You Trip Report

	DATE	FLIGHT NUMBER	SEAT	AIRCRAFT
04 Oct 15	AD 2403	27D	E190
CLASS	VIEWS	LANGUAGE	AUTHOR
Economy	88859	English ,Spanish	jetsetpanda

Prologue:

When I went to Rio in 2015 I decided to visit some friends in Sao Paulo and I bought a ticket on Azul for approx. USD 145 or EUR 127.66 roundtrip FLEX fare - fully refundable and changeable. It would have been USD 120 or EUR 105.65 for a restricted promo fare, but the difference was not much and I decided to have some flexibility just in case.

As an aviation enthusiast I am always excited at the prospect of setting foot on a new airline and this was one of those occasions. Azul is an airline with a great reputation inside Brazil and a lot of people think that it is perhaps the best domestic Brazilian carrier. Its success is attributed to its founder Mr. Neeleman who modeled the airline after his first prototype - Jetblue.

When I flew B6 the first time, I thought it was excellent compared to the legacy carriers. Friendly crews, clean and spacious seats, stylish marketing and free unlimited snacks. What is not to like? So with that point of reference I knew more or less what to expect from AD.

What I did not expect was the trouble using Azul's website and how user unfriendly it is. I tried to book my SDU-GRU trip through Azul's U.S. site and after receiving an error has occurred message once I submitted all my information repeatedly, I gave up and called res. The error msg was very vague and did not specify exactly what the problem was. The phone agent confirmed the price and after booking my trip gave me a confirmation number.

A few minutes later I received an email stating that there was a problem processing the payment and to call Customer Service in Brazil with my confirmation number. I called the U.S. toll free number again and the agent went over all the details and resubmitted my credit card information. It seemed that the problem was the exchange rate and my reservation was originally charged in R$ instead of USD. He verified my email address and said that a summary of my trip will be sent while we were on the phone. After telling him that I did not received anything he reassured me that the ticket was issued already and everything was in order.

I called AMEX and they confirmed that an initial charge was made by Azul and was cancelled right after, followed by another that was a few cents more. Is it always this difficult to book with them online when you are based outside of Brazil? After 48 hrs I finally received 3 email confirmations about my trip. I wanted to look up my information online but couldn't find any links on the U.S. site. I found out that there is a way to look at my reservations on Azul's website, but this feature is only available on the Portuguese side.

I stayed at the Hotel 1900 in the Catete area which is really close to SDU (10 min. by taxi). I called for a cab to take me there and within five min. after placing the call the taxi arrived. I left my breakfast plate half eaten.

Yes that is flan in the background for breakfast. ;) In the New World it is not unusual to mix savory and sweet items together. I know for some friends from the Old World the idea is revolting. :P

After paying R$17 which came to approx. USD 4.23 or EUR 3.85 I went straight to the AD counter to check-in. I tried using the self kiosk but it gave me an error message asking me to select a passenger while I actually did that already. The IT part of AD really needs improvement.

I went to the counter and an efficient agent checked me in without any problems and issued me the flimsy supermarket receipt (boarding pass). I must comment that there was no agent by the self check in kiosks to assist passengers.

Going through security was pretty straightforward and just as in the U.S you had to empty your pockets take off your shoes and place your belt on the conveyor. One thing that I noticed is that in Brazil you are allowed to bring liquid as long as they are sealed in their containers. I had 3 bottle of cologne that I was able to pass without raising an eyebrow. SDU is a small domestic airport that is pleasant and prettier than GIG airport.

One thing that I hated about this airport are the WC's. Some of the urinals did not flush and because of the old plumbing system most toilets cannot handle toilet paper disposal so a basket is placed next to them. There are people that are so filthy that they just toss their soiled papers after use without even folding exposing their s#@t for the next occupant. Utterly disgusting.

SDU airport is great for spotting because the gates have a view of the tarmac with all the planes' activities. Unfortunately the windows need a good cleaning as they look dirty.

There were about 3-4 agents at the gate and when we were ready to board passengers were placed in rows according to their group numbers with top members of Tudo Azul program at the far right boarding first. You had to show ID and the boarding receipt one more time upon boarding. The efficient agent addressed me by name and invited me to board after checking my documents.

Plane at the gate.

A FA was at the door greeting passengers and I walked all the way down to my seat in the last row. I noticed that the overhead bins of the last few rows were reserved for company use.

here was only a safety card in my seat pocket. I saw that my neighbor's seat had a disposal bag for sickness.

