20.1% on a 17.5% increase in capacity resulting in a load factor of 81.0%, 1.8 percentage points higher than March 2018. International load factor was 80.2%.
"As expected, the demand environment in Brazil continues to be robust. We will keep focusing our future capacity growth on strengthening our domestic network, driven by replacing smaller aircraft with larger aircraft on routes we already serve. We ended the quarter with 25 A320neos and as a result of the acceleration of our fleet transformation plan that we announced earlier this year, 40% of our capacity is expected to come from next generation aircraft in 2019", says John Rodgerson, Azul's CEO.
Year to date we continue to be the most on-time airline in Brazil with 86.5% of flights departing within 15 minutes of departure time, according to FlightStats.
Mar-19 | Mar-18 | % ∆ | 1Q19 | 1Q18 | % ∆ | |
Total | ||||||
RPK (million) | 2,166 | 1,874 | 15.6% | 6,809 | 5,891 | 15.6% |
ASK (million) | 2,681 | 2,326 | 15.3% | 8,312 | 7,166 | 16.0% |
Load factor | 80.8% | 80.6% | +0.2 p.p. | 81.9% | 82.2% | -0.3 p.p. |
Domestic | ||||||
RPK (million) | 1,665 | 1,386 | 20.1% | 5,191 | 4,357 | 19.1% |
ASK (million) | 2,056 | 1,750 | 17.5% | 6,342 | 5,392 | 17.6% |
Load factor | 81.0% | 79.2% | +1.8 p.p. | 81.8% | 80.8% | +1.0 p.p. |
International | ||||||
RPK (million) | 501 | 487 | 2.7% | 1,618 | 1,534 | 5.5% |
ASK (million) | 624 | 576 | 8.5% | 1,970 | 1,773 | 11.1% |
Load factor | 80.2% | 84.7% | -4.5 p.p. | 82.1% | 86.5% | -4.4 p.p. |
About Azul
Azul S.A. (B3: AZUL4, NYSE: AZUL), the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served, offers 821 daily flights to 110 destinations. With an operating fleet of 125 aircraft and more than 11,000 crewmembers, the Company has a network of 220 non-stop routes as of December 31, 2018. In 2019, Azul was awarded best airline in Latin America by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice and in 2018, the Company was elected best airline by Kayak's Flight Hacker Guide, and also best regional carrier in South America for the eighth consecutive time by Skytrax. Azul also ranked as most on-time airline in Brazil in 2018 according to FlightStats. For more information visit www.voeazul.com.br/ir.
Contact
Andrea Bottcher
Investor Relations
Tel: +55 11 4831 2880
[email protected]
Media Relations
Tel: +55 11 4831 1245
[email protected]
This traffic release includes estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These estimates and forward-looking statements are based mainly on our current expectations and estimates of future events and trends that affect or June affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, liquidity, prospects and the trading price of our preferred shares, including in the form of ADSs. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to many significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are made in light of information currently available to us. In addition, in this release, the words "June," "will," "estimate," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should" and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. Azul is not under the obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after we distribute this press release because of new information, future events or other factors. Our independent public auditors have neither examined nor compiled the forward-looking statements and, accordingly, do not provide any assurance with respect to such statements. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the future events and circumstances discussed in this release might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decision based upon these estimates and forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Azul S.A.
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