Flying to Brazil (São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro) from North America or Europe usually takes around 12 hours. Whilst cheap flights to Brazil don't yet exist it is normally easy to get an overnight flight. Due to a limited number of flights and a large Brazilian expatriate population expect to book in advance by several months to get the best deal.
Flying down to Rio
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The cheapest city from which you can fly to Brazil is Miami. Other North American cities with direct connections are: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Toronto, and Mexico City. From Asia there are direct flights from Tokyo and Osaka both via L.A. and Beijing via Madrid. The Middle East has one direct flight from Dubai to São Paulo. From Africa you can fly direct from Johannesburg and Luanda. From Europe you can fly from London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid and Lisbon. Lisbon has the most choice of direct flights to Brazil. They are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro plus: Forteleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador and Brasília. All the South America capitals have direct flights to São Paulo, Rio or both. If you are planning a round-the-world trip or trans-America journey it's also worth noting that you can fly from Buenos Aires to Salvador or Florianópolis and from Miami, Bogotá and Caracas to Manaus. If you are traveling a bit further from the beaten track you can fly from Rosario (in Argentina) to Brasília and for the seriously adventurous there is a flight on Angolan Airways between Rio de Janeiro and Luanda !
Flights Blog
18th March 2008 - Fly from India to Brazil.
According to Alexa.com over 15% of holidayinbrazil.com's traffic comes from India ! So, in response to that, this
month we going to take a look at flying from India to Brazil. As two of the four largest emerging markets (BRIC), trade between Brazil and India has increase dramatically and both countries aim to have bi-latteral trade of USD 10 billion by 2010. Despite that, there are
still no direct flights between India and Brazil. For this blog we're going to look at flying from Mumbai to
São Paulo. The most direct journey is via Dubai, though you can also fly via Johannesburg or various European capitals. On all three routes journey times are around 24 hours including the connection wait. At current prices you can expect to pay upwards of USD 1800 / BRL 3180 or INR 75,200 for a Mumbai
São Paulo return.
19th February 2008 - A brief History of Varig.
Varig (Viação Aérea RIo Grandense) was founded on 27th May 1927 in Porto
Alegre, south Brazil. It's first flight was from Porto Alegre to
Rio Grande via Pelotas in
a Dornier Wal flying boat. Vairg enjoyed a steady rise to fame and fortune over the following forty years as it added it's first international route to
Montevideo in August 1942 and eventually became Brazil's flag carrying airline in February 1965 when the Brazilian Military dictatorship closed Panair do Brasil. Varig held the title of Brazil's largest airline until June 2005, though to this day Varig still remains Brazil's flag carrier. Varig's
achilles heal was its ownership structure. From 1945 to 2006 Varig was majority owned by the not for profit Ruben Berta Foundation. Years of bad management took its toll and in June 2005 Varig entered the Brazilian equivalent of chapter 11 bankruptcy. Varig continued to fly but with failed sales auctions and aircraft being impounded the loses continued to mount and at its nadir Varig was loosing USD 20 million a month. After a financial re-organisation and an unsuccessful attempt by LAN Chile to purchase 20% of the company in early 2007 the Varig brand and remaining assets was bought by GOL (Brazil's most successful airline) for USD 320 million. Varig still operates an international and domestic
schedule, but the company's size is greatly reduced from Varig's heyday in the 1960's when it could rightly claim to be the largest airline in Latin America.
Varig flies internationally to Bogata, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Frankfurt, Madrid, Mexico City, Paris, Rome and Santiago.
18th January 2008 - Samba or Tango: Flights from Argentina to Brazil.
