Domestic Flights Within Brazil-GOL Airlines

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Tara

Brazil is a huge country and odds are that you will be needing domestic flights to get from your international gateway, perhaps Rio, Sao Paulo or Manaus to the nearest airport to your ultimate destination. These flights can often be bought in advance for good prices or in some cases redeemed with miles in partner programs.

GOL

This airline is a great option for international travelers because they accept payments with foreign credit cards and you don’t need a Brazilian CPF (Brazilian tax ID like a Social Security or Tax File Number). I also recommend GOL because as you will see in the last part of this post they will step up and look after you in case of IRROPS. In the opening screen, be sure you select the country where you have your credit card. I had planned to paste the route map here but for some reason the links aren’t working on the GOL site so here’s the link anyways. I have highlighted below some airports that will be of interest to eco-tourists.

GOL Destinations

GOL has their own frequent flyer program called Smiles. When we did our trip in Sept 2012, we had booked domestic segments as part of our international flights using AAdvantage but GOL no longer partners with them. Currently, they partner with Delta, Air France, KLM and Qatar Airways. From these programs, the one most people would be using is Delta. They charge 10,000 miles each way for a domestic trip in Brazil with a round-trip required.

BOOKING A FLIGHT

If you have selected the USA or OTHER as your base country, you will have an English display. Let’s take the popular route of Sao Paulo – Cuiaba (gateway to the Pantanal) as an example.

If you are lucky, there will be some promotional fares in the display at very attractive rates. In this case, there is a promo for $49 but the catch is that you have to make a connection and arrive at a very inconvenient hour. The cheapest non-stop is $63 but still an inconvenient arrival time but might be worth it if you stay near the airport.

To continue with our example, let’s go with the cheapest non-stop. Now we see they added the tax on and are trying to upsell you to a flexible flight.

Scroll down, accept the rules and click continue. In the next screen unless you want to set up an account, scroll down, click on “I want to make a purchase without registering” and fill it out with your passport number in “Laissez Passer”. You can also add a frequent flyer number if you are in any program GOL partners with.

I filled out some fake info for the passenger name, address and passport details to get to the next screen. Select your seat here.

After choosing the best seat they offer you, continue to the payment screen. They seem to be offering only Visa and Mastercard. I know they had Amex in the past since I used Amex for my domestic flights so they may bring that option back.

Enter your card details, click Confirm and it will give you a confirmation number. At this point, I will X out of the tab since I am not really buying a ticket now. If you are on a budget, keep checking back as they change the promos every week. Be sure to read the restrictions on the promo fares and make sure they are acceptable, otherwise you may want to use a flexible fare.

GOL SERVICE

On some flights, we were given a snack free and on others they had Buy-On-Board menus. The planes on the domestic routes are all 3 x 3 seating which is not my preference since it means couples have to sit with a stranger on a full flight but most domestic Brazilian carriers are the same. They won’t let you sit in an exit row if you don’t speak Portuguese.

We had IRROPS (irregular operations) twice on our trip and both times GOL stepped up and made it right for us. This is one of the most important things I look at when choosing an airline. I like to see ground staff who are empowered to solve problems.

When we first arrived in Sao Paulo on the GOL flight from Buenos Aires, we had a 5 hour layover in the wee hours of the morning. Not enough time to go to a hotel but long enough to be uncomfortable. We were connecting to Vitoria where we planned to rent a car and drive to Sooretama/Linhares for birding. The flight was routed GRU-GIG-VIX. Terrible, I know but it was tagged onto the main international redemption so at least it was free! The GRU-GIG flight was cancelled and they had rebooked us on another one that would have gotten us to Vitoria closer to noon and we would have missed an evening of birding by the time we drove out there. I asked them if they could get us on any better connection. They ended up rebooking us on a direct flight from Sao Paulo’s other airport CGH and giving us a free taxi to the other airport. We arrived around the same time we had originally booked.

The second IRROPS was on the return flight as we had finished our visit to Brazil and were headed home. It was a pretty bad routing because AA wouldn’t let us have more than 24 hours in GRU even if they had to tag on an extra connection. The routing home was BEL (Belem) – GIG (on a flight that stopped in GRU before heading onwards to GIG) – GRU-SCL. The flight from Belem to GRU had a mechanical problem and we were forced to land in Brasilia while they got us a new plane. We were waiting just over an hour and I was panicking over missing that ridiculous connection in GIG and having the rest of our itinerary cancelled. I explained this to the flight crew. They passed it on to the ground staff. The new plane was going only to GRU with people going on to GIG given overnight accommodations and rebooked to GIG the next morning. I explained that we really didn’t want to go to GIG and our ultimate destination with GOL was SCL where we had a connection to SYD on QF (in business class!). The Brasilia ground staff took my printout and said they would sort it out.

