GOL Linhas Aéreas shuts down Webjet
Just in time to guarantee that the impending "Air Chaos" that has become traditional during the holiday season every year in Brazil will be even worse Gol has announced that it is shutting down operations of Webjet and putting 850 employees out of work. Merry Christmas boys and girls, you're fired!!! What a Hell of a Christmas present that was.
Webjet, one of very few low-fare airlines operating in Brazil was bought out by Gol in October 2011 for R$70 million and the assuming of the company's R$200 million debt. You can be sure that Gol bought out the airline in order to further choke off any competition and did so with the clear intention to quickly close it down no matter what they may say to the contrary. ANAC Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency probably knew that too, or at the very least they damn well should have when they allowed the buy-out. But what do they care? They consistently demonstrate their complete incompetence in regulating this vital industry and should be disbanded completely. They serve no useful purpose since they give the established airlines free rein anyway.
While they could with full authority order Gol to continue operation of the airline until at least after the Christmas/New Year holiday season to limit the negative impact on both the travelling public and the 850 workers who will be idled don't expect that to happen. They couldn't care less.
It's just too bad that the country's bus companies don't operate the airlines, they'd be run with the precision of a finely tuned Swiss watch and the fares would be reasonable.
Merry Christmas travellers! Make sure you stock up on tranquilizers before heading off to the airport this year too.
Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team
One more holiday season where Brazilian travellers get the shaft.
In another laughable chapter of this sad story, ANAC has announced that they will monitor the situation to make sure all of Webjet's [current ticket holders] customers are accommodated on other airlines. Wow, kind of gives you the warm fuzzies, doesn't it?
They don't give a tinker's damn about the thousands of people who are going to be unable to travel because of the chaos this causes, nor do they care about the 850 poor souls now out of work with their holidays a future plans destroyed.
Why, when all the economic predictions are for growth in the airline sector doesn't the federal government demand that Gol simply absorb ALL of the effected employees and place them in service with Gol, repaint the aircraft in the Gol colors and press them into service to meet the holiday demand.
Since the director of ANAC is currently under arrest for an unrelated fraud and corruption scheme in São Paulo and Brasilia that reaches the highest levels of government, you've got to wonder who Gol paid off to get permission to buy out Webjet in the first place and just how much money changed hands in order to get the green light to do something that would so obviously impact in the most negative way on the travelling public as a whole? Perhaps the Federal Police should expand their corruption investigation against ANAC's director and look into ALL of the decisions taken by ANAC during his tenure.
Oh, and yes then too there's the absolute certainty that as a result of all this nonsense the already excessively high cost of airfares in this country will climb even higher in the very near future.
Articles to help you in your expat project in Brazil
Taxis in Brazil are relatively inexpensive in comparison to North America and much of Europe. In most cities ...
It's much easier these days to get a cell phone in Brazil, and phones and calling plans are inexpensive ...
Brazil can be a romantic country, and you may want to marry here. Perhaps you even want to remain in Brazil ...
Have you always dreamed of dancing to the rhythm of a Brazilian carnival? Do you wish to enjoy the sand and the ...
If you're single and ready to mingle, then you might want to try your hand at dating after you've settled ...
Brasilia, the country's federal capital, is home to many highly-paid government employees and foreign ...
