Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, known in short simply as GOL, is a key player in the Brazilian low-cost market. It has hubs and operating bases throughout the country, and a uniform fleet of more than 100 narrowbody jetliners. Its name is derived from the Brazilian-Portuguese word for ‘goal,’ embodying the South American country’s love of football.

GOL Brazil Getty Boeing — GOL’s fleet consists entirely of Boeing 737 family aircraft. Photo: Getty Images

GOL came into existence in 2000, and commenced operations the following year on January 15th, 2001. Its first route connected Brasília to São Paulo, and GOL has since developed a significant domestic network. The low-cost carrier, which also serves international destinations, has made several acquisitions during its 21 years of operations.

The early years

GOL began life as a Grupo Áurea subsidiary company. This conglomerate was involved in various aspects of transport in Brazil, including its ownership of a leading long-distance bus company. Over the years, its ownership has undergone certain changes.

For example, by 2007, AeroPar Participações owned 75.5% of the Brazilian low-cost carrier. Its other shares were split among Venture (17.6%), American International Group (5.4%), and Air France-KLM (1.5%). It was around this time that the airline looked at codesharing with TAP Portugal. However, it eventually elected to do so with TAM Airlines instead.

GOL Boeing 737-700 Getty — GOL reached 21 years of operations last month. Photo: Getty Images

Multiple acquisitions along the way

Following GOL’s codeshare with TAM, it later found itself in talks regarding the prospect of becoming a member of the oneworld alliance. These plans came about in response to rival Brazilian carrier TAM joining the Star Alliance. However, in October 2010, GOL withdrew its intentions, favoring an independent model with an emphasis on codeshares.

While GOL remains independent in terms of alliance membership, one way in which it has grown is through its purchases of other carriers. For example, it partially acquired the assets of VRG Linhas Aéreas in March 2007. VRG was one of the two carriers that came into existence as a result of the split of former Brazilian airline Varig in July 2006.

More recently, July 2011 saw GOL acquire another Brazilian budget airline, namely WebJet Linhas Aéreas Econômicas. It was fully integrated into GOL by November 2012, albeit with the loss of 850 jobs. Meanwhile, just last month, the Brazilian government approved GOL’s intentions to purchase regional operator MAP Linhas Aéreas.

The History Of Brazilian Low-Cost Carrier GOL — The Boeing 737 MAX is becoming increasingly prevalent at GOL. Photo: Getty Images

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Recent history

In the 2010s, GOL developed a relationship with Atlant-based US legacy carrier and SkyTeam founding member Delta Air Lines. This began in December 2011, when Delta purchased 3% of GOL’s shares, resulting in benefits such as codesharing and aligned frequent flyer schemes. However, Delta sold its stake in 2019 after buying 20% of the LATAM group.

In terms of fleet development, the Boeing 737 MAX series is becoming an increasingly important part of GOL’s operations. As Simple Flying explored in December, there are 19 MAX 8s in GOL’s 130-aircraft fleet, with 78 (plus 25 MAX 10s) on order. GOL wants to have 75 MAX 8s in its fleet by 2025, and it recently secured $600 million in funding to support this.

Have you flown with GOL during its 21 years operational history? Do you have any particular memories from such trips? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

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