Brazil’s GOL To Resume Flights To US In May

Brazil’s GOL plans to resume service to the US in May, relaunching routes from Brasilia (BSB) to both Miami (MIA) and Orlando (MCO) in Florida.

The carrier suspended flights to the US in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It had operated to MIA and MCO from November 2018.

Both the BSB-MIA and BSB-MCO routes will be operated 4X-weekly with Boeing 737 MAX aircraft configured to carry 176 passengers. The BSB-MCO service, at a distance of about 3,700 mi., will become the longest route operated by a 737 MAX in the world.

GOL’s resumption of service to the US comes after Brazilian antitrust regulators cleared the airline’s partnership deal with American Airlines under which the US carrier took a 5.4% stake in GOL. American operates to Sao Paulo (GRU) and Rio de Janeiro (GIG) in Brazil.

As part of the accord, American becomes GOL’s exclusive codeshare partner in the US and GOL becomes American’s sole codeshare partner in Brazil.

The Brazilian airline said passengers will be able to connect to 28 US cities on American flights via GOL’s routes from Brazil’s capital to MIA and MCO.

“Orlando and Miami are at the top of the international destinations most appreciated by Brazilians, and it is with great expectation that GOL resumes flights to the United States,” GOL director of alliances and international distribution Randall Saenz Aguero said in a statement.