You are absolutely right S.P there is a promotion this weekend and the prices are good,but you also mentioned Varig ,but are they flying to Natal ,because I checked their new webpage and it did not mention Natal.I will take another look.We had friends up from SP last week and they paid only 1,500 reais each for a weeks package including return flights, 4 nights in F.D Noronha and 3 nights at the Ocean Palace,but for us to do the same from Natal will cost about about 2,500 +per person.To fly out of Brasil S.P is much cheaper than flying out of Natal ,which is crazy because S.P is away.=Sao P;50349]As some on this forum are aware, domestic flights are very expensive if you compare to lets say Europe. Only way to fly domestically without having to pay almost as much as an international flight is to just keep checking thier websites regularly....especially on weekends. When one has a promotion, they noramlly all do. Tam, Gol,.... and now Varig.

I just booked 2 return flights last weekend in a Gol internet only promotion from SP to Salvador leaving June 18th for Rs. 296 / return ticket. Now thats cheap. On Monday they shot back up to about Rs 700 / return. They have been having this weekend sale on for 3 weeks now. ( weekends only) Check this weekend, they will probaby be back on sale if anyone wants to fly cheap in May - June 26th.[/quote]

Going back to flight info.Does anybody know if airpasses are still available through scheduled airlines or did they die out when Varig went under, a few years ago and if you can still get them please inform with which airline.

I just booked my internal flights and I can't fly anywhere for that money in Europe. Sao Paulo to Fortaleza 71 €, Fortaleza to Natal - 41 €, Natal to Salvador 47 €. I got a bus to Lisbon the other day from Málaga which cost me 100 € - flights were around 250 €. Málaga to Madrid a couple of weeks ago was 125 €

Dotty said on another post somewhere that internal flights are dirt cheap. I believe the expression she used was "the fare of a bus ticket". After booking my flights I'm inclined to agree although I'm sure she'll probably come up with some really expensive flights out of Natal now to try and scare people off.

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Forteleza is further away from SP and much cheaper to get to.Natal to SP is 600,00 reais(taxes included),which seem unjust as it is closer .You got a bargain!QUOTE=JMBroad;50707]I just booked my internal flights and I can't fly anywhere for that money in Europe. Sao Paulo to Fortaleza 71 €, Fortaleza to Natal - 41 €, Natal to Salvador 47 €. I got a bus to Lisbon the other day from Málaga which cost me 100 € - flights were around 250 €. Málaga to Madrid a couple of weeks ago was 125 €

Fact, flights are expensive in Brasil. Everybody living here will knows this. Those prices you quoted are just promotional. Like mine. If you just go to any of the websites today, you see the high prices they are charging i.e. SP - Fortaelza return is Rs 1120 + taxes. If you are rich, no problem. But the every day person here, this is bloody expensive. If you cough - up another Rs. 400, you can fly from SP to Paris.

S.P It still amazes me that when I speak to Brazlians about travelling around Brasil the response I get from 80% of the people is ,I have never been there,I long to go there one day,Brasil is an unjust and unfair country,the government do not care about the people,everything is too expensive,etc,etc,
the government rob the people........Do you not think that prices should be set at the price of the average wage/I have also noticed that even the bus tickets have risen rapidly.What real chances do you think Brasilians will have of travelling by air in the near future?

You are right Dotty, majority of Brasilians cannot travel long distances or travel in general, becuase they simply dont have the money to do it. A flight from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro ( return), and only takes 40 minutes flying time, costs more than the legal minimum monthly salary in Brasil. Just saw today, cheapest i could see was Rs 517.00 SP - Rio (return). In comparison, I could fly nextweek from SP to Madrid ( return ) for Rs. 1380.00.

Now you can see how expensive flying in Brasil is for the regular Joe.

Brazil needs more airlines and more competition for the few existing domestic carriers. With the cheap Brasilian labour costs and the huge potential market there has got to be a good opportunity for a new low cost carrier to take on the likes of Gol. Perhaps Ryanair will look at Brazil once the low cost transatlantic market opens up.

Well there was one last yr ,but they went into liquidation-BRA you could buy one return ticket to Europe and get one free!!I did that once and then again and the 3rd time they went under and I am still waiting for part of the payment back.The real problem with Brasil is you pay enormous taxes on everything and you never see it reinvested as there are so many corrupt people about.I also doubt if Ryanair will ever be able to fly to Brasil(would be great), but it would put the Brasilian market out of business and they would not let that happen

Checked just now on GOL - Flights to and from Sao Paulo and Rio on four random dates in June, August, September and November

June: 57 R$ each way - 104 R$ return, 40 €
August: 229 R$ each way - 458 R$ return, 178 €
September: 229 R$ each way - 458 R$ return, 178 €
November: 229 R$ each way - 458 R$ return, 178 €

So I think the 517 and the 57 are probably the odd ones out.

Still quite expensive, especially if you are earning in Brazilian Reais.

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