Thanks Chateau! So Phil scheduled for himself a 135min connection (8.15am to 10.30am). A non-break journey for contestants from Chicago to Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro to Salvador would give them 155min for international connection in Sao Paulo and 50min in Rio (domestic).
So I guess it's safe enough (using Phil's times as a gauge) for the flight to happen on the 23rd?
Apskip's right - the connection through Rio is at best the fourth quickest flight that reaches Salvador, and half the teams are diverted there? Looks a bit strange for contestants to find that themselves... Did production force them onto it through charter flights?
(Wait, weren't the teams spotted on the morning of the 24th at the elevator? Doesn't that kind of make the whole argument of 23rd versus 24th moot?)
A compiled version of everyone's posts for easy reference; the flights we're looking at - if the 23rd holds true - are:
Contestants' flight from Los Angeles to Sao Paulo
UA 843 from Los Angeles to Chicago, 2.05pm to 8.05pm
UA 843 from Chicago to Salvador, 9.32pm to 10.05am
Contestants' Rio flight from Sao Paulo to Salvador
LA 750 from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, 12.40pm to 1.45pm
G3 1830 from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador, 2.35pm to 4.30pm
Contestants' flights from Sao Paulo to Salvador
leaving later than our Rio connection and arriving earlier
G3 1978, 12.50pm to 3.05pm
JJ 3172 / AF 6341 / LA 5962 / UA 9835, 1.30pm to 3.50pm
G3 1884, 1.50pm to 4.05pm
Phil's flights from Los Angeles to Salvador
AA 1520 from Los Angeles to Miami, 12.00pm to 7.50pm
AA 905 from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, 11.10pm to 8.15am
G3 1600 from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador, 10.30am to 12.30pm