Sort it out, they did! When we landed in GRU, there were ground staff passing out hotel vouchers and new tickets to the normal GIG passengers and they were expecting us. Since the ticket was originally issued by AA, they couldn’t change it on their own and has to call AA for permission to change it. By the time we got there, they had cancelled the unwanted GRU-GIG-GRU and kept the GRU-SCL intact. They also gave us a hotel voucher for the nearby Hotel Matiz with meals up to the departure time of our flight to SCL. The hotel has its own shuttle bus. This turned out to be a lucky chance for us as we avoided some unnecessary flights, got a free room and a place to relax and shower after visiting the Sao Paulo Zoo! Major kudos to GOL for looking after its customer, highly recommended!

Eco-Lite: Sao Paulo Zoo

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Tara

Welcome to this week’s Eco-Lite mini-trip, Sao Paulo Zoo! Brazil is a hotspot for eco-tourism but most people will spend a night or two in Sao Paulo when transferring back and forth between more interesting places such as the Pantanal, Iguacu Falls, the Amazon, the Cerrado, Chapada, Atlantic Rainforest, Cristalino, etc. Or you may find yourself here on a business trip and have time to spare. So why not get a close up view of some beautiful Brazilian birds and animals?

OVERVIEW

Translated from their website which is only in Portuguese: Few experiences are as significant for adults and children as well as a visit to the Zoo. Appreciate the diversity of fauna creates a powerful bond and universal nature. Approximately 10% of the world population visit a zoo or aquarium each year. Since opening in 1958, the São Paulo Zoo has received over 85 million visitors.

Located in an area of 824.529 m² of Atlantic Forest, the park houses the headwaters of the historic stream of Ipiranga, whose waters form a lake that receives copies of birds of various species, and migratory birds. As the lake, the forest shelters native animals living free, forming parallel wonderful wildlife.

Through the display of more than 3,000 animals, represented by species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, the São Paulo Zoo promotes public awareness of the various forms of life on Earth.

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

Zoológico de São Paulo
Avenida Miguel Estéfano, 4241
Água Funda – São Paulo – SP – CEP 04301-905
Fone: (11) 5073-0811 / Fax: (11) 5058-0564

For tourists the best way is by taxi if you can afford it or by bus if you are on a budget. Being a budget traveler, we took the metro to Jabaquara Station, then took their bus direct to the zoo. When you exit the metro, look for a kiosk selling bus/entry combo tickets. They take credit cards.

Location Sao Paulo Zoo

HOW MUCH IS IT?

FROM 01/01/2013: Ticket Zoo (add around R $ 10.00 if you use their bus)

Adults and children over 12 years – R $ 18.00
Children 5 to 12 years – R $ 7.00
Children under 4 years – Free
People with disabilities – Free
Seniors (Over 60 years), students and teachers of the State Public Networks and Municipal Education – £ 9.00 (half price)

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SPEND THERE AND WHAT SHOULD YOU SEE?

It’s quite a large zoo and you could easily spend a day there. We were there on the last day of our trip before we left to fly home and wanted to have time for shopping so just stayed a couple hours and concentrated on the birds. They have a full list of animals on their website (in Portuguese). This zoo is an excellent place to bring children to help them learn more about Brazil’s birds and animals!

VALUE TO CONSERVATION

Until recently, the Sao Paulo Zoo was involved with the conservation of the rare and endangered Spix’s Macaw but this program has now been transferred up in the state of Bahia. Here is what their website says about conservation (I used Google Translate).

Conservation of Threatened Animals

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world, with an approximate area of 8.5 million km ² dispute with Indonesia and the title of first place in the world’s biodiversity. It is estimated that Brazil should have around 1.8 million species, but unfortunately only 10% know that. Considering the species that we have identified, according to the Ministry of Environment, 618 animals are listed in a category of threat (critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable) and nine other extinct or extinct in the wild. In the case of vertebrates, it is estimated that 7% of Brazilian species are under some extinction.

The increase in deforestation, fragmentation of our forests and the wildlife trade have very high number of species under severe threat of extinction. It is estimated that soon many may disappear altogether, especially endemic (those species that only live in a small and specific region of the planet). Because of this, the extinction is one of the most dramatic environmental problems of this new century, becoming a priority issue in national and international political agendas, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Guidelines for the Conservation Project and Restoration of Biodiversity in the State of São Paulo (BIOTA / FAPESP). More than ever, we need to know the existing biodiversity, to identify the main factors that threaten and establish priorities for action.

