Varig

Categories: Star Alliance | Airlines of Brazil

Varig (Viação Aerea RIo Grandense) is an airline based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is Brazil's leading international airline, operating services to 19 countries on four continents, as well as 34 cities in Brazil. Its main hubs are Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), Sao Paulo, and Galeão International Airport (GIG), Rio de Janeiro, with secondary hubs at Congonhas Domestic Airport (CGH), Salvador International Airport (SSA), Salvador, Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport (BSB), Brasilia and Guararapes International Airport (REC), Recife.

History

Varig was the first airline in Brazil, established on May 7 1927 at the Porto Alegre Commercial Association meeting. It was there that Otto Ernst Meyer, a German immigrant, signed the certificate declaring Varig an airline company. Varig's first plane was a nine passenger Dornier Wal flying boat. Its first employee, Ruben Berta, later became the airline's President and led the airline through great expansion until his death in 1966. The airline started operations on 15 July 1927. Varig's first flight was from Porto Alegre to Rio Grande, stopping in Pelotas.

It originally operated local services in southern Brazil, but added its first international route to Montevideo on 5 August 1942. Transatlantic services were started in February 1965. The airline took over the giant REAL consortium in 1961, making it the largest airline in South America. It acquired a controlling interest in Cruzeiro do Sul in June 1975, which was fully integrated into Varig in January 1993. Long-running discussions to merge with TAM Linhas Aéreas ended in 2004; but Varig is still facing serious problems and may be sold soon.

Varig wholly owns Varig Logistica and has shareholdings in Nordeste Linhas Aereas Regionais (99%), Rio Sul Servicios Aereos Regionais (97%), and Pluna (49%). It is a member of the Star Alliance and employs 10,572 staff.

Incidents and Accidents

Varig has had three crashes with fatalities since 1970:

• 11 July 1973, near Paris, France, forced landing due to fire in a rear lavatory, 123 deaths
• 3 January 1987, near Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, engine failure, 50 deaths
• 3 September 1989, near São José do Xingu, Brazil. Pilot navigational error led to fuel exhaustion and a forced landing in the jungle. Twelve of the 48 passengers were killed in the crash. The survivors were discovered two days later.

Destinations

See article Varig destinations.

Fleet

The Varig fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2005):

• 8 Boeing 777-200ER
• 7 Boeing 767-300ER
• 4 Boeing 757-200
• 2 Boeing 737-800
• 4 Boeing 737-400
• 27 Boeing 737-300
• 14 McDonnell Douglas MD-11

External links

• Varig
• Varig Passenger Opinions
• Varig Fleet Detail