Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras and Abra Group, owner of GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, have terminated their discussions regarding a possible merger between the two carriers. In parallel, they have also ended their domestic codeshare agreement.
On September 25, both airlines filed notices to the market announcing the termination of their joint initiatives. Explaining why the merger talks were halted, GOL said that the parties “have not meaningfully discussed or progressed a possible business combination transaction for several months as a result of Azul’s focus on its Chapter 11 procedure.”
Despite ending the conversations, Abra (owner of avianca airlines and Wamos Air as well) continues to believe in the merits of an Azul-GOL business combination, the holding said, and “is ready, willing, and available to engage with the relevant stakeholders.”
Had both companies merged under a single corporate entity, they would have created an entity holding over 60% of Brazil’s domestic market capacity. GOL and Azul are two of the three largest airlines in the country by capacity and number of passengers carried, alongside LATAM Airlines Brasil.
In addition, both companies have immediately terminated their domestic codeshare agreement established in May 2024, and will honour all tickets sold within the scope of the partnership, they said. The codeshare was highly controversial in Brazil, with the country’s competition watchdog (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica - CADE) recently freezing it until a review was completed. Both carriers argued that the influence of their codeshare was minimal, with GOL informing ch-aviation that it amounted to less than 1% of its revenue.
