Private jet to Brazil

The South Atlantic sets the scale of every Brazilian trip. From London or Paris it is about 9,400 km to São Paulo and 9,200 km to Rio de Janeiro, while the north-east coast with Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador lies 1,400-2,300 km closer. Clients fly there for board meetings on Avenida Paulista and Faria Lima, for Carnival and New Year in Rio, for the beaches of Bahia and for trips on to the Amazon, the Pantanal and the Iguaçu falls.

Three rules shape every trip. The first landing from Europe must be at an international airport with customs, so the city airports of Congonhas and Santos Dumont are out for the crossing. A foreign charter operator needs an authorisation from the Brazilian civil aviation authority, ANAC, and a landing permit at least 48 hours ahead. And flights between two Brazilian cities are reserved for companies set up under Brazilian law. As a broker, we book the long-range jet with a European or American operator and the internal legs with a Brazilian one.

Give us the cities, the dates out and back and the number of passengers; a consultant comes back with aircraft, permit timing and a price.

Reasons to cross the South Atlantic privately

How long the flight takes

Non-stop times from the tables below, including taxi, climb and descent:

• São Paulo Guarulhos: Madrid 9:49 h, London 10:59 h, Geneva 10:55 h, Frankfurt 11:23 h, Vienna and Hamburg 11:45 h in a Global 7500
• Rio de Janeiro Galeão: Nice 10:30 h, Paris 10:42 h, London 10:45 h in a Global 7500
• Salvador: Amsterdam 9:46 h; Brasília: Munich 10:47 h
• Recife: Madrid 7:29 h; Fortaleza: London 8:23 h
• Lisbon - Recife: 7:00 h in a Gulfstream G650

The route runs south-west over Spain and past the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, then across the narrowest part of the Atlantic to the north-east coast. A Gulfstream G550 also flies to São Paulo and Rio without landing from every hub except Larnaca, about 20 minutes slower than the Global 7500. A Challenger 650 stops once for fuel, usually at Sal in Cape Verde or at Fortaleza, which adds about two hours on the São Paulo run; from Madrid to Recife it needs no stop at all. After 11-12 hours in the air two pilots reach their duty limit, so operators plan a third pilot and a rest area on board, or a long rest before the flight home.

What a private jet to Brazil costs

Each price covers the whole aircraft one way, with a jet based near the departure airport. Handling, the ANAC permit, landing and parking fees, the fuel stop charges and passenger taxes are added in the quote. The time shown is for the aircraft in the first price column.

From the European hubs to six Brazilian airports

A Challenger 650 with one stop is the lowest fare to the south: from Paris, Geneva or Nice it costs EUR 115,000 to São Paulo or Rio, and from London, Milan or Frankfurt to São Paulo EUR 120,000. To São Paulo the non-stop Gulfstream G550 costs EUR 125,000 from Madrid and up to EUR 150,000 from Vienna or Hamburg, and the Global 7500 costs EUR 135,000 to EUR 165,000 on the same routes. Distance to the north-east is the real saving: London - Fortaleza costs EUR 93,000 in the Challenger 650 and Madrid - Recife EUR 71,000 without a stop. From Larnaca the G550 has to land once and costs EUR 175,000, a little more than the non-stop Global 7500 at EUR 170,000.

From other European cities

Lisbon is the closest European capital to Brazil: 5,857 km to Recife, which a Falcon 900EX flies without a stop in 7:23 h for EUR 77,000.

From the United States

From Miami to São Paulo a Falcon 900EX covers 6,583 km in 8:15 h for EUR 85,000; from New York to Rio it needs a stop, while the Global 6000 flies through for EUR 120,000.

From neighbouring countries and inside Brazil

International legs from Argentina, Uruguay or Chile can be flown by any operator with the permits. The last five rows are domestic and are flown by a Brazilian operator; each row names the arrival airport last, and flown the other way the price is the same:

São Paulo - Rio costs from EUR 8,500 in a light jet, and Brazilian operators often fly it between Campo de Marte and Santos Dumont, both inside the cities. Manaus is 2,697 km from Guarulhos, further than London to Rome. Passenger taxes on the European side depend on the departure country. France charges a per-passenger tax on business jets that rises with distance, so a flight to Brazil pays about EUR 2,100 instead of about EUR 420 within Europe; Italy EUR 200 per passenger on flights from or to the country, as every route exceeds 1,500 km, and Austria EUR 12; the German departure tax is listed in the quote. The UK charges Air Passenger Duty at the higher private-jet rate on aircraft of 20 t or more with fewer than 19 seats, which covers every jet in the first table; Brazilian charges are listed in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Three trips with the extras

Price per seat

The charter price does not change with the number of passengers, so a full cabin divides it many ways; taxes are added per person:

Calculator

The calculator sends a first estimate by e-mail; name the Brazilian airport and any onward cities in the comment, and a consultant adds the permits and the domestic legs.

Airports for business jets

At almost every Brazilian airport a private party clears passport control and customs in the main terminal, in the same queues as airline passengers; clearance takes about 30 minutes on average and longer in the airline peaks. A handler is compulsory at the large airports, and parking, not runway length, is the scarce resource. The airports that matter:

Every foreign aircraft needs the landing permit, valid from a day before the planned arrival until two days after it. A trip with more than one landing in the country, fuel stops included, also needs a domestic permit. Smaller airfields may handle radio traffic only in Portuguese, so we book a handler who speaks it.

