We have not had any experience flying to Brazil as we arrived by ship not long ago. However, at that time, we did travel internally with Tam Airlines and found them exceptionally good, on time, and even served food and drinks on flights shorter than 2 hours. And, Tam Airlines is a partner with American Airlines and we were able to get AA points for 2 segments in each direction.

The only experience we had in cities was in Salvador and the warnings were the usual#stay out of places you would stay away from at home in large cities. I remember we drank bottled water.

As for accompanying your parents, we did find that while few people spoke or understood English, many understood Spanish as well as their native Portuguese, and that the most difficulty was finding our way from one gate to another in the airport in Sao Paulo where we changed planes. Once we were at the proper gate, we found the area to be very nice and the telephones worked with our calling card we use at home.

Happy travels, Gretchen, SC