Brazil - New way to book GOL: Delta.com

This arrived in my inbox today


See more of South America with GOL.
To view this e-mail on a mobile device, click here.

JBCarioca
SkyMiles® #xxxxxxxx | Account Activity ›
Comment/Complaint › | Add to Address Book ›
Stay Connected:

delta.com Book a Trip Check In Earn Miles

GO WITH GOL
You now can book travel on 58 GOL flights
to 15 Brazilian destinations.
FIND FLIGHTS

ShareThis


Hello Mr. Carioca,

South American travel has never been easier.

At delta.com, you now can easily book flights to 15 Brazilian destinations, including Fortaleza, Recife, and Salvador, operated by our codeshare partner GOL, one of Brazil's largest airlines.




The specific flights available for booking are between Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, and 15 Brazilian destinations: Belem, Belo Horizonte, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Goiania, Iguassu Falls, Joao Pessoa, Navegantes, Porto Elegre, Recife, Salvador, Teresina and Vitoria.

We expect to increase service through GOL to over 30 destinations by this summer.

This codeshare service complements our 31 nonstop weekly flights between the United States and Brazil, including service between Atlanta and Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia; between New York-JFK and Sao Paulo; and between Detroit and Sao Paulo.

Plus, you can earn and redeem miles on GOL flights too.

Book your ticket today to experience a seamless travel experience and our expanding network throughout Brazil and South America.

This is great news, as booking through voegol.com was always a nightmare!

There is only one problem. Despite the claim one cannot book GOL on Delta.com yet. I tried immediately to book GIG-FOR and received the answer that there were no flights between the two cities. I sent a note to Delta.com technical support which reproduced the problem and said they're working on it.

What a surprise; that Delta would actually announce as available something that IT does not yet support. Delta desperately needs to fix IT!

There is only one problem. Despite the claim one cannot book GOL on Delta.com yet. I tried immediately to book GIG-FOR and received the answer that there were no flights between the two cities. I sent a note to Delta.com technical support which reproduced the problem and said they're working on it.

What a surprise; that Delta would actually announce as available something that IT does not yet support. Delta desperately needs to fix IT!

I would bet you have to have a DL flight attached for you to book their codeshare. For example: ATL-GIG-FOR.

I would bet you have to have a DL flight attached for you to book their codeshare. For example: ATL-GIG-FOR.

I have been assured there is no need for that. The delta.com rep told me the intention was to permit domestic Brazil bookings. I hope so, for as others have noted, voegol.com.br, once experienced, is only used again by certified masochists.

I have been assured there is no need for that. The delta.com rep told me the intention was to permit domestic Brazil bookings. I hope so, for as others have noted, voegol.com.br, once experienced, is only used again by certified masochists.

You might try from the Delta.com site yourself. It does appear that for the present, at least, you need to book the Gol flight in conjunction with a Delta flight, which makes sense given their partnership (code share partners, not the same company). For example, you can't book GRU-FOR by itself, but can book ATL-FOR (which includes a change of planes in GRU). You can also book ATL-GRU for one day, and GRU-FOR for another, though the price rises by quite a bit over the ATL-FOR option. This would, in fact, "permit domestic Brazil bookings," just not separate from any Delta booking. Looks similar to the arrangement between United and TAM.

p.s. one can also book a U.S. to Brazil flight involving Gol for a domestic leg (either straight-through or stopping at a Brazilian gateway, such as GRU)through the American Airlines site. AA is, of course, a code share partner with Gol, as is Delta. So, one can do that through Delta or American Airlines. Or, with TAM for domestic, through United or Continental. Or, of course, with sites such as Expedia (which does show Gol flights but seems to show more TAM).

To be fair to Delta, etc., I don't think you can book a U.S. domestic-only trip through Gol. Some U.S. airlines have Brazil Web sites (e.g., www.aa.com.br). TAM has international Web sites, but they currently have more an incentive than Gol to do so since they have their own flights from Brazil to both Europe and the U.S. Perhaps Gol has its own plans to make it easier to book domestic Brazil flights on their airline.

Just a few minutes ago I have a telephone call from a DL agent who told me they do intend to have domestic Brazil tickets bookable on Delta.com but that 'technical and regulatory issues" were delaying the offer. I suspect that is also why SQ is not yet bookable exBrazil is is in the other direction.