We have previously covered the intricacies of domestic flight tickets within Brazil. Buying them from local websites is usually the cheapest way, but using foreign websites sometimes works in your favor (SITI versus SOTO).
Tickets on short notice can sometimes be rather pricey. Today, I needed to get a ticket from Rio de Janeiro (SDU) to Sao Paulo (CGH) for this coming Monday.
The prices for these domestic short-haul flights are usually within the $50 to $100 range if you buy them a few weeks in advance, but the prices within a few days are often rather ridiculous, as was the case today.
There are still three major airlines in Brazil: LATAM (partnered with Delta), GOL (partnered with AA), and Azul (partnered with United). Azul is trying to take over GOL (read more here). LATAM awards are scarcely available using Delta’s miles, while Azul awards used to be reasonably priced through United (no longer).
The GOL awards are still widely available through American Airlines, and domestic tickets only set you back 7,500 miles + rather reasonable taxes.
The ticketing nowadays is also immediate.
These same awards are also available using Avianca Lifemiles (they are part of the same holding company as GOL), but the pricing is not very good, and there is likely an additional partner award fee.
You can also use Air Canada miles for these GOL flights, but the fees are higher. However, the availability through Air Canada would have been better.
Conclusion
The pricing of these domestic flights tends to be competitive if you buy them a few weeks in advance, and sometimes, they appear to have flash sales when tickets go for $50 or so.
However, they charge very high prices if you buy them within a week or so.
There is little difference between Azul, GOL, and LATAM regarding the product, so you may as well buy on price and convenience. The miles you may earn for these flights with partner programs are minuscule.
