The vice-president of Institutional and Corporate Affairs at Azul, Fábio Campos, emphasized in an interview that the airline’s restructuring is proceeding “solidly” and is backed by its main creditors and partners, facilitating an accelerated timeline for the completion of the process.
On May 28, the airline announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States to restructure its finances and agreements with creditors and partners.
The plan is a result of an agreement involving Azul’s strategic partners, United Airlines and American Airlines, and the aircraft leasing company AerCap. Following this agreement, Azul aims to have the restructuring plan approved this year, with the final steps to take place by early 2026, Campos detailed.
Campos assured that there are no plans for staff or route cuts, highlighting the recent hiring of 139 new employees as evidence that the company “continues to grow.”
Regarding the impact of the restructuring on operations in Portugal, Campos confirmed that it will not hinder any growth plans.
“Portugal is strategic for Azul. The new routes between Porto and Recife, [which started this week] nearly double our presence in the country. Our operations in Lisbon remain solid,” he stated, adding that Azul does not rule out “future expansions” in Portugal.
Regarding TAP’s debt to Azul, Campos clarified that it is not included in the ongoing restructuring process.
“This debt is due next year and is being discussed legally. There is no doubt about the existence of the loan, but rather about the constitution of guarantees,” he explained.
Azul subscribed to 90 million euros of a TAP bond issue in 2016 to support the liquidity of the Portuguese company, with accumulated interest expected to raise the amount to about 180 million euros next year, according to the figures indicated by Campos.
On the reprivatization of TAP, expected to accelerate after the new government’s inauguration, Campos argued that the process should consider the outstanding debt with Azul and expressed confidence that the Portuguese government, as a shareholder in the airline through Parpública, will take this into account.
“We trust the contracts signed and the Portuguese legal system. We believe that this debt must be considered before any advance in privatization,” he concluded.
Founded in 2008 by David Neeleman, a former TAP shareholder, Azul states it operates 1,000 daily flights to over 160 destinations, making it Brazil’s number one in both areas.
The company’s ongoing restructuring includes approximately 1.6 billion dollars (1.4 billion euros at the current exchange rate) in financing during the process and the elimination of more than two billion dollars (1.7 billion euros) in debts.
