American Airlines announced Tuesday a new codeshare partnership with Brazil’s GOL that will offer more daily service between the U.S. and South America than any other airline partnership.
Today, American Airlines announced a new codeshare agreement with Brazilian carrier GOL which will provide more service between the U.S. and South America than any other airline partnership. GOL previously had a codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines which ended after Delta took a 20 percent stake in LATAM and entered a codeshare with the carrier. American’s new reciprocal codeshare agreement with GOL gives customers access to 20 new destinations in South America. I n addition to the new partnership, American Airlines also announced increased service to and from their rapidly growing Miami hub, including a second daily flight to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) this winter, which will be operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. In today’s announcement, American Airlines’ President, Robert Isom said,
“We are proud of our strong presence in Latin America which includes 170 daily flights to the region, Admirals Club lounges and dedicated Premium Guest Services teams in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.”
GOL will offer new destinations not currently served by American including Asuncion, Paraguay (ASU), Curitiba, Brazil (CWB) and Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil (IGU). Additionally, a GOL codeshare will be added to U.S. routes operated by American, which will include frequent flyer benefits during the first half of 2020. American Airlines is also adding 12 flights from six U.S. cities to Miami, providing customers more opportunities to seamlessly connect to Latin America. More flights to Miami will be offered from Nashville (BNA), Boston (BOS), Houston (IAH), Orlando (MCO), Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and Tampa (TPA). Also commenting on Tuesday’s announcement, American Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Network Strategy, Vasu Raja said,
“We have a long and rich history in South America and this new relationship with GOL further enhances our presence in the region. Our customers will continue to have access to places they’ve always loved to travel on American like Rio, Sao Paulo, and Brasilia – and will gain access to new destinations on their wish list. We’ll continue to evaluate our network and seek strategic partnerships that benefit our customers and enhance our network.”
Once approved by U.S. and Brazilian regulatory authorities, the new codeshare will allow customers to connect from Miami to 53 GOL flights, beyond Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Manaus and Fortaleza. Regarding the new codeshare, GOL’s CEO, Paulo Kakinoff stated,
“As two of the leading airlines in Brazil and the U.S., GOL and American Airlines will offer the best experience for customers on the largest number of flights and destinations in the Americas. This will strengthen GOL’s presence in international markets and accelerate our long-term growth.”
Last year, American Airlines carried a record 30.3M passengers through their Miami hub. The carrier has served Latin America since 1942 and employs over 3,300 team members with four flight attendant bases in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima. American offers up to 170 daily flights to 55 Latin American destinations in 18 countries from eight U.S. hubs, as well as from Boston.
GOL is the largest airline in Brazil, carrying over 33M customers annually on 750 daily flights to over 100 destinations in Brazil, South America, the Caribbean and the U.S. The Brazilian carrier operates a standardized fleet of Boeing 737s including 91 737-800s, 24 737-700s and seven Boeing 737 MAX 8s. GOL also maintains a strategic partnership with the Air France-KLM Group and has 14 codeshare and 77 interline agreements, providing guests convenient seamless connections throughout their partner’s networks.
Source(s): American Airlines, GOL