The Airbus A350-900 registration PR-AOY took off from Brazil on Tuesday, ending the widebody era at Azul Linhas Aéreas.
The aircraft was flying to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on flight AD9840, to be returned to its lessor.
In February, the Brazilian airline had already returned another A350, registration PR-AOW, which together formed the small Airbus fleet.
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The company did not explain the reasons why it abandoned plans to fly the A350, a modern aircraft with great range. However, it is understood that the twin-engine jet has a high operating cost for a passenger capacity slightly greater than that of the A330-900.
Azul has already expressed its intention to standardize the long-range fleet with the A330neo, which can carry up to 294 passengers – 40 fewer than the A350-900.
While it does not receive seven new aircraft from Airbus, Azul is expected to reinforce its fleet with leased A330-200 and A330-900 jets.
The two A350-900s were received in 2022 and debuted on flights between Campinas and Orlando, in the United States. In April 2023, the airline moved them to a new route to Paris (Orly).
At the end of 2023, however, A350s began to leave the scene. The PR-AOY jet also flew to Paris and Orlando during January until it was parked.
This is the second time that a Brazilian airline has removed the A350 from its fleet. Previously, LATAM retired its aircraft to only use the Boeing 787 and 777 on high-demand flights.
