Azul Brazilian Airlines, the nation's third largest airline, plans to transfer as many as 1,700 pilots to China's HNA Group, as part of its saving program, Folha de Sao Paulo reported on March 11.

According to the report, HNA Group will introduce about 100 Brazilian pilots in the initial stage, for Hainan Airlines, Grand China Air, Tianjin Airlines, Lucky Air and West Air. After three years' working in China, those pilots could decide to stay or leave for Brazil.

In addition, Azul is also planned to cut fleet capacity by 7 percent in 2016.

At the end of 2015, HNA Group injected US$450 million into Brazil's third largest airline Azul for a 23.7 percent stake, a move it expects to expand its route network in South America, Africa and Europe.

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