Virgin Atlantic and Brazilian airline GOL have announced a new codeshare partnership that will cover 37 destinations across Brazil.

Virgin is launching a London Heathrow-Sao Paulo service on March 29, 2020.

The carrier said it would allow passengers to “seamlessly connect” from the Brazilian city onto flights around the country. It highlighted connections on to the capital Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and industrial hub Curitiba.

The airlines will have matching baggage allowances, and bags will be checked through to their destination.

Virgin’s daily year-round service to Sao Paolo will be its first South American route, and will be operated by B787-9 aircraft with 31 Upper Class seats, 35 Premium seats, and 192 economy seats.

Virgin and GOL say they plan to expand the codeshare further into South America soon, including flights to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, as well as launching a reciprocal frequent flyer program.

Juha Jarvinen, COO at Virgin Atlantic, commented:

“We’re delighted to announce our codeshare agreement with GOL.

“Brazil is such a rich and diverse country and we’ll be able to offer seamless connections for customers from our brand new London Heathrow to Sao Paulo service onto 37 destinations across Brazil.

“With flights on sale from September 10, 2019 and the first flight on 29 March 2020, customers will soon be able to enjoy Virgin Atlantic’s signature service to South America’s largest country.”

Eduardo Bernardes Neto, SVP Sales & Distribution at GOL, commented:

“We’re delighted to partner with Virgin Atlantic ahead of its arrival into Brazil next year.  GOL offers a leading route network and high quality service and we’re thrilled to be able to connect even more customers thanks to our new partnership with Virgin Atlantic.”

virginatlantic.com