Domestic airfares in Brazil - why so expensive?

[speedoo1]

Looking at fares between SP and Rio next week and the week after. GOL and LATAM fares are all more than USD 100-150+ For less than 1h flight it is kinda expensive - and much more than the GOL ticket I bought last year (which I ended up skipping because travel to Rio was cancelled). Airtravel in Brazil has picked-up so airlines now can charge an arm for dom. flights - or it is because I'm too late/close to my departure date? (obviously, cheaper tickets can be found if bought more than 3-4 weeks out but I didn't expect tickets 1-2 weeks before to be this expensive). Any tips?

[numazu]

This is not just a Brazil phenomenon. There is an optimal time to book cheap airfare, and waiting last minute will be more expensive.

Looking at a São Paulo to Rio flight, looks like last minutes fares are $167 - $400. A month out it’s $81, and two months out it’s only $39.

When I need a last minute fare between SP and Rio, I just try to cash in some United miles. An Azul direct flight is always usually just 9000 miles. Otherwise I try to book in advance. Or there is always the bus. An overnight ride avoids the traffic and you get to sleep the whole way.

[Latbear4blk]

Additionally, we may be suffering inflation in air fares in general. My flight tickets to Buenos Aires are this year 500 dollars more expensive than last year.

[msclelovr]

I’d expect air fares to rise in price even more as the year progresses @speedoo1

Energy costs are up sharply with supply being down, and aviation fuel is bound to rise further in price. Also airlines will want to begin repairing their balance sheets after their large losses during the global pandemic. 

[speedoo1]

Thanks. This is insane; USD 250+ for CGH-SDU 10 days out! No thanks. 

How can Brazilians pay fares like this? (I assume that not all Brazilians will be able to book 2-3 months out to get a reasonable fare)

All flights during the day seem to be priced similarly so def. not demand driven, but seems like the lower booking classes are closed at certain days before departure regardless of actual demand/tickets sold; this way of pricing air tickets were abandoned in Europe by most airlines long time ago.

Or maybe I'm just spoiled from traveling in Europe during Covid-19 where reasonable/low air fares could be found even shortly before departure as fares here are more actual demand driven....

[Riobard]

As suggested, the bus as an alternative. I recently paid $20 USD one-way purchasing the day before. Early morning departure Rodoviário Tietê (São Paulo Metro’s blue line) … Rodoviário Novo Rio (beside light rail transit station connecting to Rio’s Metro) … to dovetail arrival with accommodations check-in. The buses were full so buying your ticket at the station sales desks just prior to boarding may be a problem or leaving you to scurry around different carrier queues. I took the company ‘1001’ but I think it is a division of ‘Cometa’. Seat is assigned so you can show up 15 minutes ahead for boarding, that basically cuts the flight travel time differential, avoiding check-in/security, down to some 5 hours but you are essentially paying yourself $20-40 per hour to relax, view downloaded streaming etc. Bags are tagged as they are loaded by staff; no overhead bins. If you make a trip to the station on a separate day to buy from a desk rather than online, you need to show your passport as you would boarding as well. 

I am not up to speed on local transit ticketing as I ride free and it is often as convenient as Über, seeing as I stay near stations. Years back the light rail transit in Rio required a different fare loading card than the Metro system. Therefore, it might be advisable to make a trip ahead of time where the light rail transit above ground (VLT that also serves SDU) connects close to one of the Metro underground stations such as Carioca or Cinelândia where I think you could obtain (buy?) up on the tram platform a loading card. I think cash is the method for buying fares on the card; I recall putting bills in the slot and I think I strategized amounts as I don’t think it made change. Anyway, you then have the card permanently for future use rather than being caught unawares if you did not account for this step getting to the bus station. Not for the faint of heart if loaded down by luggage though. 

[babybear2]

10 hours ago, speedoo1 said:

Thanks. This is insane; USD 250+ for CGH-SDU 10 days out! No thanks. 

