American Airlines and Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol aim to begin codesharing on domestic routes within Brazil in April.
The two carriers first unveiled plans to codeshare in 2009 when they inked a partnership which initially involved a frequent flier tie-up. In a 7 January filing with the US Department of Transportation (DOT), American and Gol are formally seeking permission to begin the codeshare portion of their new partnership.
The filing reveals the two carriers are planning to begin codesharing on 1 April, pending government approvals. The codeshare only includes Gol-operated flights within Brazil.
According to a codeshare pact signed by the two carriers on 10 December, Gol has agreed to carry American's code on domestic flights from all five of American's Brazilian gateways - Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Recife. American serves all five gateways from its Miami hub, and also links to Sao Paulo from its Dallas hub.
According to the codeshare agreement, a copy of which was provided as part of the DOT filing, the codeshare will cover 21 Gol domestic routes from Sao Paulo Guarulhos, 20 routes from Rio de Janeiro Galeao, 12 routes from San Salvador, 11 routes from Belo Horizonte and four routes from Recife.
The codeshare is designed to give American better connectivity in Latin America's largest country and compete better with rival United Airlines, which already has an extensive codeshare network in Brazil through Gol rival TAM.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
