Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) has taken delivery of its first A330neo following the arrival of A330-900 PR-ANZ (msn 1876) in Belo Horizonte Tancredo Neves from Toulouse Blagnac on May 10. The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered widebody features 298 seats; 34 seats in business class, 108 in Economy Extra, and 156 in Economy.
Azul is expecting a total of five such aircraft from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) to be used in replacing its current fleet of seven A330-200s which collectively average 17 years of age. Given delays in deliveries from Airbus, Azul said in a 1Q19 earnings call that the second jet, that was originally due in June/July, would now only likely arrive during the latter part of the second half of 2019.
The Brazilian hybrid carrier uses its A330s to run flights from São Paulo Viracopos, Belo Horizonte Tancredo Neves, and Recife to Florida and Portugal. For its part, the A330neo is due to make its commercial debut on June 10 on the Campinas-Lisbon route.
Azul's other fleet includes thirty A320neo, thirty-three ATR72-600s, seven E190s, and fifty-one E195s. It has also expressed an interest in taking over around ten A320neo that were recently in service with Avianca Brasil (São Paulo Congonhas) but has yet to finalise a deal.
