Gol Linhas Aereas

Pros: Good service, clean new planes, low fares
Cons: Advertising mars the plane's interior

In a country as big as Brazil, you have to fly if you're going to see much, but unfortunately, fares on major Brazilian carriers are about as sky-high as their cruising altitudes. Sure, you can do the Brazil Air Pass deal if you're flying Varig, TAM, or ...

Pros: Cheap, expanding network, brand new planes, free snacks!
Cons: Website only in portuguese.

Finally! I was wondering how long it would take for low-fare airlines to start up in South America's biggest country. The answer came about in mid-2001 when a Brazilian entrepreneur decided starting up an airline from scratch.

A few low-fare...

Pros: Got me there alive - - for cheap!
Cons: GOL tricked immigration into thinking I had taken an international flight, pilot skills bad

GOL – Camel in the Skies : It spits, crashes to its knees, but gets there somehow. Why GOL? GOL is cheap. They can be a third of the price of their nearest competitor. They boast a no-nonsense, no-frill yet “we have the newest planes ...

Pros: space, new planes, service, staff
Cons: nothing really from this trip

One of many internal and international flights for this recent Brazilian Trip - only one flight with GOL (Recife to Petrolina).

Check in: Quick and efficient,, picky check in guy wooul not let me take my hand luggage on at 5500g (maximum weight was 5000g) - harsh and to the rule 110% but was only a short hop and no connections so actually not too much of a bother!

Inflight: This was a 55 minute cruise from Recife to Petrolina. Really nice seats (with movable headrests with wings). Pleanty of leg room and a abrand new plane. flight service included a cereal bar and drink - free of charge thankfully. Smooth ride with no issues at all.

Baggage claim - quick and efficient again no issues at all.

All in all a great flight - smooth operation with brand new planes (unlike Varig), plenty of room for legs (unlike Varig) and freindly cabin crew (unlike Varig). All of whome spoke good english (unlike Varig) and all of whom were helpfull (unlike Varig)- bit of a pattern going on here i think - go GOL and leave Varig on the downward sprial that it cant get of from!

Pros: Cheap promotional airfares, new airplanes.
Cons: Quirky web site, they don't accept foreign credit cards.

You may think you have actually scored a goal with Gol's low Internet airfares; however, don't be deceived. Their lowest promotional airfares are only a "bait and switch" when one tries to actually book an available fare. Unlike other airlines, Gol does not hold the available fare until you enter your payment information, which takes about five minutes. Thus, when you actually find the lowest fare and try to book it, Gol will tell you it is unavailable once you finally get to payment confirmation. Secondly, Gol discriminates against foreigners and doesn't want your business; Gol does not accept credit cards issued outside of Brazil. So, if you are in the United States and want to book a cheap airfare for within Brazil, forget about it! It's not going to happen. Finally, their web site is a bit quirky as moving back to the initial page will change your destination if you are changing your dates.