In a move that has become increasingly critical to its 2025 financial turnaround strategy, Azul Linhas Aéreas has partnered with airline technology leader Accelya to deploy its BIDT Audit solution. Originally announced in mid-2025, this initiative has proven to be a key pillar in the Brazilian carrier’s broader effort to plug revenue leakages and optimize cost structures as it navigates a complex financial restructuring.
The Core Partnership: Stopping the Leak
At the heart of the collaboration is the deployment of Accelya’s BIDT (Billing Information Data Tapes) Audit solution. This technology addresses a persistent issue in the airline industry: booking abuse and GDS (Global Distribution System) wastage.
For an airline the size of Azul, which books hundreds of thousands of passengers annually through global distribution systems, “passive” booking costs can be substantial. Travel agents or automated systems may create unproductive bookings—such as duplicate reservations, “churning” (repeatedly canceling and rebooking to hold a fare), or holding inactive segments—that bloat GDS invoices without generating revenue.
Key capabilities of the solution include:
- Real-Time Visibility: Monitoring GDS transactions to detect booking policy violations as they happen.
- Cost Recovery: Identifying inflated GDS invoices and recovering lost revenue.
- Behavior Correction: Providing data-backed evidence to enforce booking policies with agencies, reducing future abuse.
“Partnering with Accelya to implement BIDT Audit is an important step for us as we continue to optimize our GDS operations,” said André Mercadante, Azul’s Director of Alliances, Planning, and Revenue Management, at the time of the launch. “The transparency and insights… will allow us to proactively identify and resolve booking misuse.”
Strategic Update: Why This Matters Now (December 2025)
Since the partnership’s initiation in June 2025, the context for Azul has evolved dramatically, making this specific cost-control measure more vital than ever.
1. Alignment with Financial Restructuring As of December 2025, Azul has successfully navigated a major Chapter 11 restructuring process, having recently secured court approval for its reorganization plan. This plan involves shedding over $2 billion in debt and receiving fresh capital injections from partners like United Airlines and American Airlines. In this high-stakes environment, every dollar saved on operational inefficiencies is crucial. The BIDT Audit solution directly supports the strict financial discipline promised to creditors and investors, ensuring that Azul’s leaner operating model is not compromised by avoidable distribution costs.
2. Supporting Ambitious Financial Targets Azul has set aggressive targets for 2025 and beyond, projecting an EBITDA of approximately R$7.4 billion. Achieving this requires more than just filling seats; it demands maximizing the “quality” of revenue. by eliminating the “bad costs” of booking abuse, the Accelya partnership directly contributes to the margin improvements necessary to meet these financial goals.
3. Network Optimization Simultaneously, Azul has been refining its network, cutting unprofitable routes and simplifying its fleet by returning older Embraer E195s. The insights from Accelya’s audit tools likely provide valuable data on which sales channels and regions are most efficient, helping inform these broader network decisions.
Technology Landscape: Accelya’s AI Boost
The capabilities available to Azul have likely been supercharged since the initial agreement. In August 2025, Accelya integrated advanced AI capabilities into its Sales Audit portfolio.
- Faster Detection: The new AI tools can identify over 60% of missed revenue earlier in the audit cycle.
- Enhanced Intelligence: The launch of FLX ONE Vision in November 2025 further expanded Accelya’s ability to provide real-time order intelligence.
For Azul, this means the BIDT solution is not just a static audit tool but part of an evolving, AI-driven ecosystem that detects anomalies faster than human auditors ever could.
