Air pass in Brazil

[Brall]

Next month a friend will be flying to Brazil by using his frequent flyers miles. Does anyone know if he can purchase an air pass, here in the states, for flights within Brazil since he is flying to Brazil with his miles instead of purchasing the ticket?

 

Thanks

[+ Axiom2001]

Your friend most definitely can purchase a Brasil Airpass in the States from brol.com (a Miami-based consolidator) or from Yestravel.net also based in Miami or from any reputable travel agent. If I am not mistaken, one can do this via the net; I think that is what I did when I purchased mine in 2003.

 

Do a search at this site by tying in BrazilPass; ...see what you get!

[trilingual]

If your friend is going to fly to Brazil using miles, he probably should get his award ticket BEFORE he purchases an Air-Pass, because they're issued as what is known as a "conjunction" ticket. That means that the ticket(s) for the Air-Pass flights also have to show the ticket number of the flights that brought the passenger to Brazil. I don't know for certain that an Air-Pass can be bought to add on to a free mileage flight, but the airlines in Brazil are pretty hungry for foreign currency these days, so one or another is likely to sell a pass under such circumstances.

[imrthr]

>If your friend is going to fly to Brazil using miles, he

>probably should get his award ticket BEFORE he purchases an

>Air-Pass, because they're issued as what is known as a

>"conjunction" ticket. >

>________________________________________________________________

 

 

The above quoted text is correct in that the air pass must be purchased in conjunction with the ticket that takes the traveler to Brazil.

 

However, it is not necessary to purchase the air pass from an agency. Both TAM and Varig air passes can be purchased for $399.00 plus $26.00 taxes (for four vouchers or flights). Each additional voucher is charged at $100.00.

 

The air pass can be purchased directly from the air carrier that issued the paid or frequent flyer ticket. I have purchased air passes like this many times.

 

If you are using American Airlines, you would purchase a TAM Airlines air pass because American Airlines is the partner for TAM Airlines. If you are using United Airlines, you would buy a Varig Airlines air pass because Varig Airlines is the partner for United Airlines. Each air carrier has an agreement which allows for the purchase of the air pass. Depending on the air carrier that takes you to Brazil determines which air pass you will purchase. Either air pass is the same price regardless of whether it is TAM or Varig.

 

You also earn frequent flyer miles for trips taken using the air pass.

 

Have your friend call the airline that issued the mileage ticket to advise the airline that he wants to buy a Brazil Air pass. Both TAM and Varig have similar routes within Brazil so it really does not matter which air pass your friend gets.

 

Caution - only ONE air pass can by purchased with each international ticket and the air pass can only be purchased by a nonresident of Brazil. Furthermore, the air pass must be purchased PRIOR to entering Brazil with the current paid ticket or a mileage ticket. The effect of this rule precludes your taking any Brazilian friends with you for the discounted fares you obtain by the use of the air pass.

 

The air pass is a great value. As I see it, there are only mild disadvantages to using an air pass. Such as, you must select your flights at the time you make the air pass purchase and there is a time limit to use the vouchers. However, for a $30.00 change-fee per segment, you can change the itinerary if you must or want.

 

I hope this information is helpful to your friend.

[johnnysneakers]

This is very useful info. My question is about cheap tickets from GIG to EZE. I have done a search and find they are quite expensive. Do you have any suggestions?

 

If travelling within Argentina my advice is quite different from your suggestion for an air pass. It is much cheaper to buy your tickets in Argentina, using pesos, rather than buying them at home in your country. The savings are incredible. For example last year I had bought a ticket from BA to Cordoba and it was about $700 US bought in advance outside of Argentina. Fortunately they were fully refundable and I was able to get much cheaper tickets on the same carrier, Aerolinas, for about $250 for the same flights at a downtown ticket office in BA.

[trilingual]

Depending on what you're doing, a MercosulPass ticket may be the cheapest way to go from GIG to EZE (especially if you want stopovers in between). If you're going non-stop, sometimes the cheapest thing to do is buy a round-trip excursion fare to B.A. but just use it one way, throwing away the other coupon. Buy your tickets between Brazil and Argentina when you're in South America. There are cheaper fares that aren't advertised for sale in the U.S. Any travel agency can help you.

[Brall]

THANKS for the information guys! I have passed the good news on to my friend.

[trilingual]

Some other things to tell your friend:

 

A round-trip excursion between EZE-GIG bought in Brazil or Argentina will run between US$280 - $400, depending on the season and how long in advance it's purchased. (Prices of international tickets within South America are quoted in dollars.) Some excursion fares between the two cities permit a stopover in each direction, or two stopovers in one direction, for no extra fare. That would allow a traveler to stop, for example, in Iguazu Falls and São Paulo on the way to Rio, which may eliminate the need to buy an AirPass within Brazil. Your friend should be sure to ask, when buying an excursion ticket, whether any stopovers are allowed.

 

A reminder about Brazil AirPasses: They aren't particularly cheap and aren't unlimited. Comparison shopping is essential. Depending on what a traveler is doing, it may be cheaper to buy an unrestricted coach ticket within Brazil (paying in local currency), because that will allow unlimited en-route stopovers as long as travel is in a "straight" line along the designated route. An unrestricted ticket from Rio to Fortaleza, for example, would allow stopovers at virtually all cities in between along the coast and even some that are inland. A traveler could visit Vitória, Salvador, Aracajú, Maceió, Recife, João Pessoa, and Natal going and possibly Teresina, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte on the return! That's a lot more cities than the AirPass would allow, and the travel would be within one year, not 21 days like the AirPass. Changes in travel dates or in stopovers (as long as they're enroute) also shouldn't cost anything extra on an unrestricted ticket.

 

The AirPass is the way to go if you plan use it within 21 days, are covering very long distances, and/or plan an itinerary that isn't in a straight line (i.e., including side trips, zig-zags or switchbacks). An example of an itinerary that's ideal for an AirPass would be Rio/Porto Alegre/Manaus/Brasilia/Natal/Belem/Sao Paulo. (You can begin your AirPass travel in Rio and end in SP, or vice-versa.)

 

Another source of cheaper tickets: Booking a package through a site like http://www.GayTravelBrazil.com Travel agencies in Brazil have access to special unpublished travel agency fares that can be sold in conjunction with hotel stays, transfers, tours, etc. It can end up being cheaper and far easier booking your internal flights and hotels (and any necessary extras like airport transfers and local tours) through an agency. An advantage of booking through http://www.GayTravelBrazil.com is that you can pay for your arrangements using your credit card. Many Brazilian airlines, particularly the discount carriers, make it very difficult or impossible to purchase domestic tickets online using credit cards issued outside Brazil. With some it's also not possible to buy such a ticket even within Brazil if the card is foreign. The only way for a foreigner to buy a ticket on those airlines is by paying cash. However, by the time you get to Brazil to pay with cash, the cheapest advance-purchase fares are likely to long gone! With http://www.GayTravelBrazil.com you can avoid all these problems, and you may also get an even cheaper travel agency fare that isn't advertised to the general public, as long as your reservation also includes hotels and/or or other land arrangements. When you put it all together, you'll find that you've probably saved some money compared to the rates you can get yourself, and you'll have saved yourself a lot of time and headaches by dealing with one company, rather than many!