Which aircraft for the crossing

For 10-12 hours over the ocean, ultra long range jets have seats that convert into beds and room for the crew a separate rest area. Light and midsize jets cannot cross the Atlantic, but Brazilian operators use them widely inside the country, for example from Campo de Marte to Santos Dumont. Surfboards and golf bags fit the hold of a Global 7500 or a Gulfstream G550; tell us the dimensions in advance.

Want the stop and non-stop options side by side for your dates? Leave a number and a consultant will call back.

When to fly: the year in Brazil

Brazil has summer while Europe has winter. The busiest weeks for private flights are New Year, Carnival and the Grand Prix in São Paulo, when parking runs out before hotel rooms do; business travel to São Paulo continues all year. April to June and September to October are the easiest months to find aircraft and parking. Empty Legs between Europe and Brazil appear mostly just after the big dates, when long-range jets return north without passengers.

From the airport to the city

Empty Legs between Europe and Brazil

A transatlantic Empty Leg covers the most expensive part of the trip, but its date belongs to the operator. Write to empty-legs@jets.flights with the direction and a window of a week or two, and we send matching legs as they appear.

Flying with a dog or cat

Getting a dog or cat into Brazil is fairly simple; getting it back to Europe needs planning before you leave. In the cabin of a private jet the animal stays beside you for the whole trip, also during the fuel stop, and the operator must approve it in advance.

Entry to Brazil:

• An international veterinary certificate signed by the government vet of the departure country, issued after an examination no more than 10 days earlier; it stays valid for 60 days.
• A rabies vaccination for animals over 90 days; after a first vaccination, at least 21 days before travel.
• Treatment against internal and external parasites within 15 days before the certificate is issued.
• An ISO microchip whose number appears on the certificate.
• Brazil can refuse an animal with leishmaniasis, and Rio de Janeiro bans pit bull type dogs.

Entry, permits and customs

Before departure

• Passport for every passenger, children included, valid for six months after arrival.
• Names, dates of birth and passport numbers a few days ahead for the permits.
• Which Brazilian cities you will visit, so the domestic legs and permits are booked together.
• Parking request if the jet is to wait, filed about a week ahead.
• For a pet: the government vet certificate and the antibody test done before leaving Europe.
• Company name and VAT number for the invoice.

How to book

1. Send the cities, the dates out and back, the number of passengers and any onward trips to Argentina, Uruguay or Paraguay.
2. We compare a heavy jet with one stop, a non-stop long-range jet and, for the north-east coast, the shorter route from Madrid or Lisbon.
3. After the contract and payment the operator files the ANAC authorisation and the landing permit; we request parking at Guarulhos, Galeão or Viracopos.
4. We book the Brazilian operator for internal legs and the helicopter or car from the airport.
5. On arrival the handler takes the party through passport control and customs and to the car or helicopter.

Brazil is often combined with its neighbours: see our pages on Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Questions about private flights to Brazil

• • How much does a private jet from Europe to Brazil cost?

  • From EUR 71,000 one way for a Challenger 650 from Madrid to Recife, and from EUR 115,000 with one stop from Paris, Geneva or Nice to São Paulo or Rio. A non-stop Gulfstream G550 to São Paulo costs from EUR 125,000, from Madrid.

• • Can we fly to São Paulo without a stop?

  • Yes, in a Gulfstream G550, Falcon 8X, Gulfstream G650 or Global 7500. London - São Paulo takes about 10:59 h in a Global 7500.

• • Which São Paulo airport is best?

  • Guarulhos for the crossing, or Catarina if you want a business aviation field and a helicopter into the city. Congonhas and Campo de Marte take domestic flights only.

• • Can the same jet take us from São Paulo to Rio?

  • Usually not: flights between two Brazilian cities are reserved for Brazilian companies. We book a Brazilian operator, from EUR 8,500 for São Paulo - Rio in a light jet.

• • How far ahead do we need to book?

  • The landing permit needs at least 48 hours, but parking at Guarulhos and Viracopos is best requested a week ahead, and for Carnival, New Year or the Grand Prix much earlier.

• • Do EU and UK citizens need a visa?

  • No, not for tourism or business visits of up to 90 days. The passport should be valid for six months after arrival.

• • Where does a heavy jet refuel?

  • Usually at Sal in Cape Verde or at Fortaleza in Brazil. A stop in Brazil must be at an international airport and goes through customs.

• • What is the time difference?

  • São Paulo, Rio, Brasília and the north-east are 3 hours behind London in the British winter and 4 hours in summer; Brazil does not change its clocks. Manaus is one hour further behind.

• • Can we take our dog?

  • Yes, with a government vet certificate, rabies vaccination and parasite treatment. For the return to Europe the rabies antibody test should be done before departure.

• • Are there Empty Legs to Brazil?

  • Yes, mostly after New Year, Carnival and the Grand Prix, when jets return to Europe empty. Send your direction and dates to empty-legs@jets.flights.

• • Can the aircraft wait in Brazil?

  • Yes, if parking is available; the crew needs hotel nights too. For stays longer than a few days, two empty crossings often cost less, and we price both.