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Weekly Latin American business travel news
May 16, 2013
A Latin Trade Group Publication
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Brazil's southernmost large city is both an important economic gateway and a cultural mecca.
Story and photos by Mark Holston
Sitting close to Brazil's Mercosur trading partners to the south, Argentina and Uruguay, Porto Alegre is one of Brazil's most important southern cities. The daily comings and goings of both large, oceangoing ships and small vessels set the rhythm of this key alluvial port (the city's name literally means "happy port"). From its perch in a protected bay on the eastern shore of the freshwater Gua�ba Lake (Rio Guaiba), it hosts ships coming from and going to the Atlantic Ocean, including many carrying products from the country's agricultural interior. The giant, connected freshwater Ducks Lagoon (Lagoa dos Patos) marks the confluence of five rivers.
If you're heading to this economic center for business, it's well worth adding a few days to your trip to enjoy the city as well. The capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the Porto Alegre metropolitan area is Brazil's fourth largest. Its location, population and history of European settlement have helped make it one of the nation's cultural centers. Ducks Lagoon hosts a variety of unique flora and fauna both in the water and on the small flotilla of islands that dot it. Perhaps most famously, though, Porto Alegre is known as Brazil's gaucho - cowboy - capital.
The defining presence of the regional gaucho culture is the key to the city's soul, and what most sets it apart from other Brazilian destinations.
Although founded in the mid-1700s by seafaring Portuguese from the Azores and populated ever since by a succession of immigrant waves from Ger.- many, Italy, Poland, the Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, local cultural mores were shaped by some of the same rural traditions that also influenced neighboring Argentina and Uruguay. Today, both ceremonial and practical aspects of gaucho customs can be seen at nearly every turn on Porto Alegre's broad boulevards and ambling side streets. Some men still wear the trademark flat-brimmed felt hat favored by cowboys who ride the range on area cattle ranches. And virtually every Porto Alegrense, as city residents are called, always seems to have a silver bomba straw) pressed to their lips, sipping mate, the herbal tea that's as central to life here as coffee is elsewhere in Brazil. When it's time to dine, grilled meats served up by the city's countless barbecues, a staple of gaucho culinary rites, are a local favorite.
Click to read the full Porto Alegre destination guide.
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News from our Partners
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Travel News
New Airline Routes and Route Changes
Spain-based Vueling will begin twice-weekly service between Barcelona and Beirut, Lebanon, on June 28.
American Airlines launched daily nonstop service between its Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas, U.S.) International Airport hub and Seoul, South Korea's Incheon International Airport. The service is part of America's joint business agreement with fellow oneworld member Japan Airlines.
Delta Air Lines will start daily nonstop round-trip flights between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida (U.S.) and Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport on July 1.
On June 20, Aeromexico will begin twice weekly flights between Los Angeles, California (U.S.) and La Paz, Mexico (capital of Baja California Sur).
Airline Alliance News
Brazil-based Gol Linhas A�reas Inteligentes and U.S.-based Delta Air Lines have implemented code sharing on Delta's flights between the Brazilian capital of Brasilia and Atlanta, Georgia (U.S.).
U.S.-based JetBlue Airways and Dubai-based Emirates plan to expand their partnership with bilateral codesharing (pending regulatory approval) on all flights between the U.S. and Dubai International Airport, as well as those between New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Milan, Italy.
Other Airline News
Silver Airways, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (U.S.) and flies within Florida and between the U.S. and The Bahamas, has upgraded its entire fleet to Saab 340Bplus turboprops, which have 34 leather seats and greater cargo capacity than its previous fleet.
Air Transport News
Mexico's civil aviation authority (Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil) has certified the Sikorksy S-76D helicopter, which is Sikorsky's newest craft.
Hotel News
Ritz-Carlton will no longer run the Rose Hall resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, as of May 20. Spain-based Playa Hotels and Resorts (which operates under the Secrets, Dream and Barcelo brands) is negotiating to acquire the property, which was named the Ritz-Carlton Golf and Spa Resort, Rose Hall.
U.S.-Cuba Travel
The U.S. government has licensed three new companies to offer trips to Cuba for U.S. citizens and residents. Central Holidays, Globus Family of Brands and Other Cuban Journeys are now arranging trips to Cuba that comply with the United States' trade embargo against the island.
Photo credits, from top: Seoul, South Korea's Gwanghwamun Gate:
�iStockphoto.com/carolinemaryan; La Paz, Mexico: �iStockphoto.com/Elisabeth2010
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Research by Mark Chesnut
(click on airline name to go to its website)
Mileage and segments are for Economy Class travel; status is attained either via miles flown, segments flown or points, unless otherwise indicated
Airline (Program) | Alliance | Miles/ Segments to Level 1 Elite Status | Miles/ Segments to Level 2 Elite Status | Miles/ Segments to Level 3 Elite Status | Elite Check-In Counter? | Free VIP Lounge Access? | Aerolineas Argentinas (Aerolineas Plus) | SkyTeam | 25,000 / 30 (or 15,000 + 15 sgmts.) | 50,000 / 60 (or 30,000 + 30 sgmts.) | ---------- | √ | √ |
(Club Premier) | SkyTeam | 50,000 | 80,000 | 100,000 | √ | √ top 2 tiers |
(AAdvantage)
| oneworld | 25,000 / 30 | 50,000 / 60 | 100,000 / 100 | √ | Fee dis- count | AviancaTaca (LifeMiles) | Star Alliance | 22,000 / 25 | 40,000 / 45 | 75,000 / 85 | √ | √ | Copa Airlines (MileagePlus) | Star Allliance | 25,000 / 30 | 50,000 / 60 | 75,000 / 90 | √ | √ int'l: top 3 tiers; discount for rest | Delta Air Lines (SkyMiles) | SkyTeam | 25,000 / 30 | 50,000 / 60 | 75,000 / 100
| √ top 3 tiers | √ tier 4 only; discount tiers 2 and 3 | GOL/Varig (Smiles) | Air France, KLM, Delta | 10,000 | 20,000 | 35,000 | √ top 2 tiers | √ top 2 tiers | JetBlue* (TrueBlue) | Partnerships with American Airlines Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines
| 12,000 pts. + 30 sgmts. (or 15,000 pts.) | ---------- | ---------- | | | LAN (LANPASS) | oneworld | 40,000 with LAN, TAM or oneworld or 30 legs with LAN or TAM | 80,000 with LAN, TAM or oneworld or 60 legs with LAN or TAM | 150,000 with LAN, TAM or oneworld or 100 sgmts. with LAN or TAM
| √ | √ top 3 tiers | Southwest (Rapid Rewards) | none | 35,000 or 25 flights | 70,000 or 50 flights | ---------- | √ | | TAM (Fidelidade)
| Star Alliance | 12,000 pts. | 48,000 pts. | 100,000 pts. | √ top 3 tiers | √ top 3 tiers | United Airlines (Mileage Plus) | Star Alliance | 25,000 / 30 | 50,000 / 60 | 75,000 / 90 | √ | √ int'l: top 3 tiers |
*Base fare earns three points per US$ spent/six points per US$ spent when booked on Jetblue.com
Level 4 Elite Status
Several airline loyalty programs now offer a 4th level of Elite status:
- Copa Airlines: 100,000 miles / 120 segments
- Delta Air Lines: 125,000 miles / 140 segments
- LAN: 210,000 miles with LAN or TAM, or 180,000 miles with 16 medium or long haul legs on LAN or TAM in Business Class
- TAM: 150,000 points
- United Airlines: 100,000 miles / 120 segments
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