Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras SA will charge “well under” $1,000 round-trip when it starts flying between Sao Paulo and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, later this year, founder David Neeleman said.
The flights will have 271 seats in two classes on Airbus Group NV (AIR) A330-200 planes and promotional fares that will be as low as $600 when service begins, possibly in December. Azul will compete for passengers with Sao Paulo-based Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOLL4), a low-cost carrier that flies to Miami via Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Boeing Co. (BA) 737s.
“We’ll price competitive with those guys,” Neeleman said yesterday in an interview at Azul’s headquarters in Barueri, Brazil. “We’re going to have a certain percentage of seats that will be very cheap.”
A flight to Miami on Gol for the first week of October cost about $1,079 in a recent online search. Latam Airlines Group (LFL), which operates under the Tam brand in Brazil, was offering tickets starting at $930 for the same time period between Sao Paulo and Miami.
International flights are key to both Gol and Azul’s strategies. Gol is counting on its U.S. flights and partnerships with international airlines to help increase foreign currency revenue to pay for U.S. dollar-denominated debt. Six-year-old Azul is branching into international flying after making a name for itself in Brazil by offering routes to underserved cities like Tefe and Coari.
Azul will expand to Los Angeles and Las Vegas with its seven A330s, Neeleman said. In 2017, it will receive new A350-900s and will have to find new destinations at that time, which could include European cities.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-31/azul-s-florida-prices-beat-gol-s-as-rivalry-heats-up.html
