Hi,
Not that long ago we decided we really had to do Brasil and...... so we did!
A decent fare was found and booked on the Lufthansa website and so our journey started Friday the 22nd at AMS where we arrived at Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) at 0500lt on the morning of the 23rd.
Spotting at GIG is not that difficult. If you go to the upper level in Terminal 1 you'll find a food court from where you have a pretty good view on a part of the platform with one of the runways in front of you. Cross runway you'll find the general aviation ramp and the cargo area (early morning / late afternoon most can be read off) and to your left the military apron is visible (reading off the planes on this apron is unfortunately next to impossible). If you go to the far side of Terminal 1 (on the same level) you'll find an Observation Deck, even signposted as such (or maybe as Observation Terrace, I'm not sure). At this location you 'll have a view on part of both runways so all traffic to or from the runways can be read off. For the photographers amongst us, the windows here are a lot cleaner than in the food court (really dirty windows overthere) so decent pictures can be made of some of the planes taxiing by, depending on which taxiway they use. Most of the day traffic is pretty steady however, after a couple of hours you'll see repeats and later in the afternoon the airport becomes rather quite. Most flights into the airport are GOL or TAM with the occasional Azul, Avianca Brasil, Passaredo or international visitor in between. Only about 10 bizjets were seen and about 5 military movements were noted however, we were at this airport on a Saturday so this kind of traffic might be more busy during the week.
Notes before starting the log:
* Liners are only mentioned ones, on the airports where they were first seen
* Bizjets could be mentioned multiple times, but on different airports only
* All mentioned aircrafts are actually read off (even in dark) !
Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) 23may 2015 05.00-15.45 Lt
Liners (72x):
PR-AVP / A320 / Avianca
PR-OCD / A320 / Avianca
PR-OCM / A320 / Avianca
PR-ONH / A318 / Avianca
PR-ONL / A320 / Avianca
PR-ONM / A318 / Avianca
PR-ONP / A318 / Avianca
PR-ONS / A320 / Avianca
PR-ONY / A320 / Avianca
PP-PJU / E190 / Azul
PR-AXV / E195 / Azul
PR-AZB / E190 / Azul
PR-GED / B737 / GOL
PR-GEE / B737 / GOL
PR-GGH / B738 / GOL
PR-GGQ / B738 / GOL
PR-GGZ / B738 / GOL
PR-GIW / B738 / GOL
PR-GOH / B737 / GOL
PR-GON / B737 / GOL
PR-GOQ / B737 / GOL
PR-GTB / B738 / GOL
PR-GTG / B738 / GOL
PR-GTM / B738 / GOL
PR-GTP / B738 / GOL
PR-GTU / B738 / GOL
PR-GTY / B738 / GOL
PR-GUG / B738 / GOL
PR-GUI / B738 / GOL
PR-GUJ / B738 / GOL
PR-GUO / B738 / GOL
PR-GUY / B738 / GOL
PR-GXA / B738 / GOL
PR-GXB / B738 / GOL
PR-GXC / B738 / GOL
PR-GXM / B738 / GOL
PR-GXN / B738 / GOL
PR-GXO / B738 / GOL
PR-GXT / B738 / GOL
PR-GXU / B738 / GOL
PR-VBH / B737 / GOL
PR-VBK / B738 / GOL
PR-VBL / B738 / GOL
PR-VBX / B737 / GOL
PR-VBZ / B737 / GOL
PR-MAA / A320 / TAM
PR-MAV / A320 / TAM
PR-MBD / A320 / TAM
PR-MBF / A320 / TAM
PR-MBY / A320 / TAM
PR-MBZ / A320 / TAM
PR-MHI / A320 / TAM
PR-MHV / A320 / TAM
PR-MHW / A320 / TAM
PR-MYD / A320 / TAM
PR-MYF / A320 / TAM
PR-MYH / A320 / TAM
PR-MYJ / A320 / TAM
PR-MYL / A319 / TAM
PR-MYP / A320 / TAM
PR-MYT / A320 / TAM
PR-MYW / A320 / TAM
PR-MYY / A320 / TAM
PR-TYH / A320 / TAM
PT-MSX / B763 / TAM
PT-MSY / B763 / TAM
PT-MXB / A321 / TAM
PT-MXM / A321 / TAM
PT-MZT / A320 / TAM
PT-MZU / A320 / TAM
PT-MZW / A320 / TAM
PT-XPB / A321 / TAM
Others (20x):
A6-EWB / B772 / Emirates
CC-CQM / A320 / Lan Airlines
