The chief executive of Gol parent company Abra Group says a business combination with Brazilian compatriot Azul is still on the agenda, despite the latter carrier recently entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the country’s “not healthy” airline market.
Azul entered Chapter 11 in late May, while Gol itself is working through the same process but is expected to exit that status this week, according to Abra chief Adrian Neuhauser, speaking during a panel session at the IATA AGM in Delhi on 2 June.
Once Azul has made its way through the same process, a tie-up with Gol will be considered, he says.
“We have made public our MoU,” Neuhauser says. “We also said our MoU was subject to regulatory approval and both airlines having a similar financial structure and really cleaning up their capital structure.
“Gol we expect to emerge [from Chapter 11] this week, and when that’s done, we think Gol is fixed, and we’re happy that Azul is ultimately going through a restructuring and we hope that that will ultimately enable consolidation,” he adds
Nehuauser notes that the creation of a larger entity through the combination of Azul and Gol could help to overcome some of the challenges of operating in Brazil’s airline market.
“The industry in Brazil is not healthy,” he says. “It reinforces [the] core point that consolidation is good.”
Abra and Azul signed a memorandum of understanding in January this year to explore “a combination of their businesses in Brazil”.
