A few hours ago, I was on Azul Linhas Aéreas flight 2868 from Aeroporto de Goiania Santa Genoveva to Aeroporto Internacional de Confins in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Here's how it went.
Before the flight
Brazil lifted its mask mandate for air travel just a few months ago and allowed airlines to resume their inflight service. During the pandemic, the airlines were prohibited from having inflight service, and passengers were also not allowed to consume their own food onboard. I went through a few unfortunate situations because of this, but those stories are for another day.
Aircraft and flight information
Today was my first flight with Azul, on which the full inflight service was offered, making it the perfect flight to review. The flight was onboard an Embraer E195 aircraft, 11 years old, and tail number PR-AYX, which is painted with Azul's sustainability livery. Our departure from Goiania was nine minutes late, at 15:24 local time, and we arrived in CNF at 16:31 local time.
Check-in / security
The airport in Goiania is tiny, making the check-in and security processes quick and seamless. I did not check a bag today, which allowed me to go straight to security once I arrived at the airport. I intentionally walked by the check-in counters to get a few photographs and explain the process in GYN.
Azul has kiosks for those needing to check in, print boarding passes, or check bags. There is an exclusive line for those with high frequent flyer statuses with Azul, one line for regular service, and another line for ‘priorities’ which in Brazil are considered seniors, families with small children, and the physically disabled.
As I already mentioned, the airport is relatively small, so it did not take more than 60 seconds to get from the curb where I was dropped off to the security person that scanned my boarding pass. In Goiania, check-in/bag drop happens on the same floor as arrivals, so to get to security, I had to get up an escalator to the second floor.
Having spent most of my life in the United States, Brazilian airport security is very different. First, there is no ID check at the security checkpoint, only a boarding pass scan. At security, there are no body scanners, only metal detectors (at least I have not seen any in the 15+ airports I have been to in Brazil), and liquids larger than 3.4 ounces are allowed in carry-on bags. One day, I went to security and forgot that I had a 40-ounce bottle of water in my backpack, so I asked the security personnel if they had a trash can for me to empty my bottle. That was when I learned that large liquids are allowed onboard.
Going through security was a breeze, and the process, including waiting in line, took less than 5 minutes. Goiania only has eight jetbridges and a few remote stands that are rarely used as it is not a busy airport, so walking to my gate after exciting security took 30 seconds. I arrived at my gate one minute before boarding was supposed to start, but the inbound flight on the aircraft that was taking me out was delayed, and the passengers had not even deplaned when I arrived.
Boarding and cabin configuration Sometime later, boarding commenced, but I had already been onboard the aircraft to get some pictures for this review and to meet the crew. Once the boarding process started, it took roughly 16 minutes to board the plane, which seats 118 passengers.
Azul’s Embraer E195 and E195-E2 aircraft are configured with one cabin, but with a few Espaco Azul seats up front, which is Azul’s version of premium economy. The only difference in the onboard offering is the legroom. I was seated in regular economy, at seat 8A. The overhead bin space on Azul’s E195s is tight, and I had to push my carry-on bag a bit to make it fit in the bin.
Almost every time I have flown on Azul’s E195s, the airline has offered to check bags for free because of the lack of overhead bin space. Azul offered today, and I usually take them up on the offer, but I now use my carry-on bag to store my camera equipment, and I cannot let that out of my sight.
Once the aircraft doors were closed and the crew’s crosscheck was complete, we began pushing back, and the safety video and demonstration began. Azul’s fleet of Embraer aircraft has inflight entertainment (IFE) at every seat, hence the safety video and demonstration simultaneously. Taxi time to the runway was short as there were no aircraft in front of us and the airport only has one runway.
My seat was a regular economy seat but offered me plenty of legroom (I am average height for a male in the United States). The tray table is a decent enough size and was able to hold my 15-inch laptop. Azul’s first-generation E195 aircraft have the old IFE systems with the controls on the armrest and the headphone jack in the armrest. Live TV with a large selection of channels was offered onboard, in addition to the inflight map I chose to “watch.” In-seat power was not available.
Full inflight service
I was particularly excited about the onboard service, one of Azul’s most well-known services. The airline serves multiple kinds of snacks on its flights, sometimes reaching a variety of five on one flight. Passengers are allowed to ask for the famous “um de cada,” which means “one of each” in Portuguese, and it is all free. In addition to the large selection of snacks, Azul offers various beverages.
On this flight, only two snack options were available: the “torresminho” or pork rind chips and the “bolo de laranja,” a small orange-flavored cake. I asked for both snacks and a cup of orange juice as well.
Azul’s crews are always phenomenal, and I have not encountered one unpleasant staff member, from inflight crew to ground/airport crew, and this flight was no exception. There were three flight attendants onboard and, of course, the captain and first officer in the cockpit. The flight was smooth, and in no time, the captain announced that we were beginning our descent into Belo Horizonte.
Just a short time later, we were on the ground, four minutes ahead of schedule. Thankfully, we arrived at the gate right next to where my connecting flight to Aeroporto Internacional de Sao Paulo – Guarulhos would be departing from.
The short 67-minute flight was uneventful and, overall, a fantastic flight. Subscribe to our YouTube channels Long Haul and Simple Flying News, and stay tuned for a video review of this flight.