|
 US-based American Airlines, which offers more flights to Brazil than any other US airline, has entered into a frequent flyer agreement with Brazilian airline Gol Airlines that will provide benefits to members of both American's AAdvantage and Gol's Smiles programs.
The two airlines also intend to enter into a codeshare agreement in the near future.
The frequent flyer participation agreement will expand the opportunities to earn and redeem miles to new destinations for the more than 62 million members of American's AAdvantage program and the 6 million members of Gol's Smiles program.
Beginning August 1st, 2009, AAdvantage and Smiles members will be able to earn miles on all eligible Gol and American flights. Then, beginning in Fall 2009, AAdvantage and Smiles members will be able to redeem their miles for travel on Gol and American flights worldwide.
AAdvantage members will be able to earn double miles when flying on eligible Gol flights between August 1st and October 31st, 2009.
The codeshare agreement between American and Gol, which is planned for later this year, should make it easier to travel to and from points in Brazil not served by American. With its service to five major Brazilian cities from the United States, combined with Gol's flights to 49 destinations within that country, American says that it will be able to offer a level of accessibility to and from Brazil unequalled by any other airline.
"American's new frequent flyer and codeshare agreements with Gol significantly increase the flexibility, in terms of flight schedule and price, available to our passengers," said Peter J. Dolara, American's Senior Vice President - Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America. "Our customers traveling to and from Brazil will now have an unparalleled choice of destinations and schedules. We are proud to be able to connect more people throughout the world through our new arrangement with Gol."
"This agreement adds additional value for each airline's customers. With this collaboration, Gol will now offer American Airlines customers access to South America's largest route network and the continent's fastest growing airline," said Constantino de Oliveira Junior, Gol's CEO.
"Also, not only are we offering Smiles members service across the United States, but we're also providing access to destinations in all continents through a partner that offers a high-quality product."
Once the codeshare agreement is in effect, customers transferring from Gol to an American Airlines flight leaving Brazil or other points in South America will be able to check their luggage to their ultimate American Airlines destination when they check in for their Gol flight.
Similarly, customers traveling to Brazil on American and transferring to a Gol flight within Brazil or elsewhere in South America can purchase a single ticket for their journey, rather than multiple tickets, and check their luggage to their final destination. As always, customers will still have to clear US and Brazilian customs upon arrival.
American and Gol also offer interline fares for both Premium Class and Economy Class travel. Interline tickets for travel between American and Gol can be purchased through AA and its appointed agencies around the world, using electronic ticketing.
American serves five destinations in Brazil from Miami International Airport, New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, while Gol operates nearly 800 daily flights to 49 destinations connecting the most important cities in Brazil and nine major destinations in South America.
American has expanded its service levels to Brazil in recent months, adding both flight frequencies and new destinations to its worldwide network. In November 2008, American began service from its Miami hub to Belo Horizonte, Recife and Salvador. In all, American offers 58 weekly flights to and from Brazil.
Following is a summary of American's US - Brazil routes, including the new destinations that began in November 2008:
American Airlines Brazil Service Summary
São Paulo - Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York JFK
Rio de Janeiro - Miami
Belo Horizonte - Miami
Recife - Miami
Salvador - Miami
American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft.
Gol operates a fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. The Company's service includes the Gol and VARIG brands.
Available in over 200 countries with over 6 million participants, Smiles is Gol's customer relationship program. Through the program, customers accumulate miles every time they fly on Gol, VARIG and airline partners, or when they purchase services and products from the program's 150 non-air partners.
Service
AA: www.aa.com
Smiles: www.smiles.com.br
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Brazil received a huge boost in its international image with its selection as the host of the 2016 Olympics, but it was really just the cherry on top of the overall recognition of the country's ascension to the ranks of one of the world's most important countries. Now, as it finally takes its place on the world scene, there has been a great deal of concern about what kind of image Brazil hopes to project, now that the world is really paying attention. 
The only good thing to say about the visit to Brazil of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Monday November 23, is that it was mercifully short and lasted less than 24 hours. Ahmadinejad had his picture taken being hugged by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who gave him a warm welcome and said Iran had every right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. 
The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent's economic megalith, Brazil. 
Some sectors of the fight against AIDS have suggested that Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, committed genocide through his absence from the fight against the illness in his country throughout his two terms. 
One hundred and eleven years after Brazil abolished slavery, the number of workers deprived of their freedom is still huge. They raise cattle, produce charcoal, sugar cane or timber. Some of them, most undocumented Bolivians, work in basements of small apparel factories in São Paulo and other metropolis. 
On November 7, 2009 a few friends and I had an opportunity to take a look inside a Brazilian jail outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We were able to take some amateur footage of our experience on video (see link below). It's no surprise, of course, that the typical Brazilian jail lacks some of the functionality of those in North America or Europe, but our experience that day was quite shocking. 
Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world's most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. 
Geisy Arruda made history this week in Brazil, but for all the wrong reasons. What began as a poorly planned fashion statement has become a worldwide tale. Geisy decided to wear a pink mini-dress to her private college in São Paulo state, and after that, all hell broke loose.
Not a bad news. BUT.....BUT..... hope AA do not charge $6 for a can of cold one on their International flights nor $15 per a piece of baggage on their domestic flights!! BUT...BUT...., I must admit AA has good fleet of B-777 which I like to fly . They have some shapely and friendly stewardesses too on their International Flights.