GOL and the Brazilian low cost carriers for cabin crew: the training bond, the São Paulo bases, the pay in reais and the path to LATAM or the Gulf
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#1 Ex GOL, eight years, now training in Rio, and the Brazilian thread on here covers LATAM. This is GOL and the Brazilian low cost picture from someone who trained and flew there and now trains the next ones.
The Brazilian carriers
LATAM Brasil (the largest, the legacy style operation, long haul), GOL (the original Brazilian low cost, 737s, a huge domestic network and some international to South America, Florida and the Caribbean), Azul (the Embraer and A320 operation with the widest domestic network and some long haul). All three recruit Brazilians in large numbers and all three have training academies.
GOL recruitment
Announced rounds through the careers site, a document screen, an assessment with a group dynamic in Portuguese, an English test (GOL's English requirement is lower than LATAM's for the domestic operation and higher for the international), an interview, the medical and the ANAC regulatory requirements. Training is at the GOL centre in São Paulo, around six weeks, with the ANAC exam that licenses you as a comissário de bordo, which is a formal licence in Brazil.
The training bond
Brazilian carriers commonly have a training cost arrangement with a bond period. GOL's was a period of a year or two with a pro rated repayment. Read it. Brazilian labour law is protective in many ways and the bond is one of the things the union (SNA) has negotiated over.
The bases
São Paulo (Guarulhos and Congonhas), Rio, Brasília, and a few others. São Paulo is the big one and the crew live in the outer districts and commute. Rent in São Paulo is a large share of a new joiner's net.
The pay in reais
A basic under the union agreement, flying hours pay, allowances, and the Brazilian thirteenth salary. A livable Brazilian income at the start, comfortable with seniority. The international routes with dollar allowances (Miami, Orlando, Buenos Aires) are the prize at GOL as everywhere.
The flying
Domestic sector counts on the 737 similar to the European low cost model: four to six sectors, full cabins, a buy on board, fast turnarounds. The Brazilian passenger is warm and loud and the cabin is a party on the Friday flights to the Northeast. The international is a reward for seniority.
The paths out
GOL to LATAM for the long haul (an external application, respected experience). GOL to the Gulf (the events in São Paulo recruit Brazilians regularly and GOL crew with two years and good English are strong). GOL to Europe with an EU passport (the Portuguese and Italian descent passports are common in Brazil and TAP and the Italian carriers see Brazilian crew every round). And GOL to training, which is what I did.
What I tell my trainees
Get the ANAC licence, do two years, fix the English, and then decide. The licence is yours. The years are the credential. The English is the door to everything after.
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#2 Ex crew, São Paulo, and the ANAC licence being a formal licence that is yours is the thing foreign readers do not know about Brazil. It is a professional qualification. It transfers in a way most cabin crew training does not.
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#3 Brazilian at TAP, and 'GOL to Europe with an EU passport' is exactly my route with the Portuguese passport. Isabel trained a friend of mine. She is right about the English being the door.
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#4 Brasília, applying to GOL and Azul this year, and the bond and the São Paulo rent are the two things I had not budgeted for. Now I have. Thank you.