Originally Posted by
sailingfun
We have applied for both Rio and a second frequency to Sal Paulo. The Sal Paulo service was supposed to start last summer. We were denied the route. We also tried to up guage the current Jfk-Gru route to the 747 and again it was not approved. Routes are awarded by category of aircraft to Brazil.
The second frequency to GRU would have been very good for ER guys because they would have flown both with the 300ER vice the 400 on the one route.
Sao Paulo... not Sal. ....and I know all of that. I would be willing to bet that those routes could be purchased if we really wanted from somebody that isn't using them. As a matter of fact, if memory serves correctly, part of the slot swap deal with USAir was a route authority to Sao Paulo. The thing is though is that it is never spun as you describe. It is always spun as ATL being on the direct routing from NY to GRU. This is not untrue, but as a NY guy it is frustrating. Actually, what would probably be a better route authority would be MCO. TAM has a monopoly on that going south, and lots of Brazilian kids want to go see Mickey Mouse.