VARIG (acronym for V itÃÆ'§ÃÆ' £ o A ÃÆ'  © rea RI o- G randense) was the first airline established in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 to 1990, the airline was the leading international airline and almost the only one in Brazil. In 2005, Varig entered into a judicial reorganization, and in 2006 was divided into two companies informally known as the "old" Varig, the original airline heir and now inactive, and the new "Varig", a completely new company integrated into the Gol. Airlines.
Video Varig
History
Formation and Initial Year (1927-1943) /h3>Sociedade AnÃÆ''nima Empresa de ViaÃÆ'§ÃÆ' £ o AÃÆ'  © rea Rio-Grandense - VARIG is the first national airline established in Brazil. The company was founded on 7 May 1927 in Porto Alegre, by Otto Ernst Meyer-Labastille, a German fighter decorated in World War I, who immigrated to Brazil in 1921 and noticed how important air transportation is for a large country like Brazil. Varig is off-spring from the German trading company and Condor Syndikat company, thus sharing the same origin with Syndicato Condor, later renamed ServiÃÆ'§os AÃÆ'  © reos Cruzeiro do Sul. Condor Syndikat provides initial operational and financial support and for a short time Varig and sister-company Syndicato Condor operate in partnership.
The first VARIG aircraft was a Dornier Do J Wal passenger ship consisting of ten passengers, transferred from the assets of Condor Syndikat. This aircraft, named AtlÃÆ' Â ¢ ntico , is also the first aircraft registered in Brazil as P-BAAA. The operation began on 22 June 1927 with a flight from Porto Alegre to the Rio Grande via Pelotas. Varig inherited the right route from Condor Syndikat which since February 22, 1927 has operated the service.
VARIG slowly but consistently despite the difficulty of adding aircraft and destinations to its network that initially focuses on the state of Rio Grande do Sul. On August 5, 1942, Varig started his first international route from Porto Alegre to Montevideo using de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide.
In 1941, when the United States declared war on Poros and joined the Allies in the conflict, flight supplies became scarce, especially in terms of fuel and spare parts. Since most use German equipment and have the German Managing Director (President), Varig faces certain difficulties. For this reason, Otto Ernst Meyer's first Varib Manager Otto Ernst Meyer resigned on 24 December 1941 and the shareholders decided that the next Director-Manager would be born in Brazil. ÃÆ' â € ° Brazilian rico de Assis was elected but he died of a plane crash shortly thereafter. It was in 1943 that Varig's first employee, Ruben Martin Berta, a descendant of Hungarian and German grandparents, was chosen as Managing Director and thus would remain until his death in 1966.
Expansion (1943-1966)
One of Ruben Berta's first decisions was to pursue an expansion plan and bring together a fleet of only one type of aircraft. The selected one is Lockheed L-10 Electra. Another divisive idea was made on October 29, 1945, when, based on the social ideas found in the pope's encyclical Ryum novarum and Quadragesimo anno and to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract , Berta proposed and the panel approved the transfer of 50% of Varig's shares to the non-profit foundation of the employee. The purpose of the foundation is to provide health, financial, social and recreational benefits to its employees. Decades later this foundation will be called FundaÃÆ'§ÃÆ' Ruben Berta.
In 1946, with the addition of Douglas DC-3 and then Curtiss C-46 to its fleet, Varig was able to increase its network by adding cities in the states of Santa Catarina, ParanÃÆ'¡, SÃÆ'ÂÂ o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, facing competition fierce with Real Transportes AÃÆ' Â © reos, and SAVAG. On February 29, 1952, Varig bought Aero Geral, a small airline with concessions to fly from Christmas to Santos. With this purchase, Varig greatly expanded its operations in Brazil, expanding services beyond Rio de Janeiro to Natal along the Brazil coast and thus more readily to compete with Panair do Brasil and Cruzeiro do Sul. In 1949, the Brazilian government granted the Varig concession to fly to the United States, since the original airline which owns the concession, Cruzeiro do Sul, was unable to operate the service. The inaugural flight between Rio de Janeiro-GaleÃÆ'Â £ o and New York-Idllwild (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) on August 2, 1955. The service is operated by three new Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellations. On May 30, 1953, a flight to Buenos Aires using Curtiss C-46 began. In January 1956 Varig served 55 cities in Brazil and four abroad, becoming the second Brazilian airline in terms of passengers being transported.
In 1954, sensing the need for a more modern aircraft, the new Convair 240 was purchased. The addition of Lockheed Super Constellation and Convair 240 provoked profound mental changes in the Varig culture, with the introduction of a more cosmopolitan corporate image that would remain until 1996.
