On Location: PAX in Rio – A first look at Brazil’s Marvellous City with Air Canada

PAX has landed in Rio de Janeiro — and we’re feeling the rhythm already!

This week, from October 21 to 26, we’re joining Canadian travel advisors in Brazil’s "Marvellous City" (a nickname given to Rio due to its stunning beaches, mountains, and forests) with Air Canada as the airline gears up to launch seasonal Toronto–Rio flights on Dec. 4, 2025.

This much-anticipated route will run through March 28, 2026 – long enough to capture two of Rio’s biggest global celebrations: Réveillon (New Year’s Eve) and Carnaval (Feb. 13-21, 2026).

Think fireworks, samba drums, and a beach party that never seems to end — all now just one direct flight away from Toronto Pearson airport.

It’s all part of Air Canada’s “New Frontiers” strategy, which aims to broaden the airline’s global reach by linking Canadians to new and exciting destinations around the world.

READ MORE: Air Canada gets ready to launch Toronto–Rio de Janeiro service

“Air Canada’s approach is to diversify,” said Air Canada’s Ana Paula De Souza, director, sales for Canada and global accounts, speaking with PAX recently. “Our goal is to position ourselves as one of the top 10 carriers over the next couple years. We’re going to be flying everywhere—it’s an important strategy to us.”

In this case, it’s a homecoming of sorts: Air Canada last operated flights between Toronto and Rio in 2016, when the city hosted the Summer Olympics. 

Now, almost a decade later, Canada’s flag carrier is returning to Brazil’s most iconic seaside city — and PAX is on the scene, giving you an on-the-ground look.   

Signature service in the sky

Since the Toronto–Rio route hasn’t launched just yet, our journey began aboard Air Canada’s daily Toronto–São Paulo flight, a sleek long-haul service operated on the airline’s new Boeing 777 aircraft.

Let’s just say we were spoiled from the start.

Flying Signature Class, we experienced Air Canada’s spacious lie-flat seats, premium food and beverage, and impeccable service that makes even a nine-hour overnight flight feel effortless. Adding a thoughtful touch, the crew even signed a welcome card. 

Before takeoff, we enjoyed access to Air Canada’s exclusive Signature Suite, the airline’s crown jewel of airport luxury at Toronto Pearson’s Terminal 1.

This chic space is reserved for eligible Air Canada Signature Class customers flying to international destinations in Europe, Asia, South America, or Australia.

And it’s no ordinary lounge. The Signature Suite feels more like a fine-dining restaurant, complete with concierge service, luggage check, a bar with limestone and Italian marble finish, and dramatic Canadian art, including a forest mural by Ottawa’s Gavin Lynch and a dreamy “Cloudscape Chandelier” by Toronto design firm Moss & Lam.

The à la carte menu – articulated by a team of attentive wait staff – is crafted by Vancouver-born Chef David Hawksworth.

Ricotta ravioli (with snow peas, butter emulsion, green pea and spinach puree), roasted Ontario beet carpaccio and Ontario pickerel (with red curry, honey mussels, crab claw, and squid ink tapioca cracker) and are just some of the culinary gems you’ll find on the menu.

The dishes — prepared with ingredients found within a 100-kilometre radius — are paired with fine wines from Niagara and it’s all presented with the kind of polish you’d expect from a five-star hotel, not a pre-flight meal.

The menu, which is updated seasonally, is a tribute to all things local, from Ontario’s farmers’ markets to the bounty of the Great Lakes.

“The idea is to create a sense of place. When you’re here, you’re experiencing Ontario’s best items. This is what we’re trying to honour,” said Air Canada’s Geneviève Piché, product manager and head of culinary strategy for the airline’s premium lounges, who met with PAX in the Suite’s VIP room, which has glass windows marked with faint maple leaves.

The goal of the Air Canada Signature Suite (which is also available at Vancouver airport) is to promote Canada as “a culinary destination,” Piché went to say.

The Suite’s DNA, she said, is about “finding the best that’s near us,” she said.

Really, after nearly two hours in the Signature Suite, sipping martinis made with Ontario-based Dillon's vodka, and indulging in Cornish hen (with roasted Ontario root vegetables, grilled maitake mushrooms and roasted chicken jus), I don’t think I can look at airport lounges the same way again.

There’s a reason the Air Canada Signature Suite in Toronto has been named Skytrax’s World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining for two years running.

After flying from Toronto to São Paulo, we connected to Rio de Janeiro via a short LATAM hop (a connection that won’t be necessary as of Dec. 4) — and just like that, olá Rio de Janeiro!

Fairmont Rio? Yes please

Our home base for the week? The Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana. Yes, it’s every bit as sexy as it sounds.

This five-star, 375-room property (with 68 suites) sits in a front-row seat on Copacabana Beach, known for its crescent-shaped bay, views of Sugarloaf Mountain, the roaring ocean, and endless sand that has inspired songwriters and dreamers for generations.

It's said that stepping into the Fairmont Rio, which opened in 2019 as the first Fairmont in South America, feels like stepping back to 1950s Rio de Janeiro—the golden age of Copacabana’s glamour.

