Brazilian airline Azul surpasses GOL in terms of passengers carried

The Brazilian aviation market is a highly contested one between the three leading carriers, LATAM, Azul, and GOL. In 2022, the country has had 37.45 million passengers (both domestic and international), and these three operators control about 88% of the market.

Throughout the year, LATAM has been positioned as the top airline in the country, followed by GOL and Azul in that order. Nonetheless, according to the latest data released by Brazil’s Civil Aviation National Agency (ANAC), Azul surpassed GOL in May.

Between January and May, LATAM Brazil carried 11.48 million passengers having a 30.66% of the country’s market share.

In the second place, Azul Linhas Aéreas has carried 10.85 million passengers, having a 29.00% market share. Finally, GOL has had 10.69 million travelers or 28.55% of the market share.

Compared to 2019 data, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, neither LATAM nor GOL have fully rebounded. LATAM Brazil has recovered 80% of its pre-pandemic traffic levels. Meanwhile, GOL has recovered 75%, particularly impacted by the international segment.

On the other side, Azul has fully rebounded and even grown, leaving the pandemic and crisis behind. Azul has increased its traffic levels by 4%.

It is the first Brazilian airline to recover completely (in traffic terms) from the pandemic. When discussing revenues, both Azul and GOL had net profits during 2022’s first quarter, and we are waiting for them to release their second-quarter results to see how they are doing now.