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As Argentina is Brazil's neighbour and second largest trading partner it's no surprise to find an extensive selection of flights between the two countries. Varig, Tam, Gol and Aerolineas Argentinas dominate the schedules. From Beunos Aires you can fly to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro (Galeão), Salvador and Porto Alegre. Córdoba has flights to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Port Alegre. Rosario has flights to Porto Alegre and Brasília. Aerolineas Argentinas have 3 daily departures to Beunos Aires from Rio Galeão. Varig and Tam fly Rio Galeão to Beunos Aires once a day. Gol flies to both Beunos Aires and Córdoba daily from Rio Galeão. There are no flights to Argentina from Rio Santos Dumont or São Paulo Congonhas. You can fly from Argetina to São Paulo Guarulhos 3 times a day on Aerolineas Argentinas. Varig also operate 3 daily flights from São Paulo Guarulhos to Beunos Aires. Tam fly the same route twice a day and Gol once. The Beunos Aires Porto Alegre route is operated once a day by Aerolineas Argentinas, Varig and Tam. Gol fly from Port Alegre to Córdoba and Rosario. Varig operate one flight a day from Florianópolis to Beunos Aires. The Beunos Aires to Salvador flight is flown by TAM once a day. The Rosario to Brasília is operated by Gol. All of the flight scheduals are avaible in real time on Infraero's website.
17th December 2007 - Flight review: TAP Air Portugal Porto to São Paulo.
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TAP Air Portugal to
São Paulo
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To continue our flight review features we took a TAP Air Portugal flight from Porto to São Paulo on a schedule flight. TAP is unique in that they offer the widest range of direct destinations within Brazil of any airline. The TAP Porto São Paulo route is a daytime flight arriving in São Paulo around 18:30 local time. TAP also have a daytime flight from Lisbon to São Paulo. The price for this flight at € 840 was about par for the route. You can get to Brazil slightly cheaper, but it's easy to pay a lot more ! The in-flight entertainment system was modern in that there was a selection of programs, films and games but only in English and Portuguese. The air hosts on this flight were fantastic and were of great assistance to one of our guys who became travel sick ! They even gave him a crew seat to sit in. To Brazil TAP fly Airbus 350's and 360's .
18th November 2007 - Rio de Janeiro International Airport.
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With the Brazilian holiday season rapidly approaching we are going to take a detailed look at Rio's International Airport, code GIG. Named Galeão (or more recently Antonio Carlos Jobim), Rio's International Airport has joined a long list of major airports to change their name, only for people to keep with the old one ! Situated on it's own island (Ilha Governador) 15 km from Rio's South Zone (Zona Sul) the size of Galeão's infrastructure is a throw back to when Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil. Currently there are only 12 international arrivals per day as most of the international air traffic flys to São Paulo's Guarulhos, though the selection of domestic departures is extensive. Rio Galeão is a two terminal airport with the longest runway in Brazil (View Ariel map here). The selection of shops and restaurants is what you would expect for an airport of this size. For your airport transfer to central Rio you have 3 options. The first option is the red private hire "Trans-coop" taxis which are the most expensive. Secondly there are the yellow with blue stripe Taxi "commun" which are a bit cheaper. Thirdly, and our favourite option, you can can the Real Onibus airport transfer coach (Current price R$3.70 one way. Click here for route guide). In normal traffic it's a one hour journey to the South Zone by coach and about 30 minutes by taxi.
18th October 2007 - The French Connection. Flights to Brazil from France.
France is one of the few countries with good flight
connections to Brazil and you can fly from multiple cities in France to Brazil. Not only does Air France offer two daily flights from Paris to São
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on Boeing 747's but TAM and Varig have routes to. The TAM flights are perhaps the more interesting as there are two code share
flights from Toulouse and Strasbourg which feed their daily overnight
departure to São Paulo. Last but not least a resurgent Varig is also getting in on the France flights to Brazil action with a daily service from Paris to São
Paulo. All this choice on the Paris Brazil air route add up to some of the best value Brazil flights from anywhere in Europe. It's common to find flights direct to São
Paulo and Rio from Paris at least EUR 100 cheaper than a direct flight from London or
Munich due to the extra competition on the route.
17th September 2007 - Flight review: Gol. São Paulo to Belo Horizonte.
For our second flight review we took a Gol afternoon flight from Congonhas in central São Paulo to Belo Horizonte Confins. All of Gol’s planes are Boeing 737 and whilst it’s a “low cost” carrier they still give you a drink and a snack on the plane which you don’t have to pay for. There isn’t any
in-flight entertainment on Gol’s jets. It takes an hour and ten minutes to fly from São Paulo to Belo Horizonte and there are 4 Gol departures per day from São Paulo Congonhas. It’s an inland flight across the farming belt of Brazil. We paid R$265 each one way.
Special offers are available for as low as R$1, but you'll need to book
a LONG way in advance !
Next month we'll be taking a closer look at flying from France to Brazil.
