Valleyman

Thanks for the great reports -- and if you have more information about things to see in Rio other than the saunas please continue to share it with us.

The reductions in American Airlines service to Brazil are noted in this FlyerTalk thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1349176-laa-777-300er-77w-schedule-routes-consolidated-32.html American is reducing (but not eliminating) service to Sao Paulo on the new 777-300 (77W) planes. Currently there are 3 daily flights between Miami and Sao Paulo – two night flights and one during daytime hours. On February 10 the daytime flight will be reduced in frequency to 4 flights per week – on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. These weekend flights will still use the new 77W. On April 5 American will switch one of the evening flights to the older 777 aircraft. There will still be one flight each evening from MIA to GRU and vice-versa on the 77W. No changes have been announced for any other American Airlines flights between the USA and Brazil. This means that there will still be a daily flight to Sao Paulo from New York and from Dallas on the 77W. The daily flight from Los Angeles will also continue, but it uses a Boeing 787. And no changes were announced concerning flights to Rio – American will continue to have daily flights from New York and from Miami (both on a reconfigured 777-200) Will there be more flight cutbacks? If the economic crisis in Brazil continues I suspect that there will. We will see what happens.

It is a good idea to begin the process of obtaining a visa as soon as possible. Most Brazilian consulates now require an appointment in order to submit a visa application and it can take time to get an appointment. For example I just noticed that the next available appointment time at the Los Angeles consulate is on February 24. And it can then take another week or 10 days for the visa to be issued. Have a great time in Brazil!

A few years ago Brazil adopted a new style of plug -- it is not compatible with the ones used in most other countries. Here is a link showing a plug adapter that will allow foreign devices to connect to the new Brazilian plugs: http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Adapter-Brazil-Quality-Certified/dp/B00HKEI4H0/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441537791&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=plug+adapter+brazil+rei Not all establishments in Brazil have yet been retro-fitted with the new plugs -- I am currently staying in a hotel room still equipped with the old plugs. The old plugs in hotels are compatible with both North American and continental European style plugs.

The saunas in Sao Paulo are: Thermas Lagoa Rua Borges Lagoa, 287 Vila Clementina Sao Paulo http://www.thermaslagoa.com.br and Termas Fragata Rua Francisco Leitao, 71 Pinheiros Sao Paulo http://www.termasfragata.com.br

As of today -- 8 June 2015 -- the security people at GRU (Sao Paulo) are still requiring all passengers to remove their shoes and belts as part of the security check process. However people seem to have figured out how to do this type of security check -- the security lines today were very short.It only took about 20 minutes for me to pass through the security and passport checks.

+3. Thanks for this post.

Fares to Brazil continue to fall. I just placed a reservation on hold for a round trip in December from LAX to Sao Paulo on American for $452!

Someone posted on another site that these business fares must be purchased today (March 20 2015). After that these prices -- for example $2,370 for a round-trip between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo -- may no longer be available.