The safety demonstration was conducted in Portuguese only and soon we were ready to taxi out.

Take off.

I was looking forward to this trip since the take off from SDU is supposed to be one of the most impressive ones in the world. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it was dark and rainy. I will have to do this again in the future.

There were 3 FA's who looked well groomed and professional with a smiling demeanor. I would say that in Brazil looks play a more determining role in getting hired as a FA compared to the U.S.

A FA took drink orders and delivered them individually from a tray. There are no beverage carts used on AD. This was followed by another FA offering a selection of snacks from a basket. You could order as many of those as you wanted. Once she ran out of a certain item she proceeded to open a new one stored in the overhead bins at the end of the plane. There were maybe 4 of these baskets placed in the bins. I ordered polvilho (similar to cheese puffs but made with tapioca flour from cassava root) Japanese peanuts and peach juice.

Later on a FA offered already sweetened small cups of coffee from a tray.. They were sickening sweet.

Landing in GRU.

We parked at T4 which is a separate domestic terminal used by AD and 2Z (Passaredo). We parked at the tarmac and used stairs to descend from the plane. Great for spotting.

Downtown Rio.

Colombo Cafe & Bakery

========== Santos Dumont Arpt (SDU) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 8/10

Access and parking: 10/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 7/10

========== Azul Brazilian Airlines - Airline ==========

Cabine comfort: 8/10

Crew: 9/10

Entertainment: 6/10

On-time performance: 9/10

Appetizer: 0/10

Starter: 0/10

Main Meal: 0/10

Main Meal-2: 0/10

Cheese: 0/10

Desserts: 0/10

Alcohols: 0/10

Mid-flight snack: 10/10

Breakfast or light meal before arrival: 0/10

========== Guarulhos Arpt (GRU) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 9/10

Summary:

With the exception of the disappointing experience with AD's website, I had a good flight with this carrier.

Cabin was clean but the lack of an inflight magazine and sickness bag in my seat pocket was a let down. The 2x2 configuration of the Embraer is always a nice feature and makes flying more tolerable.

FA's were efficient and professional. They place strong emphasis on how they present themselves.

A choice of snacks is very generous, especially for such a short flight. There was a nice mix of salty and sweet items to satisfy everyone's taste.

17 Comments

Thomas — Sep 10,2019

Funny that you put Brazil on the map since I will land there in few days :)
Just reading the intro I would have bought a ticket with another airline. Thanks Adan for adding another airline on the site.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

There is no such thing as coincidence. ;)

Always my pleasure Thomas. Don't mention it.
saraoutou — Sep 10,2019

Pagar de afuera de Brazil con tarjeta sigue un desafio.
Pienso que hay dos cosas : la falta de CPF (national ID number) y algunas medidasde seguridad cuando compras con la web.
Gracias
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

Tienes razón. I should have been more careful.
Emile — Sep 10,2019

Hey Panda, thanks for another great review and bonus. Nice views in the air.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

Hi Emile.

Flying out of SDU is supposed to give you one of the best take off views at any airport in the world. Too bad it was rainy. Rio has an impressive natural setting.
Casper — Sep 10,2019

Lovely TR with a great bonus but it's now expected ! Thanks Panda.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

There are more to come Casper. ;)
Flyera — Sep 10,2019

A good review for an unknown airline. Not bad at all. Thank you Adan.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

My pleasure AAFlyer.
AntoinePil — Sep 11,2019

Hi Panda, thanks for the review, as you said except the booking, everything else looked very nice!
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

Hi Antoine,

Well I guess no one is perfect. I really enjoyed this ride on AD.
Vendredi13 — Sep 11,2019

Ouch !
What a beautiful YTR, Panda.
You make us living your flight with you. Well done !

Old airports have their own..how can I say..Charms^^
On boord, it is always nice to have something to eat- for free (I rarely use BoB : I don't really enjoy eating alone)
Interesting traffic at GRU. Lucky end on the tarmac !

I feel hungry, now, with your bonus !

Thanks for sharing, Adan !
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 11,2019

Woaf Francis,

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Free snacks are always appreciated, especially when you have a choice.

I was lucky to have enjoy some plane spotting in GRU.

See you.
Capoune — Sep 13,2019

Hello Adan!
Whart a very Nice flight with Azul!
Very nice bonus.
Thank you for sharing with us
Reply

jetsetpanda — Sep 19,2019

Hi Seb,

You are very welcome. Thanks for your comments.