16th August 2007 - First Flights to Brazil
.
This month the
holidayinbrazil.com research
team has delved into some Brazil flights history to
show you how it all started in the second quarter of last century. The first transatlantic flight to Brazil was flown by Captain Dieudonné and Lieutenant Commander Joseph le
Brix. Starting in Saint Louis in Senegal
on the 14th October 1927, flying a Bréguet 19 Nungesser-Coli, their historic flight touched down in Natal the next day. This was only five
months after Charles Lindbergh's epic solo North Atlantic crossing. It is credit to the early pioneers of aviation that by 1931, just 4 years later, there was a non stop commercial passenger and mail service to Brazil. But it wasn't the Americans, English or French in the pilot's seat this time. The
skies of the early 1930's were ruled by Germany's Graf Zepplins. These huge cigar shaped aircraft dominated the skys from Frankfurt to Recife, Rio and Buenos Aires until the late 30's. When Pan Am launched it's first Miami to Rio de Janeiro service in August
1934 they used the newly built Sikorsky S-42 flying boat. With
up to 32 passengers and a wingspan of 130 feet the S42 was described as "The most beautiful aircraft of its time." Covering 12,000 miles and visiting 12
countries the all inclusive price was $865, about $13,000 in today's money !
(Both Pictures courtesy of BrazilBrazil.com)
Next month we're back in the air with a flight review from São Paulo to Belo Horizonte.
17th July 2007 - São Paulo Guarulhos Airport.
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Guarulhos airport is São Paulo's international airport and if you are flying to Brazil you will more than likely be arriving and departing from here. A lot of international flights to Rio also route through here. (The give away is the number of stops on your ticket). With only two terminals and a limited number of international departures it's not an airport that will faze the seasoned traveler or business executive. The two terminals are interconnected and you can walk the length of both terminal buildings comfortably in 20 minutes. The airport is zoned as Terminal 1 sections A and B, Terminal 2 sections C and D. (View Ariel and schematic map here) There are of course bars, shops, cash machines and duty free. We have noted a somewhat sneaky trick in the duty free after passport control. The currency of the merchandise changes from Brazilian Reais to US dollars ! USD 40 for a Brazil shirt is not such a bargain ! Guarulhos airport is 35 km north east of central São Paulo and there is no metro train connection. The official airport transfer service is called Airport Bus Service (website in English) and their office is on the right hand side as you exit (right) from the terminal building. They operate 16 different routes through São Paulo and the route to central the area terminates at Praça da República. The current fare is R$27. Airport Bus Service also operate a Guarulhos / Congonhas shuttle but if you are a TAM passenger the TAM shuttle is free when you show your boarding card.
17th June 2007 - Flight review: KLM London to São Paulo.
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KLM to
São Paulo
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For our first flight review feature we are reporting on a flight we took from London to São Paulo on a KLM schedule flight via their hub at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. As the gateway cities to Brazil are limited most airlines will fly you via their hub airport. In this respect KLM is no different to other carriers and as such gives you a very wide range of starting points from KLM's feeder flights across Europe and the rest of the world. The KLM Amsterdam São Paulo route is a daytime flight arriving in São Paulo around 17:00 local time. We liked this flight for price, only £580 return, and the in-flight entertainment system. The entire cabin’s seats had TV’s and there was a large selection of films, music, video games and TV programs in a variety of languages. The handset doubled as a telephone and there was an email facility. Whilst this would be expected in Business and First Class, to discovery this in standard was very welcome. To Brazil KLM fly Boeing 777’s and 747’s.
19th May 2007- The Rio / São Paulo Shuttle.
The shuttle flights between Rio and São Paulo are operated by Gol, Tam and Varig. Brazil's other airlines do also fly this route but they don't have hourly departures.
On Gol you can fly from Santos Dumont in central Rio to Congonhas in central São Paulo, from Galieão (Rio's international airport) to Garulhos
(São Paulo's) or Congonhas. Gol do not offer a Santos Dumont /
Guarulhos flight. The Santos Dumont / Congonhas route flights start at 06:40 until 20:40 and there are 16 departures. On Gol's Galieão to
Guarulhos route there are 7 daily departures starting at 03:30 to 22:45. On Gol's Galieão to Congonhas route there are 6 daily departures from 05:30 to 21:10. Expect to pay in the region of R$100 one way for any of these flights.
