This week we had a conversation with John Rodgerson, chief executive of Brazilian carrier Azul SA, (B3: AZUL4,NYSE: AZUL) -the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served and flight departures- about its recent achievements, its relation with Avianca, new technologies and more…
Just one airline in Latin America was ranked in the Top Ten of The Best Worldwide Airlines, according to Trip Advisor: Azul. Why do you think you deserved this relevant award?
We have the greatest people in world working for Azul! They are very passionate about what we are building and this is our 3rd year in a row being ranked in the Top 10 in the world. We are equally happy to have won 5 other awards from TripAdvisor. In the aviation industry, anyone can buy planes, put TV’s on the planes, but you can’t copy the passion of our people, this is the true secret of the success of Azul. We also run a fantastic operation and were the TOP LCC in the world for “on time” performance in 2018.
How relevant is for you Avianca Brazil? What do you think will be the result of this dispute?
Avianca Brazil was an important player in the market of Brazil with a great product and people. It is sad to see what has happened to the company and the people. Our plan was set up to save the company and invest over $100M into the company, unfortunately our competitors were afraid about our entrance into new key markets in Brazil and destroyed what was once a great company. The company and its employees have been hurt just to keep Azul out of the RIO SP market. The 4th largest market in the world is heading towards a duopoly again, and the consumer is the real loser in this situation.
In the next Aviation Festival Americas event you will be talking about How has Azul increased their market share while continuing to innovate. Is the innovation the key to success?
Absolutely! Azul is currently operating in 106 cities in Brazil, our next closest competitor is in only 53 cities. We truly changed the dynamics of the Brazilian aviation market, the market is double the size from when we started and we intend on doubling it again. Innovation is one of our values and every day we talk about disrupting the market, we will certainly continue to do much more of it over the next few years.
What do you think is the debt of Latin America in technology in comparison with the other regions?
Azul currently operates to very remote places in Brazil. We have some airports that don´t have internet! The challenges are greater, but that is what makes the opportunity so great…
