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I bought a Polaris business class ticket to Rio de Janeiro that involves local connections between GRU and RIO. The connections are in Y. To Rio, I'm flying a UA codeshare operated by Azul, and am returning on a non-codeshare operated by LATAM.

Comparing the two Brazilian carriers, it seems far easier to manage your reservation and select a seat on LATAM, which isn't in any sort of alliance with UA. True, United couldn't tell me my LATAM PNR, but I got through to LATAM on the phone right away, and later used their website to select a seat....with preferred seats available at no extra cost.

Entering the UA-supplied Azul confirmation number on Azul's website, I was told I didn't have authority to manage the reservation and would have to call. The Brazilian number was supplied. I had to navigate to the Contact Us tab and scroll all the way down to find a U.S. number. I called, waiting on hold for over 10 minutes. A pleasant-enough agent answered, asked for my PNR, then put me on hold twice for several more minutes. Eventually addressing me by my first name on the reservation, she suggested Row 10. It took a bit of work to find that Row 7, ahead of the wing, was in fact available. The agent didn't offer what Seat Guru describes as Extra Space seats in Rows 1 to 4, although I assume the fare booking class (B) is higher end. Are these seats in fact available without extra cost on a connecting business class itinerary, or maybe just on a space-available basis at check-in?

Speaking of checking in, that sounds like it could be another ordeal with Azul since I can't manage my reservation on their website and their app doesn't have an English language option. I see that my selected seat has now popped up on United's website, but there's no managing it there.

Am I missing something, or is dealing with Azul a bear at least on codeshare reservations?

dkc192

The relationship between the two could certainly use some work. I was at least able to select seats on my recent Azul flights (GRU-SDU-GRU, booked as UA codeshares) on UA.com, but to buy up to their extra legroom seats, I had to call, which was relatively painless. I was on a paid J fare and still had to pay (the low cost of $14 RT).

Check in, on the other hand, was a pain on the return. On the outbound, UA managed to print an Azul BP that worked both going through security and boarding the flight. For the return, I could not OLCI due to the same issues you were having OP, and UA would not allow me to OLCI due to the initial segment being operated by another airline. At SDU there was no priority line except for their own elite members, and the agents clearly are not well versed at performing check in for itineraries with downline international flights, ones going to the US no less. It took over 20 minutes while three agents attempted to enter APIS and complete other check-in procedures, despite me pleading several times with them to just check me in for SDU-GRU and leave UA agents in GRU to check me in for the onward flights.

If I need to repeat this in the future and fares/availability permit, I would consider buying separate UA and Azul tickets to avoid all this hassle, and accepting the risk of a potential misconnect.

eng3

I recently connected to Azul on arrival at GRU then connected from GOL on the return. I was on a separate PNRs so none of the above affected me.
However, it was annoying having to take the shuttle over to the other Terminal. The terminal itself was pretty barebones. No *A or PP lounge.
Connecting from GOL back to UA was for more comfortable. No shuttle. Several lounge options.

Explore

Thanks for comments - I'm glad I'm returning from GIG to GRU on LATAM, a full-service carrier which can handle interline ticketing and offers lounges and preferred seating despite having no alliance or partner relationship with United. For the time being, I guess my OW Emerald status (if nothing else) will get me into their GIG lounge!

I hope Neeleman's Azul isn't a harbinger of his new Salt Lake-based Breeze Airlines scheduled to start in a year or two. Perhaps he can make that work if there's no interlining.

dkc192

Forgot to add this to my earlier post, but I echo these remarks. Landside shuttle between the terminals is annoying. I could live with the lack of a lounge in T1 as I only had ~20 min to kill on the way to SDU.

qfrodo

I connect frequently at GRU with Azul. Yes there is a shuttle between Terminal 3 and Terminal 1. It isn't that bad. Yes there are fewer restaurants and no lounge in Terminal 1, but changes are happening. More is being added (a Subway was recently opened) and the second floor area is being developed. Don't know all the plans though.

United has a stake in Azul, which is why they are a preferred partner, which makes a difference in PQP if that is important to you. If you are on 016 ticket stock, you earn everything just as though it was a UA flight. Granted, sometimes you have to request it after 7 days, so keep your ticket. You can also use UA miles for award flights within Brazil, usually at a good rate.

