From its beaches and samba dancing to the annual Carnival festival and unique blend of cultures that shaped the modern country, the South American nation of Brazil provides endless appeal to tourists.

The 9.2 million international visitors who came to Brazil in 2025 marked a new record. The country’s government is also moving to attract even more tourists by scrapping all visa requirements for citizens of eight countries. Rio de Janeiro alone saw a 17% spike in visitors last year.

The third-largest airline in South America and the second-largest in Brazil after flag carrier LATAM by passengers carried, low-cost airline GOL Linhas Aéreas just emerged from nine months in Chapter 11 bankruptcy by significantly reducing its debt and securing a new partnership with American Airlines that ultimately earned the trust of new investors.

GOL to launch new route between Rio and New York in July 2026

As part of its first new route announcements under this new chapter, the low-cost carrier, which launched in 2000 with domestic Brazilian routes, will add a new flight to JFK from New York and Galeão Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG) in Rio de Janeiro on July 8, 2026.

As its first long-haul flight and first direct flight to the United States, this marks a major milestone for the Brazilian low-cost airline, which currently flies to just four other nearby countries in South America.

Related: Brazil to scrap visas for citizens of many countries, but not Americans

The news comes as the airline plans to add five 300-passenger Airbus A330-900 planes to its fleet through a lease by Spanish airline Wamos Air by 2027. The first one to be delivered this year will be immediately assigned to the Rio-New York route.

GOL had previously been limited to the shorter range within South America that its fleet of exclusively Boeing 737s could fly. Flights to London and Lisbon are now also slated to start running by 2027. GOL leadership previously also mentioned London and Porto, Portugal, as part of its long-term vision.

GOL Linhas Aéreas is the second-largest airline in Brazil.

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“Two key tourism and business hubs in South and North America”

The Rio-New York flight will span 4,768 miles and take 10 hours in each direction. It is slated to run three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to New York and Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for the return to Rio.

Tickets for July and onward are already available for purchase on the GOL website starting at $1,306 for a round-trip ticket.

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“With the introduction of widebody operations, we are taking another step forward in our evolution — expanding our horizons and creating new products and services for our customers,” GOL CEO Celso Ferrer said of the new route, adding that the ultimate goal is to turn GOL into an “intercontinental company, connecting Brazil to Europe and North America.”

The airline also classified the route as “the union between two key tourism and business hubs in South and North America” that “opens up a range ​of options and opportunities for customers across the continent.”

Related: Airline to launch new direct flight to Guatemala from the U.S.