On July 6, 1959 Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul and VASP began an air shuttle service between Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and SÃÆ'Â ° Paulo-Congonhas airport, the first of its kind in the world. All three companies coordinate schedules and operations, and divide revenue. This service is a response to the competition imposed by Real Transportes AÃÆ' Â © reos. The idea, baptized as Air bridge (Portuguese: Ponte AÃ © rea ), inspired by the very successful Berlin Airlift so abandoned only in 1999 Flight operated every hour initially by Convair 240 (Varig), Convair 340 (Cruzeiro) and Saab 90 Scandia (VASP). Within months the shuttle service led by Varig won the battle against Real, which was purchased by Varig in 1961. Sadia Transportes AÃÆ' Â © reos joined the service in 1968. Between 1975 and 1992 operated exclusively by Varig Lockheed L-188 Electra which for neutrality has no Varig name on the fuselage.
On December 19, 1959, Varig began flying the new Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle I with 35 seats between Brazil and New York-Idlewild, stopping at Belem, Trinidad and Nassau; on July 2, 1960, Caravelles was replaced by Boeing 707-441, which could fly from Rio de Janeiro-GaleÃÆ'Â o to New York-Idlewild non-stop. Caravelles was diverted to operate road routes in Brazil and to Buenos Aires-Ezeiza and Montevideo.
Between May and August 1961, after a long battle for the Brazilian market, Varig took over the Real-Aerovias-Nacional Consortium, which is in serious economic trouble. This purchase not only makes Varig the largest airline in South America but also grants rights to other cities in Latin America, Miami, the West Coast of the United States and to Japan.
The European service began on February 10, 1965. Varig had been lobbying for European concessions for over ten years, but after the abrupt halt of Panair do Brasil by the Brazilian military government, Varig was granted a right previously held by Panair and ordered to immediately operate all services scheduled flights, including Panair flights scheduled to depart that evening from Rio de Janeiro-GaleÃÆ'Â o o to Recife, Lisbon, Paris-Orly and Frankfurt.
Varig also inherits two Panair Douglas DC-8-33 and an agreement with TAP-Transportes AÃÆ' Â © reos Portugueses to operate Voo da amizade (English: Friendship Flight) span >) between SÃÆ'Â £ Paulo-Congonhas, Rio de Janeiro-GaleÃÆ'Â £ o and Lisbon, with stops at Recife and Sal, now using the Varig Lockheed L-188 Electra. Originally started on 30 November 1960 by Panair and TAP, only Brazilian and Portuguese citizens or foreigners with permanent residences in Brazil or Portugal are entitled to purchase tickets for this flight, which is very popular due to low tariffs. The flight operated until 1967.
On December 14, 1966, Rubem Berta died of a heart attack. The next day the administrative council chose Erik Oswaldo Kastrup de Carvalho, Berta's right hand and former Panair employee, as the fourth President-Director of Varig.
Consolidation (1966-2000)
The 1973 oil crisis brought to Varig the need to replace older generation aircraft with newer ones. For international, the selected type is Douglas DC-10, which had its first flight with Varig on 1 July 1974 and this aircraft has the range to serve European destinations including Paris without stopping refueling on the way. In the domestic arena gradually Boeing 737-200 became a working horses.
Still as a consequence of the 1973 oil crisis which caused considerable difficulties for aviation, on May 20, 1975, Varig acquired the controlling interests of Cruzeiro do Sul, who in a very fragile economic situation. Cruzeiro do Sul was fully integrated into the VARIG on 1 January 1993.
On November 11, 1975, the Brazilian Federal Government created an Integrated Brazilian Regional Air Transport System and divided the country in five different areas, where five newly created regional airlines received concessions to operate air services. Rio-Sul ServiÃÆ'§os AÃÆ'  © reos Regionais S/A is the fourth of the regional airlines to be made operational and established by Varig in partnership with Top TÃÆ'¡xi AÃÆ'  © reo, Bradesco Bank, and Atlá ¢ ntica -Boavista Insurance. The service started on September 8, 1976 and its operating area comprises the South and parts of Southeast Brazil. Soon Rio-Sul operates as a feed company of Varig.
In February 1979, Carvalho left the Varig Presidency for a serious illness, replaced by Harry Schuetz for a short time, by HÃÆ' Â © lio Smidt, Berta's niece, in 1980, and by Rubel Thomas in 1990.
The year 1980 was marked by the modernization of the fleet, the growth in the number of destinations and the mounting financial problems that began with high inflation and foreign currency crises. Furthermore, with the end of military rule and the return of democracy in 1985, Varig lost his intimate relationship with the ruling rulers. In 1990, with the gradual deregulation promoted by the Federal Government, VASP and Transbrasil were authorized to fly to international destinations, violating the almost-monopoly held by Varig since 1965 (Cruzeiro do Sul is the only exception). More international airlines are also authorized to fly to Brazil, thereby increasing competition. Gradually Varig began to lose his financial health, exacerbated by the early 1990s world recession and administrative problems. In 1988, several years after the inauguration of Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, Varig decided to move its operational center from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo.
In June 1995, Varig bought a 49% stake in Pluna Uruguay Airlines.
