Virgin Atlantic to fly between UK & Brazil as of 2020

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Critical Divide

Following in the jet stream o Norwegian, it is now the turn of Virgin Atlantic to announce direct flights between the UK and Brazil. In this case a daily service as of 2020 from London Heathrow to São Paulo using the Boeing 787-9, Dreamliner, with an Upper Class, Premium and Economy Delight, Classic and Light offering.

This will be Virgin’s first South American route and it will join British Airways and LATAM Airlines in flying the London-São Paulo route direct, making Heathrow a very competitive hub to travel to-and-from Brazil and the rest of the south of South America.

Norwegian is scheduled to start flying direct to-and-from Rio de Janeiro and London Gatwick as of 31 March 2019. Norwegian will also use the Dreamliner. Briitish Airways also offers a daily direct service from London Heathrow to Rio de Janeiro.

Novo Mundo Shuts its Doors

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Critical Divide

The Novo Mundo Hotel in Flamengo, that was inaugurated in time for the 1950 World Cup, closed its doors for business on 20 March 2019. Located next to what was then the Brazilian president’s residence, the Catete Palace, it accommodated many famous people over the years, including Pelé. The glory days, however, ended in the 1970s with the opening of new, more modern hotels in Copacabana which appealed more to international visitors.

Mangueira Champion of Rio’s 2019 Carnival

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Critical Divide

Estação Primeira de Mangueira is the champion of Rio’s top samba schools for the 20th time in its illustrious history after scoring a perfect total of 270 in 2019. Second, with 269.7 points, was Viraduro which has only just returned to the elite competition.