Review: GOL Premium Economy Boeing 737 MAX (VVI-GRU)

For the next segment of my two times to Latin America review trip, I flew GOL’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 premium economy on the 2hr50min flight from Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI) to Sao Paulo (GRU). GOL is a powerhouse in Brazil, as the airline has a fleet of around 130 Boeing 737s, with another 100 or so jets on order.

I was excited to finally fly with the airline. GOL doesn’t have a business class cabin, but does have a premium economy product, with is sort of comparable to intra-Europe business class.

So, what’s my take on GOL premium economy? Well, I have mixed feelings. I think premium economy can be worth the premium, and I was also impressed by the general professionalism of the airline, and the friendliness of the crew.

That being said, I was a bit disappointed that I ended up on a non-standard GOL 737 MAX, which didn’t have the typical interior, Wi-Fi, or streaming entertainment. While I’m not dying to fly with GOL again, I’d gladly give the airline another try if the schedule and price were right.

How I booked my GOL premium economy ticket

GOL has a partnership with American Airlines, so it’s possible to redeem AAdvantage miles for travel on GOL. That’s how I booked, and I paid 17,500 AAdvantage miles plus $94.20 in taxes and fees for the following flight:

9/24 G37717 Santa Cruz de la Sierra to Sao Paulo departing 1:00PM arriving 4:40PM

As a point of comparison, economy would’ve cost 12,500 miles, so I was only paying a premium of 5,000 miles. That’s not bad!

For those curious about cash pricing, the absolute lowest one-way all-in pricing in the market seems to be $163 in economy and $288 in premium economy. However, on most dates, economy is more expensive, while premium economy isn’t more expensive. For example, there are many days where economy costs $237, while premium economy costs $288. So I’d say the premium could very well be worth it.

GOL premium economy lounge access & boarding

GOL premium economy tickets include lounge access, but only to GOL lounges, located in Sao Paulo (GRU) and Rio de Janeiro (GIG). Since I was flying from an outstation, my ticket didn’t include lounge access. However, I used Priority Pass to access both The VIP Lounge and The Lounge VIP in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI).

My flight was departing from gate five, with boarding scheduled for 12PM, one hour before departure. That’s an awfully early boarding time for a 737 flight, if you ask me. That is indeed when boarding began, with premium economy passengers being invited to board first.

GOL 737 MAX premium economy cabin & seats

I boarded the GOL Boeing 737 MAX 8 through the forward door, and was caught off guard by the interior. I was expecting black seats with orange trim, but instead I found that I was on a jet with light grey seats with blue trim. Huh?!

It quickly became apparent to me what had happened. I was flying on a five-year-old 737 MAX with the registration code PS-GPO. As it turns out, this jet had been built for China’s Donghai Arlines, but the airline ultimately didn’t take delivery of it. As a result, GOL acquired it, given that the airline was dealing with its own 737 MAX delivery delays. The airline didn’t end up updating the branding on the interior of the jet.

Like GOL’s standard 737 MAXs, this one had 186 seats, spread across 31 rows, in a 3-3 configuration.

On international flights, the first five rows of the aircraft are marketed as premium economy — I assigned myself seat 5A, the window seat on the left side in the fifth row. In addition to improved service, the main differences are that you have a blocked middle seat, and you also have a couple of extra inches of legroom.

I’m not the tallest guy in the word, but I certainly didn’t find the legroom to be particularly generous, so I’m curious how tight it would feel in the standard economy section.

The seat had a pretty standard tray table, which folded down from the seat in front.

The seat also had a USB-A charger, but that’s it. I found that to be pretty disappointing, since you’d hope there would be an AC or USB-C outlet.

Beyond that, I found the cabin to be quite modern and comfortable. It had the Boeing Signature Interior, with large overhead bins and mood lighting.

Each seat also had individual air nozzles and reading lights in the overhead console.

One thing I found noteworthy is how the bulkhead had an Air France-KLM placard. Air France-KLM has a very small stake in GOL, but then again, American has a bigger stake, but its logo doesn’t appear in the plane. Does anyone know why that is?

The only other point of differentiation with premium economy during boarding was that passengers were given water bottles.

Another thing worth pointing out is that GOL doesn’t have a curtain between premium economy and economy, so I imagine many passengers in economy don’t even realize that there’s a difference between the two cabins.

GOL 737 MAX premium economy entertainment & Wi-Fi

GOL Boeing 737 MAXs are supposed to have free streaming entertainment, free inflight messaging, and Wi-Fi available for purchase. The Wi-Fi packages are supposed to be as follows:

• Inflight texting (without pictures or videos) is supposed to be free
• Light internet browsing is supposed to cost BRL 25 (~4 USD) for one hour, or BRL 40 (~7 USD) for the entire flight
• Steaming internet is supposed to cost BRL 45 (~8 USD) for one hour, or BRL 58 (~10 USD) for the entire flight

Unfortunately since I was flying on a non-standard Boeing 737 MAX, it didn’t offer inflight connectivity. I know this is minor, but I really wish airlines would do a better job managing expectations in this regard.