Tam flies a fuller schedule. On the Santos Dumont / Congonhas route there are 30 daily departures between 06:25 and 21:25. The Galieão / Guarulhos route has six flights per day from 07:00 to 22:00 and on the Galieão / Congonhas route there are 3 daily flights. Like Gol, Tam don’t offer a Santos Dumont / Guarulhos flight but they do have a shuttle bus between the two São Paulo airports which is free to use when you show your ticket. Unlike Gol, Tam is a full service airline and has tickets ranging from R$130 to R$610 one way.
Varig, Brazil's flag carrier, offers 21 daily departures on the Rio Santos Dumont / São Paulo Congonhas route between 6:20 and 21:35, and three daily flights from Rio Galieão to São Paulo Guarulhos. Prices are from R$105 to R$635 one way.
16th April 2007 - Why is flying
to Brazil (still) so expensive ?
To celebrate the holidayinbrazil.com flight blog’s first birthday we’re going to re-visit the hottest question regards flying to Brazil and that is: Why does it cost so much ?
At current prices flying from the States you don't see very much change
from USD1000, and from Europe the price is around GBP 600 and EUR 850. All of the reasons we stipulated in our very first entry
(read it
here) are still valid, though there has been a slight softening of the regulatory environment in that more charter
flights are available and new routes are in the pipeline. Scheduled routes have also increased with new flights direct to China and Angola.
Despite the recent air traffic control issues in Brazil an open skies initiative, similar to that struck between the USA and Europe, would be the fastest way to reduce the cost of flying to Brazil.
A total deregulation of international air travel to Brazil would be even
better a it would cut through the bureaucracy and demand from the considerable number of Brazilian expatriates and tourists could be met.
19th March 2007 - Hidden Routes to Brazil
Here at holidayinbrazil.com research we always like to bring you the off beat and this month we've tracked down flights information on three of the less traveled routes into Rio de Janeiro
and São Paulo. We're taking a closer look at
flying from Toulouse and Strasbourg on Tam to Rio and São Paulo. And from Luanda on TAAG to Rio de Janeiro. The TAM flights are both a daily service that fly a shuttle into Charles de Gaulle
airport and then on TAM's overnight Brazil service to either Rio or São Paulo. At current prices a Toulouse São Paulo return will cost you around EUR 1300. TAAG is Angola's national airline
(website) and they operate a three times a week flight: Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, to Rio de Janeiro. TAAG fly the Luanda Rio route during the day or overnight on a Boeing 747 - just in case you were wondering ! The current Rio de Janeiro Luanda return price from TAAG is USD 980.
Next Month: The Brazil Flights Blog celebrates our 1st Birthday.
18th February 2007 - Don't fly to Brazil !
At first consideration taking a container ship to Brazil sounds a crazy idea. But the
more we thought about it the more attractive it sounds. Think of the destination options: Manuas, Belem, Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio, Santos. And that's just the big ports.
When flying to Brazil, as we've discussed before, the choice of destinations is limited. But on a cargo ship the whole of Brazil suddenly opens up ! A cargo ship cruise is time consuming. It's 11 days from Europe to the North East of Brazil and from Miami to Salvador is a 10 day trip. This kind of journey is epic in proportion.
You'll need to be time and cash rich. A one way ticket will set you back around USD 1500, and then you'll need a return flight ! Add in the fact that cargo ships aren't designed like
luxury yachts, it's apparent that this journey isn't for everyone. For itinerates
and prices check out sites like freighterworld.com or
strandtravel.co.uk
19th January 2007 - Flying from the USA to Brazil.
As Brazil’s largest trading partner and home to the largest Brazilian expatriate population the USA has the most number of flights to Brazil than any other country. The nearest and cheapest city to fly from is Miami, so you can save yourself some money by taking an internal flight and then on from Miami to
Brazil. United, Continental, Delta and American
Airlines all fly to Brazil, though they also operate code shares with TAM so
there is a possibility of being on another companies plane.
The are several gateway cities in the US (as listed above) with direct flights to Brazil, but the reverse is not true. You’ll find it easy flying to Rio or São Paulo, but other direct flight destinations in Brazil are non existent. American does fly to Fortaleza and Salvador but the planes double back.