At that time, the city still served as Brazil’s federal capital and was witnessing the dawn of television.

It was here, in 1955, that TV Rio was born, producing variety shows that became national sensations, including Chacrinha’s Discotheque, a cultural icon that continues to inspire generations.

The site also once housed the legendary Rio Palace Hotel, a favourite destination for international stars. When singer Frank Sinatra performed there at its grand opening in the 1970s, his concert became a defining moment that reshaped Brazil’s entertainment scene.

Today's Fairmont (which, ps, is pet friendly) has everything a luxury traveller could wish for: a serene spa, the Mediterranean-inspired Tropik beach club, live music at night, wellness and sports activities, and two swimming pools — one designed for sunrise dips (an ocean-facing infinity), the another for mid-day lounging.

The décor blends Brazilian sophistication with contemporary flair — think cumaru wood floors, coastal elegance, and pieces with rounded designs reminiscent of Copacabana's boardwalk. Inside? Plants galore, a move that seamlessly blends Rio's lush outdoors with the interior.

The hotel's Marine Restô, with million-dollar views of Sugarloaf Mountain (named, by the way, for its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar), is a love letter to Brazil. 

Chef Jérôme Dardillac, a Frenchman with a passion for Brazilian flavours ("He's more Brazilian than Brazilians," it was said), serves up dishes like hearty jerky meat with roasted pumpkin cream, confit octopus with creamy yellow puree and fish of the day, like flavourful mahi-mahi. 

A dessert highlight? A delicate chocolate shell that guests crack open to reveal a silky, sweet cocoa mousse within.

The Fairmont Rio also delivers an impressive event experience. 

This week just happens to be Virtuoso's "On Tour" event for Brazil-based luxury travel advisors and global suppliers, and last night, a poolside welcome party set the tone, featuring festive dancers, an expansive open-air culinary marketplace, and musicians performing atop the illuminated pool, where glowing spheres drifted across the water.

Coa&Co, meanwhile, is a space at the hotel for coffee breaks, where high-quality national beans produced by local micro-producers, along with breads, croissants, sweets, must-try gelato, await.

And the Fairmont Gold Lounge? It's a "hotel within a hotel" concept, featuring premium amenities, like exclusive check-in and lounge spaces and 24-hour butler service.  

From the moment you step into the sixth-floor lobby and catch that view of Copacabana, you’ll understand why this hotel has become a favourite for travellers who like their beach days with a side of glam.

Proud Carioca hosts

Joining the trip, later this week, are key Air Canada faces, including Edna Ray, senior manager, regional sales, and Ana Paula De Souza— who both just happen to be from Rio de Janeiro.

That’s right — these two proud cariocas (a term reserved for those born and raised in Rio) are showing us their hometown through the eyes of locals who know every hidden beach, samba club, and sunset spot. 

We’re also connecting with local tourism partners, including representatives from RIOgaleão, Rio’s international airport (GIG), the Fairmont Rio team, and VisitRio, the local tourism board.

And we’ll be diving headfirst into some of Rio’s must-dos.

On the list? A jeep tour along the beaches of Barra da Tijuca and the West Zone, live music and dancing at Rio Scenarium, and a Carnaval experience.

And no trip to Rio would be complete without a journey to the city’s centrepieces: Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer (a colossal statue of Jesus, overlooking the city from the summit of Corcovado mountain).

Why Rio, why now?

Air Canada’s upcoming Toronto–Rio flights will make it easier to escape winter for a dose of sunshine, samba, and caipirinhas (a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça, sugar, lime, and ice).

The flights will operate three times weekly (with potential to expand based on demand) and tour packages are already available through Air Canada Vacations. 

The airline’s decision to return to Portuguese-speaking Rio couldn’t come at a better time.

Brazil, for one, is experiencing a tourism boom. The country is on course to welcome some eight million international tourists in 2025, and may exceed 2027’s targets, according to Embratur, the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion. 

Canada’s geopolitical tensions with the U.S. are nudging Canadians to cast their travel eyes farther afield, and it seems Brazil’s current government is rolling out the welcome mat for visitors.

“Now is the perfect moment to be there,” said Leticia Santana of TurisRio, the agency representing 92 cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, speaking to PAX at an event in September.

“We’re being led by the right government. By coming to Brazil, travel agents are supporting the best, especially since Rio is considered the gatekeeper of the country.”

And Rio? As we’ve quickly learned, it’s the beating heart of it all. A city that blends beaches with cosmopolitan energy, natural wonders with electric nightlife.

There’s Lapa, with its bohemian vibes, samba clubs, and all-night street parties; Santa Teresa, a hillside neighborhood known for its art studios, mosaic staircases, and colonial charm.

And upscale Ipanema (popularized by the smooth Bossa Nova song, "The Girl from Ipanema”), where the people-watching is almost as famous as the sunsets.

From the tropical forests of Tijuca National Park to the boutiques of tranquil Leblon, the city has a way feeling both vast and intimate — where nature, culture, and joy coexist effortlessly.

We're just getting started! Stay tuned for more of PAX’s dispatches from Rio de Janeiro this week with Air Canada.

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