RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The pre-pandemic scenario remains a distant horizon for airlines. Azul, which released its first quarter balance earlier yesterday, expects a “conservative” rebound in demand by the end of 2020, to around 40 percent of pre-crisis levels.
Relative normality is expected to occur within 18 to 24 months. “We have several scenarios and a type of reaction for each of them, but this is what we think is possible at this time,” said Alexandre Malfitani, vice president of Finance and Investor Relations. “It has always been difficult to anticipate the future in Brazil. But today, December seems like five years from now”.
Meanwhile, the company believes it will suffer from a cash burn of between R$3 and R$4 million per day during the months of May and June, after ending March with R$3.1 billion in cash, for a total gross debt of R$20 billion. Total liabilities increased 33 percent in comparison to December due to the impact of the bullish dollar on the commitments stock.
“Our chairman [founder David Neeleman] is more optimistic than ever. But we prefer to take a conservative stance. We will do whatever it takes to drive Azul through this crisis,” John Rodgerson, the company’s CEO said during a video conference call with analysts.
This was the only mention of the airline’s founder, who last month allowed an execution of guarantees, worth US$30 million, to result in the sale of virtually his entire position in the company’s preferred shares. “We built this business and we’re going to overcome this situation.”