Tracking down a good value airfare to Brazil is always a challenge, anything under USD1000 can be considered a good value fare ! If you are considering going to the Pan American Games in Rio during July and August we'd recommend buying your flight as soon as possible, whilst there are still some reasonably priced tickets left. You can find the Brazil flights specialists advertising in Brazilian Press (website) or AcheiUSA (website). If you contact these newspapers they'll send you a printed copy for free.
16th December 2006 - The Flights Blog Christmas Present
This month we have a special Brazil flights blog Christmas present from the holidayinbrazil.com research team ! Have you ever wondered how convenient it would be if you could check your arrivals and departures on line ? Wonder no more because Infraero (the Brazil airports operator) provide one on their website. It’s currently only in
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Any Brazil Airport 
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On the new Infraero window click “» Quero escolher um Aeroporto!” A drop down box will load showing the names of all the airports in Brazil. Choose the airport you want. (Remember São Paulo international airport is called Guarulhos, and Rio’s is called Galieão.) Then click the button to the right of the drop down box labeled “Consultar vôos” The page will refresh with two tabs. “Chegadas” for arrivals and “Partidas” for departures. The data is complied electronically from the airlines themselves so you can be sure the information is accurate and up-to-date. Happy Christmas !
Next month: A feature on flying from the U.S.A. to Brazil.
16th November 2006 - Charter Flights to Brazil
When
you think of flying to Brazil it's unlikely that you'd consider a charter flight
as your first choice.
If you're not intent on traveling in Brazil for a long
duration and want to visit the North East, Salvador and Natal, they could be
exactly what you are looking for ! Especially as they undercut the schedule
airline prices substantially. We found a 14 day return from London to Salvador
for GBP 262 !! The main two UK players in the market are charterflights.co.uk (website)
and thomsonfly.co.uk The former offers flights to Natal and Salvador and the
later to Natal. The period returns are 7, 14 and 21 days. In contrast to a schedule
airline prices tend to drop closer to the departure date rather than being
discounted the further you book in advance.
From the United States the leading charter flights to Brazil specialist was Avocet Travel. Whilst they still offer package tours to Salvador the charter flights have ceased as they bought charters from Varig.
Next
Month: A Christmas present from the
holidayinbrazil.com
flights blog.
18th October 2006 - Flight times to Brazil.
If, like us, you've ever wondered exactly how long it takes to fly to Brazil
from various cities we figured it would
be useful to have a handy reference table of flight times to Brazil,
so we have
produced one for you. The table is for direct flights to São
Paulo (as that is the best connected city in Brazil) from selected destinations
around the world. Sourced from the carriers these flights are the shortest
published times that can be expected on the São
Paulo route. Your flight maybe a little longer in reality. The flight from L.A. does involve a stop as does the Tokyo
flight.
Next month we are back with a feature on tracking down charter flights
to Brazil as we reckon there is some extra value to be had away from the scheduled
airlines. 18th September 2006 - GOL. Up up and away ! Since
its initial public offering in June 2004, GOL Airlines has grown into Brazil's -
and one of the world's - most successful carriers. It has the widest selection
of trans Brazil flights of any of Brazil's 9 domestic carriers and exclusively
fly's 50 Boeing 737's, grabbing a 35% market share. Gol's hub is São
Paulo, split between Congonhas and Garulhos airports. In addition to Gol's
domestic routes they also fly to Argentina,
Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. A flight to Lima, Peru is due to start soon.
Price R$ Gol started out as a dedicated low cost carrier but has
benefited from the demise of Varig and the closures of Transbrasil Linhas Aereas
in December 2001 and Viacao Aerea São
Paulo in January 2005. This has meant Gol has been able to pursue wealthier
passengers whilst keeping a lid on it's cost base. Gol is no longer the cheapest
ticket in town, but you pay for what you get. Gol are the second most reliable
airline in Brazil. The table to the right shows a
single flight from São
Paulo to Brasília booked 1 month in advance. The cheapest Gol fare is very competitive
against it's rivals but the most expensive GOL fare is R$ 390. Book in advance
! The big disadvantage is that Gol
only accept foreign credit card holders that
can pay online with American Express. Your only other option is to pay in cash
at the flight desk. Domestic tour operators and Brazil flight specialists
outside of Brazil will re-sell you a GOL flight with a booking fee
attached.
