Gol to cancel its Bogotá-São Paulo flight. Where is Gol heading to?
Once again Brazilian airline Gol is cancelling an international route. It will stop flying to Bogotá in June 2011.
It would seem Gol does not tolerate the existence of competition in the international routes it operates – the airline, after all, offers an inferior product not associated to a low fare. As soon as Copa announced its flights to St Maarten, Gol cancelled theirs. Bogotá (the Colombian capital is an interesting destination on a country where tourist attractions are plentiful) fell as soon as Tam and Avianca arrived with flights from Brazil – they both offer superior services.
Gol wants to act as a low cost carrier but its prices are not those of a low fare airline. This is policy that only leads to failure. It is only possible in markets with a limited offer of fligths or where the competition offers services of an inferior quality.
The demand for flights from Brazil to foreign destinations is on the rise. Airlines like Copa, Taca, Avianca and Lan understood so and placed their bets on Brazil (often using aircraft similar to those of Gol). Brazilian airlines have so far failed to respond.
There is room in Brazil for low cost/low fare airlines operating flights to tourist destinations (as elsewhere in the world). Cancún or Fort Lauderdale would make excellent examples. But Brazilian airlines always aim at large profits; their lack of action leaves room for foreign airlines.
It would seem Gol is waiting for the Brazilian government to approve an increased share of foreign capital on Brazilian airlines. The new foreign interests on the airline would then define the path Gol would follow in the future. But the airline needs to bear in mind that foreign capital will also arrive to the competition (often offering a better services with a lower number of frequencies). The last one to make up their mind will be left with a harder fight to make up for lost time.
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