SAO PAULO, April 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Azul S.A., "Azul", (((B3: AZUL4, NYSE:AZUL), the largest airline in Brazil by number of destinations and departures, announces today its preliminary traffic results for March 2018.

Consolidated passenger traffic (RPKs) increased 10.0% compared to March 2017 on a capacity increase (ASKs) of 9.6% mostly due to the 80.0% growth in international capacity. As a result, load factor was 80.6%, 0.4 percentage points higher than in the same period last year.

Domestic passenger traffic decreased 2.0% compared to 2017 due to the 2.9% reduction in domestic capacity driven by the removal of four E-Jets from the company's operating fleet in March, in line with its fleet transformation strategy, which consists of replacing older generation aircraft with next generation aircraft. Azul ended the quarter with 14 A320neos and expects to add another six next generation aircraft during the year. Load factor for the domestic market increased 0.7 percentage points to 79.2%.

About Azul

Azul S.A. (((B3: AZUL4, NYSE:AZUL), the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served, offers 739 daily flights to 105 destinations. With an operating fleet of 120 aircraft and more than 10,000 crewmembers, the company has a network of 207 non-stop routes as of March 31, 2018. This year, Azul was awarded best airline in Latin America by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice and in 2017, the Company was elected best low cost carrier in South America for the seventh consecutive time by Skytrax. Azul also ranked as most on-time airline in Brazil and most on-time low-cost carrier in the Americas in 2017 according to OAG's Punctuality League, the industry's most comprehensive annual ranking of on-time performance. For more information visit www.voeazul.com.br/ir.

Glossary 
Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK)  
One-fare paying passenger transported one kilometer. RPK is calculated by multiplying the number of revenue passengers by the number of kilometers flown.

Available Seat Kilometers (ASK)
Number of aircraft seats multiplied by the number of kilometers flown.

Contact

Investor Relations
Tel: +55 11 4831 2880
invest@voeazul.com.br

Media Relations
Tel: +55 11 4831 1245
imprensa@voeazul.com.br

This traffic release includes estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These estimates and forward-looking statements are based mainly on our current expectations and estimates of future events and trends that affect or may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, liquidity, prospects and the trading price of our preferred shares, including in the form of ADSs. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to many significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are made in light of information currently available to us. In addition, in this release, the words "may," "will," "estimate," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should" and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. Azul is not under the obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after we distribute this press release because of new information, future events or other factors.  Our independent public auditors have neither examined nor compiled the forward-looking statements and, accordingly, do not provide any assurance with respect to such statements.  In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the future events and circumstances discussed in this release might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decision based upon these estimates and forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Azul S.A.