We have covered award redemptions for flights within Brazil and South America a few times, and they are often good value when prices are high.
Flight prices in Brazil fluctuate greatly. Sometimes, you can get a shuttle flight between Rio and Sao Paulo for $50, while they sometimes go for $500. Especially then, using miles from a partner program is very good value.
So, a couple of days back, I was looking for a one-way flight from RIO (covering GIG and SDU airports) to Sao Paulo (GRU), as this flight would connect to an international flight from this specific airport, and you don’t want to transit between CGH and GRU.
There are essentially three airlines serving the most cities in Brazil: GOL, Azul, and LATAM. Each of them has partnered with multiple foreign airlines, but none of them is a member of any of the three alliances.
Paid Flights:
There is sometimes a difference for flights within Brazil whether you book with a local POS (SITI – Sold Inside Ticketed Inside) versus one of the international OTA’s with a foreign POS (SOTO – Sold Outside Ticketed Outside).
I checked Expedia’s Brazil POS and the prices were the same as with Trip, which usually has the lowest prices.
LATAM & Azul:
LATAM partners with Delta and Alaska, while Azul has teamed up with United and Aeroplan.
Nothing was available through Delta or Alaska, but Azul was available using United, but at a too-high mileage price of 12,500 (these used to be great value when redeemed using MileagePlus, but not anymore).
GOL:
I have redeemed miles from American’s AAdvantage for GOL flights quite a few times because their award access appears to be great, and the pricing is fantastic (for ALL GOL flights within South America).
I also checked Avianca LifeMiles (the quote excludes the $25 partner award fee).
And Air Canada’s Aeroplan.
However, the program I forgot to check when I made the reservation was Flying Blue, as their partner award rate is usually nuts, but it would have been the best value here.
Conclusion
Oh well. It is always good to book with programs that don’t charge cancellation, redeposit, or other fees, like America (let’s not look at those BA awards using AA miles and their fuel surcharges), and also allows you to manage everything online without having to call customer service.
I need to remember that Flying Blue may offer excellent award rates for short-haul GOL flights within Brazil, if available from their program, but AAs are far better for connecting itineraries or longer flights.
