Gol started in 2001 by not offering frequent flyer programs, airport clubs, and food services. Some 15 years later it is venturing into these services with its Smiles frequent flyer program and Smiles Lounges. If companies like Gol become more like full-service airlines, will their low-cost financial approach suffer?
 

Gol Linhas Areas Inteligentes S.A ("Gol Intelligent Airlines S.A.," also known as VRG Linhas Areas S/A) is a tropical version of JetBlue Airways Corporation and Ryanair Ltd., the low-cost, no-frills airlines based in the United States and Ireland, respectively. Gol is based in Comandante Lineu Gomes Square, So Paulo, Brazil. The company is the second-largest Brazilian airline after TAM Linhas Areas (TAM Airlines) by both market size and fleet size. TAM Airlines is a subsidiary of the Chil- ean LATAM Airlines Group, and Gol competes in Brazil and other Latin American countries with the LATAM Established in 2001, Gol adopted the low-cost model so effectively pioneered mainly by the U.S.-based South- west Airlines and refined by companies such as JetBlue and Ryanair. Gol sells discount tickets, mainly using the Internet as the customer interaction platform. The com- pany targets price-sensitive business travelers in Brazil's rapidly growing market for air travel (demand for air travel is growing at roughly twice the rate of the coun- try's gross domestic product, GDP). From a financially driven standpoint, Gol standardized its fleet on a single aircraft model, Boeing's 737 series. It started with no airport clubs or frequent flyer programs, cabins were single class, and light snacks and beverages replaced meals. Since those beginnings in 2001, Gol has Group, Brazilian Azul, and Colombian Avianca Hold- ings S.A. Gol has about 36 percent of the domestic Brazilian airline business.