Brazilian Airline Azul Embarks on an Unconventional Path to Recovery

The pandemic has proven to be the proverbial tide going out, exposing who's swimming naked. In the case of airlines, all are struggling, but a few appear to be coping better than others. A case in point is Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, which may be on course for a rebound. Azul, Brazil's third-largest carrier, felt a whipsaw effect, going from about 950 flights a day down to about 70 at the worst of the crisis. But its schedule this month features about 500 departures a day serving 89 cities, Abhi Shah, chief revenue officer, said on Wednesday during an airline customer conference run by cloud software vendor PROS (Pricing and Revenue Optimization Solutions). "We exited the second quarter in a relatively solid cash position," Shah said. "But I won't lie to you.... It's been a challenge and ... painful." While every airline has had to adapt new tactics, such as taking new safety precautions and shipping