txp

Does any airline offer domestic first or business class service within Brazil? After a quick look at the TAM and GOL websites, all I could find was coach travel on all routes. Thanks.

neuromancer

Some international TAM flights (numbers 8xxx) have domestic sectors, and have business/ first class section. How to book it if you are travelling just domestically I am not sure.
I think they are mostly short flights (between CNF, GIG and GRU) and not worth the trouble.
Azul has a "comfort" section, with more legroom, but this is not real business class. TAM also sells comfort seats with more legroom (bulkhead/ exit row), you pay extra when selecting such a seat.

txp

Thanks!

Do you know if it is possible to purchase two seats for one passenger, to ensure an empty middle seat? Would this be worth it? How crowded are domestic flights, usually? Not only on the major routes (like GIG-GRU) but also on longer flights into MAO or REC?

neuromancer

Sorry, I don't know about the two seats. How crowded they are depends on the time of the year and day. If you are travelling near a major holiday or during school holidays, I'd say very crowded.
Just saw that between Sao Paulo and Manaus TAM offers RELAX fare with spacious seats, reclining to 170 degrees. They cost quite a lot. Otherwise, there are no "domestic international" flights to Manaus or Recife.

txp

Thank you, that was very helpful.

Ziegenhorn

On the flights to MAO operated on an A332 you can book C class, seats will be the intercontinental C class seats, F class seats are blocked and not sold, service will be Y class.

On all other doestic flights you can purchase Comfort Seats, which are bulkhead or emergency exit seats at check-in or through the call centre at or after booking for a small fee.

Trust that this helps.

txp

Thank you. This is also very helpful.

SoCal

Only flight within Brazil where I've seen a 2-cabin (two class) plane was from GRU to FOR on TAM, and the plane had originated in Buenos Aires. The 'first class" cabin was used by economy class passengers. Everyone got the same snack. With TAM you can usually pay extra to get a premium seat. For emergency row seats we are usually asked if you can speak Portuguese well enough to understand emergency instructions and assist others (my wife is Brazilian and I speak passable Portuguese). I assume bulkhead seats would be no problem, regrdless of language. We've only been able to request, and pay for, such seats at the airport but it sounds like others have been able to request them in advance.

The one time I flew Gol and asked, there was no extra fee, and seats were just given at random. I can't remember advance seat assignments before checking in as a general rule, at least when I've booked just a domestic flight, but you can always request it, and if you don't have it when you check in, ask again. BTW, some flights to MAO (Manaus) are in single-class aircraft. I've not flown Webjet or Azul or Avianca Brasil (formerly Ocean Air).

C010T3

Well, comfort seats are not very popular. People get outraged by the fact that they're charged extra, so the probability that won't have anyone by your side is fairly high if you choose to purchase one of them. I don't know how they deal with a second seat though.

SoCal

Why not phone TAM? They have offices in the U.S. http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/vgn/v/inde...000b61990aRCRD

People outraged for paying extra for premium seats? S.O.P. in the U.S. I've seen many filled seats on TAM, so I personally wouldn't bank on having a vacant seat just because you paid for a comfort seat. Plus, as note, you may not be able to get (or stay in) an emergency row seat if you don't speak Portuguese. And what would you do if someone from another seat sits there? I don't know about buying two seats. It would get expensive. I'd phone the airline.

C010T3

Why would I phone TAM?

Well, let me just be clear that I was talking about domestic flights, not international. Furthermore, I mentioned a probability, not a certainty. If the flight is full, those seats are filled with passengers that did not pay for the premium as well. That's the most common situation for them to get filled. Lastly, TAM forbids passengers not assigned to the Comfort seats from sitting on them. There is constant control and it's fairly common to witness arguments between the crew and passengers that try to seat on them.

JerseyScotsman

Was told by a FA on a recent TAM domestic flight that comfort(emergency exit) seats were not available to non-Brazilians as instructions would be in Portuguese in the event of an emergency.....

rabble

I've gotten the exit row on TAM flights, mostly MVD-GRU without a problem. My spanish is pretty fluent, my portugese is broken, but enough to say 'falo portugese' and nod at the right time during the exit row instructions. I think i got an exit row on GIG-GRU once last year too.

txp

I am bumping this old thread to see if the situation has changed. Here is what I have been able to find regarding premium cabin travel within Brazil:

1. TAM offers premium economy in the front cabin on the MAO-GRU route when serviced by a wide body; these seats can be booked directly as "relax" fares into the front cabin for a fee.

2. Occasionally one can book premium seats on TAM for a fee on other routes. These are typically bulk head or emergency rows.

3. Azul offers premium economy in the first five rows of its E195 jets. Has anyone tried this?

This seems to be the extent of the landscape of premium travel within Brazil (at least as far as commercial aviation goes).

Did I leave anything out?

Thanks!

qfrodo

GOL has "GOL+ Conforto" which is the first 6 or 7 rows having extra pitch. Don't know exact measurment, but probably around 34 or 35. On some planes, Row 2 A-C has no Row 1 in front, so loads of legroom.