U
nited and Azul Brazilian
Airlines,which servesmore
destinations inBrazil than any
othercarrier,haveformedanew
long-term strategicpartnership
that will provide a range of
travel-friendly benefits for the
airlines’mutual customers.
Travelerswill have access to
and from cities across Brazil,
with convenient connections
atSaoPaulo’sGuarulhos Inter-
national Airport, fromwhich
Azul operates more than 50
daily flights throughout the
country todestinations such as
BeloHorizonte,PortoAlegre,
Curitiba and Brasilia. Along
withexpandedflightoptions,the
airlineswill offer an improved transferprocess atGuarulhos,
withmoretimelyconnectionsforcustomersandtheirbaggage.
And that’s not all.United andAzul will expand their
MileagePlus andTodoAzul frequent-flyer loyaltyprograms
togivemembersreciprocalbenefits toearnandredeemmiles
systemwideonboth airlines.Moreofferings for loyaltypro-
grammembersareexpectedas thepartnershipgrows.
“Brazil isLatinAmerica’s largestmarketand isakeymarket
inUnited’sglobal routenetwork,”saysFredThome,United’s
director of alliances.“Our partnershipwithAzul,which is
connections
Travel toBrazilJustGotEvenBetter
UnitedpartnerswithAzul BrazilianAirlines togive travelersmore choiceand convenience
16
OCTOBER2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
A
ASKTHEPILOT
withcaptaincalvinjanacek
If the bumps are associatedwith rain, such as in a
thunder storm, the answer is yes. Pilots use radar
in those situations to avoid turbulence contained in
thunderstorms. The rain, ormoisture, is needed for the radar to
display the storm or, as the pilot would say, “paint theweather”
on his radar screen.
Turbulence not associatedwithmoisture, often called
“clear-air turbulence,” is not displayed on aircraft radar. In these
situations, pilots useweather forecasts and/or reports from
other pilots (called “pireps”) in aircraft flying ahead of them.
Although experts can forecast clear-air “bumps” with very
sophisticated equipment, and pilots can report them, it is not
always possible to detect and avoid them. That iswhy it is
important to always return to your seat when the captain turns
on the seatbelt sign, and towear your seatbelt at all timeswhile
you are in your seat.
CaptainCalvin Janacek isUnited’sChicago chief pilot.
You canwrite toUnited’s chief pilotsbyaddressing
.
Q
Doyou see
“bumps”
(airpockets)
onyour radar?
recognized for itsbroad routenetwork,thequalityof its ser-
vicesand itsoperational reliability,will furtherstrengthenour
ties to this important regionandprovideexceptionalbenefits
forour customers.”
The expansive cooperation will be rolled out as the
airlines receive the necessary government approvals.
United currently offers service toBrazil from its hubs in
Chicago,Houston,NewYork/Newark andWashington,
D.C.,with flights to bothRio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
—MICHAELESPIRITU
