PSU Lion

I will be going to Sao Paulo for the first time at the end of the month and have two options for my flight - United and American. My question is which airline has better business class service?

stimpy

I've only flown United on that route from Miami and it was fine in business. I expect AA would be similar. Which airline are you trying to build miles/status on? That should be the deciding factor.

As for Sao Paulo, try to make sure you are met for transportation. It's a long traffic jammed ride no matter where you are going and it's best to be in an air-conditioned car this time of year.

QuietLion

What is it with this proliferation of lions???

PSU Lion

Sorry I should have mentioned the status thing. I have about 40,000 miles on United and none on American but I do have several hundred thousand on USAirways which partners with American. I am Chairman's Preferred on USAirways and really don't want to pursue elite on any other airlines (If I do want to I will just go for an elite match)

My company has arranged for an armed car to pick me up. It doesn't exactly thrill me to hear that they think it is so dangerous as to warrant an armed car but at least I will feel important

leroy11

Remember that US citizens do need visas whilst most Western Europeans do NOT. A friend of mine ran into this problem when he wanted to pop into Brazil from Paraguay.

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Cheers.

Leo.

jamiel

Armed car is probably overkill...Sao Paulo is equivalent to New York. UAL is better than AA in business ONLY because of the Arrivals service--if you are going right to a meeting, traffic in Sao Paulo is bad enough that you don't want to traipse to the hotel then to your company. There is apparently a nice Diners' Club lounge at the airport with free transportation--I didn't check it out. ATM machines available at the airport, also throughout the city (including CITIBANK).

Last time there we stayed in the Renaissance--in the Jardins district (fashionable residential). Others in the office prefer the Melia which is across the street fm our office there (but is more expensive). Renaissance was $220 as I recall but wasn't worth that much--about $150, imho. Food was quite good--if you're there on a Saturday for a late lunch it is quite a production--I just forgot the Portuguese for the meal but it is amazing! Remember that the language is Portuguese! not Spanish. Safety felt the same as New York. Sao Paulo is different than anywhere else in Brazil and can't be compared with the USA because it is so predominantly the economic center of the country (something like 45% of the economic activity in Brazil occurs in SP state, and 3/4 of that in metro Sao Paulo (sorry, need to say that SP state and SP city are equivalent to NY state/NYC).

ajnaro

I travel regularly to Brazil, on both United and American. United service has been slipping quite a bit lately. Many United FA's are testy and certainly do not take good service to be their main goal. United itself has gone cheapo on menus and food -- you can have cheese or sweets, but not both, and the business class food and wine is down in quality. American seems better to me, although not by very much. Since you will no doubt sleep for most of the flight, it doesn't really make too much difference.

QuietLion

I haven't flown American, but I agree the UA international business-class service is getting pretty bad. UA, are you listening?

jamiel

Just a thought--you might want to try the AA codeshare on TAM--it has gotten great reviews around our office, plus gets you in early to GRU. New A330 planes, supposedly full flat seats in F.