GOL Linhas Aéreas

GOL Linhas Aéreas is one of Brazil's largest domestic airlines, flying an all-Boeing 737 fleet from its São Paulo base at Congonhas and its international gateway at Guarulhos. The network blankets Brazil and reaches out to South American neighbours and a handful of leisure routes, with the trunk runs between São Paulo, Rio and Brasília at its heart.

The fleet decision shapes the seat decision. Every GOL aircraft is a 737 with a single economy cabin in a three-by-three layout, and the premium offer, GOL Premium, is a zone at the front of that cabin rather than a separate cabin with different seats. Understanding that distinction is most of what you need to choose well.

The published layouts cover the 737-700, the 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8. All three run the same basic shape: a GOL Premium zone in the front rows, then standard economy back to the tail.

What GOL Premium means differs by aircraft, and this is the detail worth knowing. On the 737-800 and the MAX 8 the middle seats in the front rows are kept empty, so the zone flies as window-and-aisle pairs with a spare seat between, on top of extra legroom. On the smaller 737-700 the front rows are sold as full rows of three, with the extra legroom doing the work on its own. Same brand name, two different propositions.

The onboard product is straightforward Brazilian domestic flying: a tidy single-class cabin, quick turnarounds and a schedule that keeps the trunk routes moving. The MAX 8 is the quietest of the three types and the most pleasant place to spend a longer sector.

GOL Premium is honest about what it is: more space rather than different hardware. The seat is the same one you get down the back; the value is the legroom, and on the bigger jets the empty middle. For a two-hour hop between capitals that combination does most of what a regional business class would, at a fraction of the fuss.

If the fare difference is small, the Premium zone at the front is the pick: extra legroom on every jet, and on the 737-800 and MAX 8 a middle seat that stays empty. Failing that, the rows around the over-wing exits carry extra legroom in the main cabin, though the exit row itself can trade recline for the hatch, and the forward rows board and clear quickest.

The rows at the very back sit by the galley and lavatories and take the longest to get off, so leave them for the days you have no choice. The three types run different lengths and densities, and the published layout shows exactly where the Premium zone ends and which rows carry the space on your aircraft.