Next Month : Flight times to Brazil from gateway
cities.
16th August 2006 - How to fly from Brazil to
Australia.
In this month’s blog we are going to look at how to fly from Brazil to Australia. This route is of particular interest to Next month: GOL Power. Up, up and away with Brazil’s first low cost airline.
17 July 2006 - Brazil Air Pass +Varig Update (2). The
Brazil Air Pass is a book of flight coupons that allow you to fly anywhere in
Brazil on Tam flights. Varig also offer a practically identical Brazil Air Pass,
but as there flight status is questionable -see below, we're just going to talk
about Tam's. Options: The minimum number of
flights you can buy is 4 up to a maximum of 9. Price: From $521 / ₤290
(includes taxes and other charges) Restrictions:
Only available to purchase outside of Brazil in conjunction with a return Brazil
air ticket. All flights must be pre-booked. No open flights allowed. Valid for
21 days from first flight. Advantages: It's all
booked and paid for in advance so you know how, when and where you're going to
be flying ! Ideal for people on a whistle-stop tour, business travelers, or
novice Brazil travelers who don't want the aggravation of booking your flights
in Brazil after you have arrived.
Disadvantages: Personally we aren't that enthusiastic about the Air Pass. It's overly restrictive
with the time allowed for completing all the flights and has no flexibility for
changing or canceling. The cost increases if you do not fly to Brazil with Tam
and the cost is not competitive if you book your flights in advance on GOL's
website. If you fly with a days notice on GOL the price is about the same and
you gain the flexiblity of arriving and departing at your leisure. Varig
Update 2 Varig has been declared bankrupt and
most of it's flights are grounded. It does still operate the profitable European
and American routes but these could be grounded at anytime without notice. A
buyer for Varig has emerged, its sister company Varig Logistics. However there
is much wrangling over the price still to be done and a fully re-instated
service is below the horizon. We are still advising against buying Varig
flights. Next Month: How to fly from
Australia to Brazil.
18th June 2006 - Varig Update. The
financial troubles of Brazil's flag carrying airline, Varig, are almost at an
end. Following a very long winded corporate re-organisation where the not for
profit Ruben Berta foundation lost its controlling stake and Varig's debts were
rolled into a separate company an auction was held on the 8th June for Varig's
remaining assets. The only bidder was a consortium of Varig employees who
offered $411 million less than the minimum bid price. As we blog Judge Luiz
Roberto Ayoub is still condsidering their offer. In the weekend ending 16th June
Varig cancelled 112 domestic and international flights. If Varig is declared
bankrupt all planes will be grounded. The Brazilian government has an un-published
plan to honour the16,000 Varig ticket holders with return flights to Brazil. The
plan can only be transfering the tickets to other airlines; commandeering
Varig's assets; chartering planes or a combination of the three. We certainly
don't advise purchasing a Varig flight anytime soon.
Next month: The Brazil air pass. Options, pros and cons.
16th May 2006 – Getting the best deal on flights to Brazil. 16th April 2006 - Why is flying to Brazil so
expensive ? Consider flying from New York to
Rio or Tok yo. The distance for the Rio flight is 7,736 km and for the NYC
Tok yo
trip it's 10,878 km. If the relationship between distance and cost is linear
you might expect the price of the flight to Rio de Janeiro to be the least. A quick check on Expedia shows this is not the case. A 2 week
return ticket NYC - Rio is $1020 for NYC - Tok yo it's $871, that's $149 cheaper
to fly over 3,000 km further ! Clearly the price of the flight has little to do
with distance flown. In fact the cost of a flight is dependant on many factors.