C-GHOZ / B763 / Air Canada
CS-TOE / A332 / Tap
CS-TON / A332 / Tap
EI-EJG / A332 / Alitalia
F-GZNQ / B773 / Air France
HP-1828CMP / B738 / Copa
LV-CPK / E190 / Austral
LV-CTC / B738 / Aerolineas
N347AT / B734F / Sideral
N384AA / B763 / American
N723AV / A319 / Avianca
N761AJ / B772 / American
N78003 / B772 / United
N831MH / B764 / Delta
PP-PTP / ATR7 / Passaredo
PR-PDI / ATR7 / Passaredo
PR-SDU / B734F / Sideral
XA-JBC / B762 / Aeromexico
Mil/biz (12x):
2475 / C-130 / 382-4491 Brazil Air Force
2479 / C-130 / 382-4449 Brazil Air Force
2523 / E145 / 145028 Brazil Air Force
OH-MPL / BD700 / 9553
PP-MFL / Be400 / RK-520
PP-MPB / Phenom / 505-136
PR-CGI / Gulf.550 / 5457
PR-HOF / Ce560XL / 560-5696
PR-PTR / LJ40 / 45-2086
PR-RCN / Ce560XL / 560-6145
PR-VZN / Ce525C / 525C0072
PT-LHC / Ce650 / 650-0086
As the quiter period began just after 3pm we decided to take a cab to the domestic airport of Rio de Janeiro, Santos Dumont. Depending on the traffic, the fare between the two airports should be between 50 and 75 Brazilian Regals (exchange course at the moment was 3 to 1 on the Euro, meaning 3 Brazilian Real was worth 1 Euro). Take a licensed cab (the yellow ones looking like real ones) and just be sure the meter is turned on. We were pretty lucky with the traffic and it took us just under 30 minutes to reach Santos Dumont Airport for 55 Brazilian Regals. Across the road from the terminal you can find the Ibis Hotel and that's the place where we stayed for the night. Please note that you can't find any signs of the hotel in the terminal and that you don't see the hotel when you exit the terminal. It is really close by (like a 3-4 minutes walk) but check first which little sidestreet you have to enter otherwise you keep looking around. Stories are that some rooms (only having one double bed) give a little view on part of the ramp but as we were to fly out of the airport the next day (and the view airside is great) we didn't bother to ask for one and opted for a twin room facing another building.
In the terminal you can find one decent spot and that is a restaurant (and the small area next to it if you're not hungry or thirsty) located on the upper level. Basically, enter the terminal and go as far to the right and up as possible. Apron and runway are in front of you and nothing can be missed. Be aware however, the airport isn't that busy and the variation is almost nil. GOL and TAM again with some more Azul's and Avianca's in between and the occasional bizjet. One thing of interest however is that the Brazilian Air Force (or Army / Navy) do have an operation at this airport with their Bandeirantes (IC-95C's) and Hawkers (IU-93A's). To see them and also a couple more bizjets just exit the terminal and walk the fence to the right.
Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont (SDU) 23may 2015 16.05-20.15 Lt
Liners (21x):
PR-AVC / A319 / Avianca
PR-ONJ / A319 / Avianca
PP-PJR / E190 / Azul
PR-AXK / E195 / Azul
PR-AXW / E195 / Azul
PR-AYR / E195 / Azul
PR-AYV / E195 / Azul
PR-AZE / E190 / Azul
PR-GOV / B737 / GOL
PR-GTC / B738 / GOL
PR-GTI / B738 / GOL
PR-GUX / B738 / GOL
PR-GXG / B738 / GOL
PR-VBM / B737 / GOL
PR-MAL / A319 / TAM
PR-MAM / A319 / TAM
PR-MAO / A319 / TAM
PR-MYB / A319 / TAM
PT-MZD / A319 / TAM
PT-TMD / A319 / TAM
PT-TMG / A319 / TAM
Mil/Biz (6x):
6053 / U-125A / 258447
PP-LJA / Phenom / 505-211
PR-BBP / Ce680 / 680-0241
PR-BJA / Phenom / 505-178
PR-BPT / BD700 / 9582
PT-WGF / LJ35 / 35-322
Best regards,
Chris Veringa
Jeroen Noordhout
LOG Brazil,day1 23may:Rio de Janeiro Galeao,Santos Dumont
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