Brazilian carrier Azul to return 11 aircraft that have been grounded for months
Among the first measures to reorganize its finances within Chapter 11 in the United States, Azul Linhas Aéreas announced the return of 11 aircraft.
However, these are jets that were taken out of service, some a long time ago, due to a lack of spare parts.
According to data contained in the documents of the judicial recovery request filed with the Bankruptcy Court of the 11th District, in New York, there are nine Embraer E195 jets and two Boeing 737-400F freighters.
The Boeing cargo jets were taken out of service months ago, following the arrival of two more capable Airbus A321Fs.
The aircraft registered PR-AJY and PR-AJZ are currently in Tarbes, France, under the care of Tarmac.
The E195-E1s are distributed across four airports. There is one aircraft (PR-AXK) in Florida with Xtreme Aviation, two other Azorra jets in San José, Costa Rica (PR-AUJ and PR-AUP) and two more at Pampulha Airport in Brazil. They are PR-AYV (from Avolon) and PR-AUO (ICBC).
Four E195s are at Bauru Airport, where Azul does not have a maintenance structure. They are the aircraft registered PR-AUB (from Bank of America), PR-AXD, PR-AXJ and PR-AUA, all of which belong to Falko.
As we have shown, these aircraft were sent to the airport between August and November of last year, possibly due to a lack of spare parts.
Renegotiation of leasing contracts
In a press conference on Friday, Azul stated that 35% of its fleet will be reduced, but that newer aircraft will be preserved.
Despite this, the airline’s institutional and corporate vice president, Fabio Campos, acknowledged that some leasing contracts will be reviewed.
Azul’s current fleet consists of 184 aircraft, not counting the single-engine Cessna Caravan turboprops from its subsidiary Azul Conecta.
Of these, 40 are not flying, some undergoing maintenance, but others have been grounded for various reasons.
According to Planespotters, these would be 15 E195-E1s, 15 ATR 72s, five E195-E2s, three A330-900s and two A320neos.
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Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
