Azul to operate 300 extra flights for carnival season

Fast-growing LCC Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras will operate 300 extra flights Feb. 20-27, the peak period of the carnival season in Brazil.

From its main hubs at Campinas Viracopos (VCP) and Belo Horizonte Confins (CNF), the airline is expected to increase frequencies to its top 10 carnival-related destinations, including Rio de Janeiro, Porto Seguro, Salvador, Ilhéus, Maceió, Natal, Fortaleza, Recife, Florianópolis and Navegantes. The carrier is awaiting approval from ANAC, the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency.

Communications, brand and product director Gianfranco Beting told ATW the airline has also applied for two new regular destinations—Montes Claros and Ribeirão Preto—out of its CNF base and has asked to increase frequencies out of CNF.

On March 1, Azul expects to implement its third daily frequency to Londrina, fifth to Navegantes, fifth to Vitória, and eight to Curitiba.

The airline was founded in Brazil by David Neeleman (founder of JetBlue) in 2008, and operates some 350 daily flights, serving  41 domestic destinations with a fleet of 34 Embraer E-190s and 195s, eight ATR 72-200s and one ATR 72-600.