Brazil - Can I only make flights within Brazil on one of the travel companies like Expedia?

Everytime I search a flight on the TAM website, I go to select it and get an error. I can search on Expedia, etc. but the costs seem high. Should I use a travel agent?

You do not say where you are. if the US you can use the JJ website in the US. The Brazil website will work, but you'll need a CPF (sort of a social security+) number to do the booking. From abroad the bookings do not requite a CPF. You also can use the public sites such as Expedia. The prices should not be materially different. Another try is other Star Alliance sites. Soem of those allow booking domestic Brazil flights, often as codeshares, others do not.

I'm sorry to give such a convoluted answer. Booking domestic Brazil is easy only if you're a Brazilian in Brazil.

Thanks for your help. I am in the US..... the JJ site is the one I keep getting errors on and the Star Alliance just brings me to the Tam site where I get errors.

My daughter is in Brazil at this time... would it be better if she booked them or just use Expedia? She is not Brazilian however. I've always been hesitant to use Expedia, Travelocity, etc. as I always see complaints about them and try to book directly with the airline but I may not have a choice in this case. I just don't want to get stuck somewhere.

As jbcarioca mentioned in his convoluted answer, there is a JJ US site. You didn't specify if you were getting errors on that site. Also, you state your daughter is in Brazil but not Brazilian. Is she a permanent resident of Brazil? If so, she will have the CPF number needed for the JJ Brazilian web site, if not, another option would be family or friends in Brazil (who you trust and that trust you) to purchase the tickets for you.

Daughter is just studying there and no one we know lives there. Can you give me a link to the JJ site?

If you go to www.tamairlines.com it should take you to the "portal" where it will ask you to select a country (and language at the top right). I tried to book a sample flight, I get pricing, I selected a flight but then it kicked me back to the portal. Ah well, I had issues trying to book from the US site last year. IIRC, booking through the call center doesn't incur an additional fee (unlike other airlines), so you can get pricing from the site, and if it gives you wrinkles, call and book over the phone.

TAM's site is really bad. Try different browsers / clearing cookies.

One more question...... is it better to book on a Monday or Tuesday for lowers prices on TAM as it is for airlines in America? We're looking to fly from Rio to IGU in mid may.

Also, I may just go with Expedia as TAM is still not working even on another brower.

I checked the TAM Brazil site for a Tuesday to Tuesday trip beginning May 17. Looked at Flexible fares which cover a week period. While the prices vary slightly, the difference was not great (about 40 US dollars), however Monday seemed consistently higher. This was for GIG-IGU. Fares out of SDU (the domestic airport in Rio) were in the same range, but Tuesday and Wed were the lowest, matching the GIG lowest fare.

I have also used Orbitz to buy TAM tickets, although not pure domestic, so you might check them out. And as EricTheNerd mentioned , you can call TAM in the US. From their US Web site:

Contact Tam

1 888 2FLYTAM (235-9826)

Talk to the CEO

talktotheceo.usa@tam.com.br

I included the email address in case you want to complain about the web site. :)

Thanks for all of the great information! Internet Explorer seems to work better (I was using Firefox and Chrome) and used a different computer but have not gone as far as purchase these flights but at least I don't receive errors.

Last questions (I hope)

As far as Monday and Tuesday ---- I meant is it better to make the booking on those days? (not fly on those days) - I noticed for three of us the cost has gone up a couple of hundred dollars from earlier in the week. I don't know if this is due to full flights or the day of the week like they are in the US.

Also, any advantage to making two one way flights.... from GIG to IGU, then from IGU to FLN .... or just Multi city.

Any advantage or disadvantage to booking with Orbitz or TAM?

Again, thanks for the help!

I just got off of the phone with TAM and was thrilled to hear they will hold a reservation for a week at the price quoted. Sometimes they will only hold it for a day or two depending on the fare basis.

I thought others may want to know this.

Thanks for telling us. That is good to know.