Some of
them are as follows: 1. How many people want to fly irrespective of cost. 2. The lowest fare required to attract people who will
only fly on cheap tickets. 3. The price of rival airlines' tickets. 4. Revenue per mile per passenger. 5. The ratio of business and 1st Class passengers to
economy passengers. 6. The regulatory environment. Flights to Brazil are most dependant on factors 3, 5
and 6. The real killer is 6 and that international flights to and from Brazil are governed
with bi-lateral treaties. A bi-lateral aviation treaty is basically an agreement
between two countries that states what airlines and how many planes can fly
between the two countries and which airlines have what landing slots at various
airports. This effectively translates into one plane from a country's flag
carrier airline being allowed to land in Brazil for each Brazilian airline being
given a landing slot at that country's capital city's airport. When these
treaties originated in the earlier days of international air travel a limited number
of flights were sufficient, however in the 21st century demand has far out
stripped supply. And supply is constrained by outdated treaties. There are in
fact just 430 international arrivals per month for the whole of Brazil ! Compare
that to London's Heathrow airport which has approximately the same number of
international arrivals in one day. Given the size of the Brazilian
expatriate community, 1 million plus in the USA and a few hundred thousand in
Europe and the relative size of Brazil's economy to its major trading partners,
the ratio of business and 1st class passengers to economy passengers is very low. This puts up the
price for the economy passenger as there are less 1st Class and business
passengers effectively subsidising them. Demand for those economy seats is also
sky high due to the size of the
ex-patriot community. Rival airlines also have to work
within the confines of the bi-lateral treaties so there is little incentive for
them to cut prices. As other start up airlines have significant barriers to
entering the Brazilian market, the price cutting opportunities from additional
competition is extinguished. Aviation treaties were originally designed to
protect national flag carriers, though for Brazil's Varig this strategy has back
fired. It is ironic that the most successful airlines in the world operate in
the most de-regulated and competitive markets. So, the next time you buy an air ticket to Brazil and you are
left reeling by the cost of it and wonder why, just remember the above ! Our next blog will be about how to find the cheapest
deals on flights to Brazil. Available 16th May 06.
BRA
188.62
Gol
159.00
OceanAir
300.00
Tam
329.12
Varig
(From) 159.00
anyone who wants to plan a round the world trip as it links South America to the Asian air corridors. Sadly there are no direct
flights. And at a distance of 13,355 km there is only the Boeing 777 ER that could fly it in one leg via Antarctica ! The simplest route is São Paulo – Buenos Aires –
Auck
land – Sydney with Aerolineas Argentinas.
The big plus on this flight is that you only have to change plane once in Buenos Aires. The other choice is to fly via Santiago so there is a degree of flexibility from where you start from in Brazil, though the number of plane changes can quickly add
up as you will find each leg of the journey involves a different carrier. The refueling stop in Auckland also gives you the opportunity to end the flight in New
Zeal
and or
change plane and fly to another destination in Australia if you prefer. At current prices a Brazil / Australia return will get you a few cents change from USD 1,800. Happy flying !
You’ll be pleased to know that there are a couple of neat tricks that you can employ to save yourself money on a flight to Brazil.
Firstly book in advance as far as possible, even if you are traveling at peak periods (pre-Christmas / New Year and Carnival). This will save you at least $100. A good timing trick is to fly out end of November, before the price increases and then return the second week of January. This is just about feasible if you stack 2 annual holiday allowances together over year end. It’s worth it ! After all: It’s Brazil !
A second cost saving strategy to employ is to fly via another hub. This works best within Europe but is do-able from anywhere. For example if you’re flying London to
São Paulo, it’s often cheaper to fly via
Paris or Madrid. It’s cheap to fly to
M ia mi from Europe so why not have a few days stop over in
Flo r ida on the way to Brazil ? The reverse is true if flying from the east coast of the U.S.
The final trick you can utilise to reduce the cost of your flight to Brazil is carefully choosing where you buy it. If you are lucky enough to be a student buy your ticket at the campus travel agent when they’re having a Latin American sale. That’s undoubtedly the
best option for the youth traveler, but for those of us not in such a fortuitous position you need a specialist Brazil flights broker. Not every high street has them, but here we show you where to track them down.
As we’ve previously written there are lots of Brazilian expatriates all over the world. Within their communities you’ll find Brazilian lawyers, Brazilian dentists and Brazilian travel agents ! These are the people who will sell you the
best value ticket. For people living in the USA pick up a copy of Brazilian Press
(website) or AcheiUSA
(website) or in the U.K. Jungle Drums
(website). If you don’t know a Brazilian hangout email them and they’ll send you a
copy (they are free!). Within these expatriate newspapers you’ll find adverts
for Brazilian travel agents that are specifically for Brazilians and the source of the
best value tickets !