The Comforto seats do cost more unless you are Diamante on Azul or 1K on UA. I had it confirmed in an email from Azul that UA status is recognized. Unfortunately, some agents are not as well trained, so sometimes it is hit or miss for the UA status. When I have purchased for others, I did not feel the cost was unreasonable, in fact, pretty low. If you are 1K on UA, you should be able to use the Diamante line when boarding.

I have also used GOL and LaTAM, and nothing wrong with them. But if you are interested in accumulating the miles and PQP, then Azul is the way to go. Additionally, there is an effort underway to form a regional partnership that originally was between UA, Copa and Avianca, but now also includes Azul.

One more thing, I believe it is true that you can't check in on line if the first flight is anyone other than UA. This applies to GOL and LaTAM also. Has not been a problem checking in at the airport the day of the flight for any of them. You likely benefited on LaTAM as they were briefly part of * Alliance. Azul has preferred to remain independent and establish stand alone partnerships, but that seems to be changing.

seanp7

Azul is a great airline. Don't be too concerned about managing seats etc as the E195's are lovely. T3 to T1 is easy; I've never used the T3 check-in; I just transfer to T1 and do it all there. As you all mention above, T1 is a bit bare bones but it's worth it especially to avoid GIG and travel GRU-SDU.

Also, the website does switch to BR-Portuguese frequently but I have had better success on the Azul app. I was able to assign seats on Azul on United.com post reservation but that was long-haul, admittedly.

Love Azul! Flew VCP-FLL last month in Biz on a nice clean A330-900neo and had a great trip.

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Q: arriving GRU on UA, can you stay in the UA terminal and use lounges etc., then transfer later to the bare-bones Azul terminal? I have a 3.5-hour connection.

Alternatively, can you standby for an earlier departure?

Thx....

dkc192

Thanks for raising this--I had not known about either of these perks. The phone agent did not offer me free extra legroom seats as a 1K, though I did not proactively raise it either, having not known. The Diamante boarding lines were not signed for 1K, and my BP did not indicate anything other than group 1 boarding. Are 1Ks eligible to use the Diamante check-in line as well?

eng3

Being on a separate PNR, I build in a very large layover time (3 or 4hrs if I recall). I ended up going to the VILLA GRU "lounge" in terminal 2 first then taking the shuttle. On the return, I also had a long layover but the lounges were pretty comfortable

qfrodo

Correct, the lanes are not marked 1K as most of Azul's clientele would have no idea what that meant. And as I indicated above, it can also depend on how well trained the gate agent is. Until I matched to Diamante, I would have my physical card in my hand along with passport. And yes, if you are 1K you can match to Diamante if you will be doing more travel in Brazil. Last year it required spending 10,000 Reais in six months to retain the Diamante status until Dec 31, 2020. Instructions can be found on Azul's web site.

So far it doesn't work the other way, UA doesn't recognize Azul status, and I have asked. I am hoping that changes for the better if the regional partnership I mentioned earliereventually gets put in place.

ReinaDeLaSelva

Senor qfrodo, thank you for the detailed feedback on UA/Azul handling at GRU. Most useful. I use GRU on CM/UA en conexion quite often but somehow I end up with UA/G3 tix (not booked via UA) or UA/LA and I haven't experienced Azul pura. I have used Azul solo and I have been able to select seats via UA.COM which feature is often better than with their JV partners like LH or NH.

seanp7

Semi-related: You can, of course, avoid GIG & GRU altogether if you're flying Rio-NYC and do SDU-VCP-JFK all on Azul (from June 15). VCP is a breeze for connections.

Eg: https://flights.app.goo.gl/yEZ9j

CruiserCLE

By comforto seats do you mean the "EspacoAzul" seats? If yes, how do I go about getting those? Can the call center handle it or is it only at the airport? I recently traveled on two Azul flights (booked directly with them, not via UA) but used my UA 1K number on the reservation so it did show free bags on the app (3... not sure if that was a mistake) and I had group one boarding but I had also paid for the EspacoAzul seat.

Thanks!

qfrodo

What ever they are called, LOL, hard to keep up with the nomenclature, but it is normally the first 5 rows with greater seat pitch. I have only ever requested the seats when checking in, and there hasn't been a problem so far (knock on wood), whether I paid or was comped. When only a 1K, sometimes I was charged due to a poorly trained agent. Now that I am Diamante, it is a benefit of the status.