Originally Posted by
RafKa
I think the chances of you finding someone who 1) transited internationally through GRU on TA 2) on a 12h layover, and 3) from a country whose citizens are normally required to get a visa to enter Brazil (i.e. therefore had to be especially attentive about the specific need to stay airside) are going to be slim to none.
So speculation is the best you can hope to get here, and the best people can offer you is that in theory it should be feasible but there's also a fair chance of a major SNAFU along the way.
If that's not good enough for you, my friend - and you can't be bothered to get a Brazilian visa just to be on the safe side - I recommend you take your own advice and fly to JNB direct from the US, or via Europe.
While I still hope you are wrong when you say I won't find anyone who has transited internationally through GRU on TA, I do agree with the logic of everything you've said, but.
If you go back to my original post, you will see that United Airlines (an American carrier used, in large part, by citizens of the USA, of which I happen to be one) presents this routing from LIM-JNB via GRU as a viable itinerary on its website for United mileage redemption (which, of course, it is). Except that for all the reasons you and others have noted it is probably very risky to take this flight if you don't have a Brazilian visa (even if you never intended to visit Brazil at any point in your life).
But, once again, if you go back to my original post, you will also see that United Airlines (based upon my recent and very specific experience) won't even touch the question of how this connection is supposed to work in practice. They certainly didn't-- even if it would have been an over-abundance of caution-- tell me that I needed a Brazilian visa to make this transit connection that their reservation system was showing me.
As a recent convert to UA (after becoming fed up with the new AA after 30 years of loyal flying), I find UA's seeming indifference to their customers in this circumstance appalling.
While you may well disagree (and FWIW, I hope I am wrong), I am willing to place a pretty big bet that there are folks who use the UA website for international airline bookings on other Star Alliance carriers (like TA and SA) who aren't nearly as sophisticated as any of the folks commenting on this thread. And if that's the case, UA needs to be called out (at least IMO). (And indeed, depending on what I learn, that's exactly what I intend to do.)