Brazilian low-cost carrier Azul will acquire 11 Airbus widebodies and plans to launch its first international flights to the USA by early 2015.
The airline will lease five Airbus A350-900s and six Airbus A330-200s from ILFC. Deliveries of the A350s will begin in early 2017, while the A330s will be used to launch the international service in early 2015, says Azul.
Azul's A330s will be powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 700, while the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is the sole engine choice for the A350-900.
"The announcement of our first widebody aircraft marks a new era in the history of our airline," says Azul's chief executive David Neeleman. "Our customers have been asking for this and now we look forward to providing them with our superior service on international flights, just as we have been doing today on our 880 daily domestic departures."
Azul says it will announce its US destinations later this year. The airline currently operates a fleet of 136 Embraer narrowbodies and ATR turboprops, and flies to 104 destinations in Brazil.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
