Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes has continued its gradual post-pandemic growth into the second quarter. Based on the airline’s preliminary traffic figures for May 2023, seats have increased 20% year-on-year in comparison with the identical period in 2022.
Continued growth
Over 3.3 million seats were available across 19,127 departures in May 2023, representing an almost even 20.9% and 20.7% increase in comparison with May 2022’s 15,850 departures and a couple of.75 million seats. While demand stays high, GOL’s load factor declined by roughly 1.2 percentage points, at 76.1% for the month, with the entire variety of passengers recorded at 2.43 million. Departures still sit barely below May 2018’s high of 20,164, though seat offerings have almost returned to pre-pandemic numbers.
International travel saw the most important leap, surging around 70% throughout the month to supply 133,000 seats. Load factor saw a noticeable decline, dropping from 90.6% to 71.5%, closely in keeping with similar figures for June 2018 and 2019. The slight decrease is probably going represented by improved international coverage amid lowered travel restrictions, with as much as 12 international destinations offered by the carrier as of June 2023.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Easy Flying.
Domestic travel has been the most important boost for GOL, growing 19.3% to 18,361 departures. Over 2.3 million people were carried domestically by GOL, around 200,000 lower than in 2019, with the load factor at 76.5%.
GOL’s cargo division saw noted growth, almost doubling from 5,900 tons in May 2022 to 10,400 in May 2023. Collected cargo for the year-to-date is recorded at 39,700 tonnes, up 55% from the identical period in 2022. Freight demand is anticipated to grow through 2023, following the carrier’s latest codeshare agreement with TAAG Angola, expanding the GOL’s presence across the Southern Atlantic and into Africa. Two additional freighters will join the carrier’s cargo-specific fleet over the following several months, potentially expanding to 12 by 2024.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Easy Flying
Performance was down barely, with on-time departures decreasing by 0.3 percentage points to 93.9% for the month and flight completion by 1.2 percentage points to 98.4%. Collected traffic between January and May saw on-time performance (OTP) drop to 88.1%, with flight completion at 98.4%. Though GOL was not covered in OAG’s 2023 Punctuality League publication, its self-reported performance is above average amongst Latin American carriers, with similar OTP to Brazilian competitor Azul Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines, and pan-continental carrier LATAM.
“Disciplined approach”
Through the primary five months of 2023, the Brazilian carrier has seen regular but consistent growth, with revenue for the primary three months reported as R$4.92 billion ($1 billion), a 53% increase in comparison with Q1 2022’s R$3.22 billion ($661 million).
In a press release shared alongside the carrier’s quarterly financial results, GOL chief executive Celso Ferrer celebrated the airline’s consistent and disciplined recovery plan throughout the first few months of the 12 months. Ferrer noted the continuing regional market recovery and GOL’s continued development to support its growth,
Did you fly with GOL in May? What was your experience? Tell us within the comment section.