How can Brazilians pay fares like this? (I assume that not all Brazilians will be able to book 2-3 months out to get a reasonable fare)

All flights during the day seem to be priced similarly so def. not demand driven, but seems like the lower booking classes are closed at certain days before departure regardless of actual demand/tickets sold; this way of pricing air tickets were abandoned in Europe by most airlines long time ago.

Or maybe I'm just spoiled from traveling in Europe during Covid-19 where reasonable/low air fares could be found even shortly before departure as fares here are more actual demand driven....

some Brazilian are very rich even in US standard, thanks to wealth distribution inequality

 

[Latbear4blk]

I do not know Brazil well, but in Argentina air fares are significantly more expensive than buses, and the long distance buses industry flourishes. It is actually the most popular option even amongst middle class travelers.

For instance, to travel between Buenos Aires and Corrientes by bus, it takes about 12 hours. By plane is just a couple of hours, but the price is three times more expensive at least. When I was short of funds, I would take the bus and sleep all over the trip. The buses leave Buenos Aires early in the evening and arrive to Corrientes early in the morning. Of course, you have different quality services, the most expensive bus (still three times cheaper than tourist class in a plane) delivers an experience close to first class on a plane. Your seat gets horizontal to sleep, there is a stewardess, you have TV and streaming services, hot dinner and hot breakfast. Even now, I would not mind at all traveling in one of those buses.

Perhaps Brazil is similar, although longer distances and more population help to developed an air travel industry much more significant than Argentina. 

[Riobard]

I got a sealed cup of water from a dispenser on the bus in Brazil, not that I would want to stim my bladder to have to use the toilet. I must have slept through the gourmet meal service. LOL. The lie-flat did not suit my 6-foot frame because the angle is such that the middle part is slightly convex and the foot part drops down, so there is ergonomic pressure pushing up into the lower back. Passengers talking loudly and incessantly on their phones rather than texting, waking me up in spite of noise-cancelling earphones. Some watching things on devices without headphones. We live in an age of shared-space etiquette absence. The consolation is the bus travel savings covers one or more hot fucks at one’s destination. 

[davet]

Brazil is a bus country. A non-stop bus from Rio to SP is 6 hours. Flying will require 1 hr. early arrival at the airport, 1 hr. flying, and 1 hr. to deplane and out of airport. I'm assuming that getting to and from the airport or the bus station is about the same, but the bus station is often in a more convenient location and could save another half-hour. So the bus only takes 2.5-3 more hours and does not have the stress of airports.

Though you could show up right at departure time, I'd recommend getting to the station 15 minutes early at least: Brazilian bus stations are huge. Tiete (Sao Paulo) is the size of an airport but still easier to get through and no security lines.

[speedoo1]

Thanks for all the tips, especially from Riobard on busses between SP and Rio.

I ended up buying a bus ticket for a night departure to Rio. On the 1001 webpage. Worked like a charm. It was on the day of departure so all sleeper seats (Leito) sold out for late evening departures and fares at their peak. I was looking at semi-leito at around 160 BRL but suddenly 2 Leito seats became available for a 22:30 depature (I guess somone cancelled) and I immidiately grabed one. Rather pricy at 380 BRL incl. tax etc. but it was well worth the money. I sleept like a baby during the 6½ hour ride. Seat became fully flat with a small pillow and blanket.  Arrived Rio (Rodoviário Novo Rio) at 05:15 and went to a friend's room in Gloria until check-in was possible at my Airbnb condo.

I could easily do that again, although I would probably buy the ticket in advance as the fares seem lower if bought at least a few days out. 

[Riobard]

Glad it worked out. I purchased a day ahead, BRL100 semi-leito one occasion, 159 leito another occasion on ‘1001’. Did you get one of the more isolated singles right side (2 in all I think) that I think are also raised up higher from the floor, or from the larger bank of side-by-side seats on the left (I think that is a cluster of 6 spaces)? I was on the left side of the bus but assumed all leito seats were the same price within the timeline price tier that obviously itself varies.