The Zoological Park of São Paulo’s mission is to keep in captivity a collection of live animals from different parts of the world not only for education and recreation of the public, as well as for carrying out scientific research to better understand the animals. The institution now performs work focused on the reproduction of some endangered species, and plays an important role in the conservation of these species, the dissemination of knowledge through scientific papers and conferences and environmental education projects.

The conservation of species in captivity, also called ex-situ, ie outside of the natural environment is one of the strategies to help preserve the animals that are threatened with extinction. Individuals bred in captivity can be released into the wild to increase conservation efforts of the species in its natural environment. Captive populations can reduce the need to remove individuals from nature to serve as pets (pets), and also for purposes of scientific research. These animals can also be placed on display as a strong strategy for educating the public about the need to conserve the species.

You want to help get these animals the sad list of endangered species? So help us take care of them, do not buy animals at fairs or roads – surely they were taken from nature. Report it to the police if you find someone selling them. Go to parks and ecological stations, where there are many animals in the wild and are very easy to be observed, or may know a little about the rich fauna of our Brazil in Sao Paulo Zoo.

Angelica Midori Sugieda – SP ZOO

WHERE TO STAY NEARBY ON POINTS

Sao Paulo is one of the world’s major cities and attracts many business travelers so as you would expect, all major hotel chains are represented here. You should have no trouble using points from any of your favourite programs such as Priority Club, Club Carlson, Marriott, SPG, Wyndham, Hyatt, Hilton. If you are just passing through enroute to the great outdoors, I would recommend staying near the airport for convenience.

PHOTOS

Although this zoo has a wide range of animals, I was mostly interested in the birds. I got to see a lot of birds close up that I had seen while birding in the wild. It’s way more exciting to see wild birds but seeing them close up can help you later identify them in the wild and get familiar with their calls. These photos will take a while to load so please be patient!

Getting To Brazil & Southern South America Using Airline Miles

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Tara

Southern South America

Most frequent flier programs divide the continent of South America into northern and southern regions. Brazil, which is one of the best destinations for eco-tourism falls into the southern region. I already have a blog with my recommendations for which programs to join if you are new to the world of miles and points.

The gateway cities for Brazil include Sao Paulo (GRU), Rio de Janieiro (GIG), Manaus (MAO) and Recife (REC). Other airports in Southern South America are Santiago (SCL), Buenos Aires (EZE), La Paz (LPB) and Santa Cruz Bolivia (VVI). Once you have been in the miles and points game for awhile, you will get a feel for which airline to use where but if you are just starting out, Wikipedia will show you a list of all airlines that fly into a given airport.

Let’s take Manaus for our first example. So we can see that Manaus is served by a few international airlines. AA flies from Miami, Copa flies from Panama City which has good connection to the USA and TAM flies from Miami as well. In most cases you will have to transit through the USA even if you are coming from Australia, Europe or Asia direct to Manaus or you could fly to one of the larger airports such as GRU or GIG and get a connecting domestic flight. If Manaus and the Amazon region are your destination, you have two choices-One World or Star Alliance. Sky Team can get you to GRU or GIG and then you would have to use domestic flights on GOL which is a partner of Delta.

ONE WORLD OPTIONS

From North America you can use American Airlines or LATAM.

From South America you can use LATAM.

From Australia and New Zealand you can use Qantas or LATAM via Santiago.

From UK and Europe you can travel via the USA using BA or IB to get to the USA, then AA, LATAM to South America.

From Asia or Africa there are no direct flights so you will need to travel via the USA or Europe.

STAR ALLIANCE OPTIONS

From North America you can use United, Avianca-Taca or Copa

From South America you can use Avianca-Taca

From Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Asia and Africa there are no direct flights, you will need to travel via the USA. Depending on which program’s miles you have, this may require one or two awards.

SKYTEAM OPTIONS

From North America you can use Aerolineas Argentinas, AeroMexico or Delta.

From Europe you can use Air Europa, Air France or KLM, or you can connect in the USA or Buenos Aires on Aerolineas Argentinas.

From Australia you can use Aerolineas Argentinas, from New Zealand possibly Qantas to Sydney and then Aerolineas Argentinas.

From Asia and Africa there are no direct flights, you will need to travel via the USA or Europe.

Delta partners with GOL which has extensive coverage of Brazil and connections to neighboring countries.

HOW MANY MILES WILL IT COST?

Every airline member of the 3 main alliances has it’s own frequent flier program. They often have alliances with other airlines outside the program. I have made some reference charts for the airline alliances and I strongly recommend that you check out the program of the airline in your country and the USA based partners of each program as the USA airlines tend to have the most lucrative bonuses. Americans can get very generous credit card bonuses. Details of credit card partners (and other partners) will be on each airline’s website, however often there are more lucrative sign up bonuses. Details are usually posted in the Flyer Talk thread so I strongly suggest you read this thread and the Miles Buzz forum before you apply for any cards just in case a better bonus has been offered. I don’t have any affiliate links and I recommend you do extensive research on your own when applying for airline credit cards.

