A look at Brazil’s domestic airlines

The Brazilian Civil Aviation National Agency has released the full 2021 traffic results. Last year, the country had 67.37 million passengers, a 56.5% recovery, compared to 2019 levels, meaning there’s still a long way to go. But, who are the country’s top players, and how did they do in 2021? Let’s find out.
A mixed recovery

Like most countries worldwide, Brazil’s civil aviation had a mixed recovery in 2021. Domestically, the airlines operating in Brazil performed better and had a better recovery compared to the international segment.

According to data provided by the Brazilian Government, the airlines handled 62.5 million domestic travelers in 2021. That’s a 65.7% recovery compared to 2019 levels when they handled over 95 million passengers.

Internationally, the airlines operating in and out of Brazil handled only 4.7 million travelers in 2021. A couple of years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic, they took 24.1 million passengers, meaning the segment only recovered 19.5% of its pre-pandemic levels.

We have to remember that Brazil faced severe travel restrictions from other countries due to the appearance of new COVID variants in the region. Some airlines like GOL Linhas Aereas have recently resumed their international connectivity from Brazil.

Brazil’s domestic airlines

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was dominated by LATAM, GOL, and Azul in that order. Last year, the market share shifted, and now, Azul is in the first place, followed by LATAM and GOL.

The largest international carrier operating in Brazil was TAP Portugal, followed by Copa Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines.

GOL Linhas Aereas

Meanwhile, GOL Linhas Aereas has had a tougher recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, GOL handled 18.8 million passengers, with a 27.9% market share. Compared to 2019, GOL only recovered 52% of its pre-pandemic traffic levels, particularly impacted in the international segment, a market that only recovered by 1.95%.

GOL closed the year, carrying 2.5 million passengers in December 2021. Compared to 2019 levels, that’s a 73.5% recovery.

Azul Linhas Aereas

In 2021, Azul had the best recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The airline, founded by David Neeleman, had 23.05 million passengers last year. If we compared those numbers to 2019, we see Azul had an 85.7% overall recovery.

Azul Linhas Aereas now has a 34.23% market share, Brazil’s top airline. If we look at Azul’s December traffic levels, the airline closed the year surpassing its 2019 levels. Last month, Azul had 2.5 million travelers, a 4% growth compared to December 2019. Nonetheless, Azul is now facing pressure from another competitor that has recovered quite nicely in the last few months, LATAM.

LATAM Brazil

Despite being in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, LATAM has had a nice recovery in Brazil, particularly in the last few months.

Last year, the airline had 20.5 million passengers, a 30.54% market share in Brazil. Compared to 2019, LATAM recovered 55.3% of its pre-pandemic traffic levels overall.

Nonetheless, LATAM has been in full-recovery mode since October, surpassing Azul as the country’s top airline in the last three months.

For instance, in December, LATAM Brazil handled 2.8 million passengers (versus 2.5 million from Azul and GOL). Compared to 2019 levels, LATAM Brazil carried 77.7% of the passengers prior to the pandemic. Not quite back to pre-crisis levels, but close enough.