Brazil wants carriers to renew fleet with Embraer planes

Brazilian Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho on Monday said the government is encouraging airlines to buy more planes, especially from local aircraft builder Embraer.

“Embraer is a Brazilian asset,” he said, “and there’s already a perception that Brazilian airlines want to buy more Embraer aircraft. You purchase them, operate them in Brazil, and generate jobs and income within the country.”

As our February 26 Brazil Weekly newsletter has shown, the average fleet age of Latam, Gol, and Azul airlines — which together account for 99 percent of Brazil’s domestic air travel market — has increased since 2019.

Fleet age affects the productivity of airlines, as older models consume more fuel. Fuel accounts for about 40 percent of the companies’ costs, but high interest rates and debt levels are obstacles for companies to obtain loans to renew their fleets.

Neither Embraer nor the Ports and Airports Ministry replied immediately to The Brazilian Report’s requests for comment. The minister did not explain how the government would nudge the airlines to choose Embraer aircraft.

Among Brazil’s three major airlines, only Azul currently has orders with Embraer. Azul announced in December the purchase of seven Airbus A330neos, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

Mr. Costa Filho also said the federal government will announce on March 18 a BRL 2 billion (USD 400 million) investment in the Congonhas airport in São Paulo, the second-busiest in Brazil, to “improve infrastructure” and expand capacity.

He added that Voa Brasil, an upcoming program that aims to expand the offer of cheaper airline tickets, will not have any federal funds. But the lack of subsidies means that the program will not deliver on its promise to actually cheapen airfares (up by 25 percent in the 12 months through January).

Instead, it will just aggregate tickets that are already cheap.

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