USING ONE WORLD

AMERICAN AIRLINES

No matter where you live, frequent flyer programs based in the USA usually offer the best deals but it’s still a good idea to look at other members of the alliance. Try to avoid carriers that charge a fuel surcharge. Looking at AA’s award chart, we can see that Brazil is in South America Zone 2 except for Manaus which is in South America Zone 1.

South America Zone 2

So let’s look at the chart. AA no longer has all zones on one convenient chart so you need to look at the website for the region you are departing from. You will notice there are taxes and fees with certain routes and that the awards are prices as one way trips.

We can see that a South Pacific to Central/South America award will cost 45,000 miles each way (90,000 round trip) in economy, 82,500 (160,000 round trip) in business class and 112,500 each way (225,000 round trip in first class. AA doesn’t allow you to transit the USA on this award so you must fly on the only carriers that operate between Australia and South America-Qantas and LAN.

If you are based in North America, economy will cost 30,000 each way (60,000 round trip), business class is 57,500 each way (115,000 round trip) and first is 85,000 each way or 170,000 round trip. You would be flying on AA or LAN.

AVIOS (BA OR IB)

Avios can be a great bargain for shorter flights. The awards are priced by distance flown per segment rather than zone to zone.

Avios chart

Using the Great Circle Mapper, we can see that a direct flight from Miami to Manaus would cost 12,500 Avios each way, a direct flight from LAX to Sao Paulo would cost 30,000 Avios and a direct flight from NYC to GIG would cost 25,000 Avios. If you are using credit card miles, transferring them to Avios rather than UA or AA could save you some points. If you need a connection from elsewhere in the USA to the gateway city, you need to pay for that segment separately with the Avios cost for the distance flown. Example OKC-MIA is 1222 miles so you need to add 10,000 Avios to the total price of the ticket.

Great Circle Mapper

QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER

For Qantas, it is easiest to use their points calculator to see how many points you need, then look for availability. Here is an example of SYD-SCL-GRU in economy class. For the record, business class (if you can get it) would cost 112,000 each way.

QF Award

Awards are distance based, look what happens when we quote on Perth-Rio de Janiero! Price for economy goes up to 76,000 each way in economy!

If you are based somewhere else, leave a comment if you don’t understand this part and I will help you out. Meanwhile, here is a reference list for other One World carriers.

USING STAR ALLIANCE

Most people will have United or Singapore Airlines miles via credit cards or be buying Avianca Lifemiles during a 100% bonus promo.

UNITED AIRLINES

United Airlines is a USA based carrier that offers one way awards on its own flights and other Star Alliance carriers. Due to the size of their award chart, I can’t paste it here so will link to it and give examples. Seattle to Manaus has availability on several dates which I picked at random. They are colour coded for economy, business/first or all three classes.

Here is the best routing that came up. Beware of the “mixed cabin” in business class, that means you will have to be in economy for one or more segments.

Another random search on LAX-GRU has good availablilty for saver awards in economy but nothing in business or first on United’s own flights.

But scroll down to the partner airline awards and suddenly there is tons of availability in business but not in economy!

AVIANCA TACA LIFEMILES

Lifemiles has some very attractive promos to buy and share miles. While this doesn’t give you a free trip, it can greatly reduce the cost of a trip especially if you are after business or first class awards. You need to be an existing member of Lifemiles when they announce a promo so join now if you haven’t already. Use their calculator to get an idea of award costs. This will be a range which depends on class and any promos.

Lifemiles Calculator

Click on View Availability to see the exact breakdown.

They have a Star Alliance Award chart and you can see that they divide the continent of South America into northern and southern regions.

I have snipped the section that includes southern South America. Australia and New Zealand are in the “Others” category. The chart shows round trip awards but you can redeem one ways for half the price shown. For Aussies, it’s much cheaper to use US miles while they last or United for Star Alliance awards. I prefer to keep my Lifemiles for intra-South/Central America awards which can get pricy but are bargains using awards.

Lifemiles Awards to/from Southern South America

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

While there are no bargains here, if you are flush with Amex Membership Rewards you want to transfer to SQ, you can also book flights to South America using Krisflyer.

For those who want to use other programs, I have made up a reference list of all the airlines with links to their websites so check them out to see if any of them are better suited to your needs. Bear in mind that the tickets are not completely free, there is usually a booking fee of $25-50 and various taxes, but you would have to pay the taxes whether you pay cash or miles for the ticket in any case.

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

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