I was expecting to be able to stay connected during the flight, so can’t airlines at least email customers pre-flight to let them know that some planned services won’t be available due to this?

GOL 737 MAX departure from Santa Cruz de la Sierra

My GOL flight was packed, with nearly every seat onboard being occupied (well, except the middles in premium economy). I’ve gotta say, the boarding process was oddly inefficient, even less so than in the United States, which is saying something.

It took around 50 minutes to complete boarding, and it wrapped up at 12:50PM, at which point we immediately began our pushback. Around the same time, the lead flight attendant added her welcome aboard, announcing the flight time of 2hr50min. The crew also performed a manual safety demonstration.

We started our short taxi to the runway at 12:55PM. Bolivia sure has some cool airplanes, as carrier EcoJet has a fleet of RJ85s and RJ100s… you don’t often see those!

Within 10 minutes we made it to the runway, following a Boliviana de Aviacion 737.

We were cleared for takeoff on runway 34 at 1:05PM.

I enjoyed the views out the window during our climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around 10 minutes after takeoff.

Around 30 minutes after takeoff, the captain made his very friendly welcome aboard announcement, giving us lots of details about the flight.

GOL premium economy food, drinks, and service

What’s service like in GOL premium economy? It started on a high note. Just 15 minutes after takeoff, the lead flight attendant came through premium economy with a tray, offering each passenger either sparkling wine or apple juice.

As I always say, it’s a nice touch when the crew can get the first round of drinks out quickly after takeoff, and it’s an area where the crew definitely succeeded.

Then around 45 minutes after takeoff, the crew passed through premium economy to serve further drinks, as well as a snack. By the time they got to my row, there was no choice of snack (actually, I overheard that even those in row three didn’t have a choice).

So the only option was a mortadella and cheese sandwich, served with a chocolate dessert. For what it’s worth, I believe the other option was some sort of vegetarian sandwich. Drinks were also served, and they’re included in premium economy. I ordered a glass of sauvignon blanc, and it was served in proper glassware.

I very much enjoyed the dessert and wine, though I didn’t touch the sandwich. I know some people love mortadella, but it’s not for me.

I guess I should’ve chosen a seat further up. I realize this is probably even more popular in Brazil than elsewhere, though I always find it frustrating when airlines run out of the “safer” option. Billions of people don’t eat pork, including me (not for religious reasons, but just because pigs are super smart, so I view this as being similar to dogs in that way… I digress).

On the plus side, I have to recognize the lead flight attendant, who was exceptionally friendly and attentive. She’d engage with each passenger, and had great attention to detail. She also made several rounds through the cabin. Basically she’d just keep rolling the cart up and down the aisle until people no longer wanted anything.

After the main snack service, I decided to order a coffee. Unfortunately GOL doesn’t offer any sort of milk or creamer with coffee, so the only option is to put sugar in there. My seat mate recommended another type of coffee the airline served, which is super sugary. I’m not sure what exactly it was (it was described to me as “fat coffee”), but I figured I should give it a try.

I eventually found a happy medium, and ended up pouring some of the sugary and sweet coffee into the main coffee, which was a nice combination.

GOL 737 MAX premium economy lavatory

GOL has a lavatory at the front of the 737 MAX, which is the typical very tight lavatory you’ll find on most 737 MAXs.

Above I mentioned how there’s no curtain between premium economy and economy, and that also means that the lavatory isn’t reserved for premium economy customers. It sure would be nice if that were the case…

GOL 737 MAX arrival in Sao Paulo

I had a chat with my seat mate on the flight (I’m not usually a talker on planes, but he was an interesting Brazilian guy doing business in Bolivia). Before I knew it, we were preparing for our approach to Sao Paulo. At 4:10PM local time, the captain was back on the PA, and asked the crew to prepare for landing. It was a gorgeous afternoon, especially above the clouds.

Unfortunately our approach didn’t end up being very direct, and we did a bit of circling before we were cleared for the approach, due to congestion at the airport.

We ended up landing on runway 9R at 4:55PM.

From there we had a 10-minute taxi to our arrival stand, where we pulled in at 5:05PM, around 25 minutes behind schedule. Unfortunately we arrived at a remote stand, and had to take a bus to the terminal.

At least a remote stand affords great views of the exterior of a jet!

From there I headed to the airport’s transit hotel, TRYP by Wyndham Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport, where I’d be spending the evening and early morning, prior to my Copa 737 MAX business class flight to Panama City.

Bottom line

GOL’s 737 MAX premium economy is a generally pleasant experience. The price premium over economy is typically reasonable, whether paying with cash or points. You get a blocked middle seat, extra legroom, priority services, an inflight snack, unlimited drinks, and more attentive service. GOL is a reliable and professional airline, so I’d gladly fly the airline again.

There were two parts of the experience that disappointed me. First of all, I was flying on a 737 MAX intended for another carrier, so there was no Wi-Fi or entertainment, despite that being marketed as a perk. Furthermore, as someone who doesn’t eat pork, I didn’t like that this was the only snack option. Of course other people will feel differently, but I can only judge a flight based on my own preferences.

What’s your take on GOL’s 737 MAX premium economy?