GimmeLegRoom

Since there is a lot of talk about showers in the last few months in this thread, just a reminder that access to the showers (if functioning) follows the Arrivals by United rules. I have however gone to the new TAM lounge in Terminal 2 and used the shower there -- it was well-appointed. Wifi is free in that lounge but requires registration.

kyushuman

At GRU now. Hadn't read much though did see some negative threads re the RCC, so I headed straight for the TAM First Class Lounge. Lovely little place, nice shower facility, good-quality wines and hard liquor, small selection but good quality hors d'ouvres and fruit and cheeses. It's very calm and classy, I'd say.
So if you can get in, this is the place to be.
Edit: On my way to the gate, I stopped at the UA RCC. It was HEAVING with people at 8:30pm. I found one table. Staff were doing OK, but several food trays and drinks bottles were empty and waiting to be replaced. Also, when I checked in, the agent recommended I go next door to the TAM First lounge. What in the world is UA going to do with F pax after TAM leaves for OneWorld later this year? That RCC is a complete zoo.

mbarreto

Interesting enough, Lufthansa sends their F pax to the Aadmirals club, and not the TAM F lounge (which you can also access if flying LH F).

I was in GRU last week, and visited the regular TAM lounge at terminal 2. Not bad. Clean, efficient, plenty of seating.

catocony

Strangely enough, on my last trip through, even though I was in E+ coming down from IAD, they let me use the showers. I was still a paid RCC member then (November 2012), but I thought it was strange. The showers were working.

This club is ok in the mornings. Lots of food, few people. With the Conited integration, however, evenings are horrible. The food is still ok, but it is a madhouse. You'll be lucky to find a piece of wall to lean up against at peak times, much less a seat.

redtailshark

I was in GRU on Fri and will be back tomorrow. I used the JJ lounge by Gate 2 - which doesn't say First class, I thought it was a regular *G lounge but still, much as you describe. Better than the RCC/UC.

It won't be good when JJ leaves Star.

mbarreto

There's a separate TAM F lounge by terminal 1.

catocony

TAM lounges are ok, but they are tiny. I've used the ones at GIG, SDU, GRU and POA. They're artful, they're clean, the desk girls are nice. Food is iffy, and again, they're small.

On a related note, and it's soon to be a moot point, can anyone explain why the busiest airport in the country - CGH - does not have a TAM lounge? Other than the fact that it is the most disorganized, clueless airline operations in the hemisphere?

Guys who don't do domestic flying in Brasil will never understand that while they are a bit nicer than the international operations, the level of confusion and insanity is an order of magnitude higher.

mbarreto

Why? Same reason why the runway is (almost criminally) short: lack of space. The airport is encrusted in the middle of the city and no way to expand.

I've been in CGH some 10 years ago, and again last year. While it's true that it was a mess before, this last time I've found it to be clean and efficient, with plenty of seating (granted, I was flying Gol, but they all leave from the same place).

But you're right, no lounge. But since there's no (or very little) connections going on at CGH nowadays, it's not that big of a deal. Or maybe I'm too used to the small Romanian airports I've been frequently flying to/from lately!

catocony

Let me know what you're smoking, I need to pick some up the next time I'm in Sampa. If you're flying domestically in Brasil, there's a good chance that you'll be at CGH sooner than later. Almost everything still connects there. And, as long as it's a 2-hour drive from centro to GRU, CGH will still be the main airport for Sampa.

mbarreto

According to this, GRU is the busiest airport there, and GIG is the second. CGH handles half as many pax as GRU.

You're right, CGH handles a lot of domestic traffic, but little connections.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...orts_in_Brazil

Different people have different opinions though, and we can agree to disagree!

UA-NYC

I lounge hopped between both the UC and AC a couple weeks ago when I was there - exact same catering at both locations. Both very cramped the later it got in the evening.

TAM T2 lounge seems to be the way to go.

redtailshark

@ GRU. Ive spent most of the day in the JJ lounge but the bathroom is not working here so I was directed to the UC.

I cannot see why the OP calls this place (UC) the worst on the planet.

The airless boxes at FLL, SkyClub, or CO PC, or the tiny and cramped lounges at SGN or former WC @ MNL for example strike me as worse in many ways. I cant even remember where but several of the others I visited recently are worse.

UC has cognac but JJ has capirinha...
Both have some sorts of food, actually UA has a larger selection but the JJ snacks are tasty.
UA wifi is not rationed.... this is important when its time to read about the :-: best in class :-: airline with its many enraged customers attempting and failing award bookings