Brazil’s Azul sees July passenger traffic up 253% over 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Azul on Thursday, August 5, notified the market that total passenger traffic, as determined by the RPK indicator, increased by 253% compared to July 2020. Domestic traffic posted a 268.6% jump in July, while international traffic grew 110.8%.

According to the company, domestic traffic reached 101% of 2019 levels, while capacity grew 104%.

Azul’s CEO John Rodgerson says the traffic trends observed last month “clearly” indicate that demand is quickly rebounding in Brazil, which leaves Azul optimistic for the coming months, noting progress on the Covid-19 vaccination campaign.

Total capacity (ASK) jumped 241% compared to the same month in 2020, with domestic capacity growing by 252.7% and international by 132.5%. Compared to the pre-pandemic period there was a 3.7% increase (domestic) and a 78% decrease (international). Total capacity declined 16.8% compared to June 2019, while the total occupancy rate increased 2.8 percentage points reaching 82.3% last month.

Compared to July 2019, occupancy dropped 4.3 percentage points to 86.6%. The domestic occupancy rate fell 2.3 percentage points compared to July last year, to 85.3%. The international rate fell 17 percentage points to 90.4%.