Air Europa has further increased its connectivity and announced a codeshare agreement with Brazil’s largest domestic airline by market share, GOL Linhas Aéreas. The agreement, which will come into force from 1 January 2020, will enable Air Europa passengers flying to its four Brazilian destinations, Sao Paulo, Recife, Fortaleza and Salvador, to connect on, should they wish, with 20 Brazilian cities on the GOL network.
It will also enable Air Europa to deploy its code on 78 domestic flights and offer its passengers travelling from Europe perfect connectivity and a broad range of flights, featuring some of Brazil’s most important cities and will extend the inter-airline agreement currently in force.
The synergies generated through this agreement will also translate into greater European tourism traffic to Brazil and give significant advantages to passengers travelling on a codeshare flight, such as purchasing a single ticket, a single check-in and more convenient and easier connections, with minimal waiting time.
At present, Air Europa has direct flights from Madrid to Sao Paulo, Salvador and Recife. From the end of December, it will also fly to the city of Fortaleza, thus, completing its presence in north-eastern Brazil’s tourist triangle. UK passengers connect onto the Air Europa long haul network via twice daily flights from London Gatwick.
Air Europa’s UK director Colin Stewart said: “The codeshare agreement with GOL illustrates the commitment Air Europa has made to Brazil, where it has operated for more than 20 years, to develop its international growth with greater domestic connectivity in the country.”
The alliance also features an agreement between Air Europa SUMA and Smiles, the respective loyalty programmes of both airlines, enabling passengers to earn and redeem miles on their flights.
Air Europa’s sales director, Imanol Pérez, has expressed his satisfaction with the agreement reached “enabling us to bring all our passengers new and fascinating destinations in Brazil. We are very proud of the agreement with GOL and collaborating with them gives us complete guarantees in our growth in the Brazilian aviation market.”
Randall Aguero, director of Alliances, distribution and international business development at GOL, said: “We are very happy to establish a codeshare with Air Europa. GOL is the market leader in Brazil and offers a wide and diverse network in the Country, besides products and services of high quality to offer the best travel experience for our customers. We have invested in partnerships that provides ever-increasing benefits to customers, frequent flyers will soon be able to earn and redeem miles with both our Smiles and Suma programs.”