In an effort to solve the ever increasing problem, Carlos Willy Engels became president in 1995 and in 1996 he was replaced by Fernando Abs da Cruz of Souza Pinto, who will be the last president of the consolidation phase in the company's history. He developed an ambitious project to bring financial and operational health back to the company. Two of the most visible milestones of this project are the new corporate image launched on October 15, 1996 - the first change since 1955 - and the Varig membership in Star Alliance, on October 22, 1997. Varig is the sixth airline, and first joined after launch only 5 months before.
In spite of some success in the reorganization of the company, Pinto does not have the full support of the Ruben Berta Foundation, Varig controller and, as a consequence, he left the Presidency of Varig on January 28, 2000. In the same year he became CEO of TAP Portugal and managed to reorganize the airline. Pinto was replaced by Ozires Silva, former president of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
Decline and End division (2000-2006)
The administration of Ozires Silva, which lasted only 2.5 years, started with a massive restructuring of the company, aimed at making the Reuben Berta Foundation stronger and the Directors weaker. Also, on January 28, 2000, all cargo operations were put together under a new airline named VarigLog. Even so, the airline is presented at the end of the year, for the first time in its history of Exposed Net Assets of BRL148.6 million - that is, the amount of disbursements is greater than the amount of credit and assets. One year later, it will reach BRL523 million.
In 2001, Varig saw the birth of a new competitor in the Brazilian market: Gol Airlines and increased competition VASP and Transbrasil struggled to survive by disposing of tariffs. Furthermore, for the first time since 1961, Varig lost its first place in the domestic market share in terms of passengers/km to TAM Airlines. Later in the year, the September 11 attacks further increased operational and economic difficulties Varig.
In 2002, the Ruben Berta Foundation incorporated the administration of Varig and its subsidiary Rio Sul ServiÃÆ'§os AÃÆ' Â © reos Regionais (which belongs to Nordeste Linhas AÃ © Ã © reas Regionais). These three brands are used separately with Rio-Sul and Nordeste which provide feeder service to Varig.
The year-round discussion to combine Varig with TAM Airlines ended unsuccessfully in 2004 and the same year Varig fell to third place in Brazil's domestic market share, behind TAM and Gol.
VARIG applied to the Bankruptcy and Commercial Reorganization Court in Rio de Janeiro on June 17, 2005, to begin the process of "judicial reorganization" in accordance with Brazil's New Bankruptcy and Restructuring Law (Law 11.101). The request was given on June 22, 2005. VARIG continues to provide services despite its financial problems.
To raise funds, the Bankruptcy Court and the Reorganization decided to sell two subsidiaries Varig:
- in November 2005 Vem Maintenance & amp; Engineering was sold to a consortium led by Portuguese airline TAP Portugal;
- in December 2005, VarigLog's cargo division was sold to Volo do Brasil, a consortium started by private equity fund MatlinPatterson Global Advisors and three Brazilian investors (Marco Antonio Audi, Marco Hapfel and Luiz Gallo). Negotiations concluded in June 2006.
After two failed attempts to auction off the airline as a whole, the bankruptcy court decided to divide the airline into two different judicial bodies, informally known as the "old" Varig and the new "Varig":
- The first section, officially called Nordeste Linhas AÃÆ'Â © reas S/A and informally known as the "old" Varig, comprising the Nordeste brand, one aircraft, debt, liability, legal dispute, asset, , and properties of the original Varig. Due to the "old" Varig, unable to use the Varig name anymore, the company used the Nordeste brand name for a while and in 2008 it started using the name Flex Linhas AÃÆ'Â © reas.
- The second section, officially called VRG Linhas AÃÆ' Â © reas and informally known as the "new" Varig, is a new airline consisting of Varig and Rio-Sul brands, Varig route rights, all but one plane and the distance of Smiles program. Varig "Baru" was auctioned on July 14, 2006 to Volo do Brasil (owner of VarigLog) and legal procedures completed on July 20, 2006;
"Old" Varig
Since October 23, 2007, former ViaÃÆ'§ÃÆ' £ o AÃÆ'  © rea Rio-Grandense S/A is legally known as Nordeste Linhas AÃÆ' © reas S/A , and operated under the brand name Flex Linhas AÃÆ' © reas. On August 18, 2009, the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Authority renewed Flex authorization to operate non-regular passenger, cargo and mail services. Therefore, flights operated by Flex on behalf of other airlines, as contracted.
Between 17 June 2005 and 2 September 2009, "Old Varig" remained in the Order of Recovery at the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro, under the leadership of Judge Luiz Roberto Ayoub and Miguel Dau. After bankruptcy protection is revoked, the airline administration may return to its original owner, FundaÃÆ'§ÃÆ' £ o Ruben Berta, who still owes 87% of the shares of Varig. However, FundaÃÆ'§ÃÆ'§ Ruben Berta preferred to keep a judicial administrator.
In September 2006, "long" Varig sold its participation in PLUNA (49% of shares) to the Government of Uruguay.
On January 31, 2007, Varig Brazilian Airlines ("old" Varig) was suspended from membership in the Star Alliance for failing to meet membership requirements, and on October 19, 2008, the IATA RG and callsign Varig codes were officially no longer available.
As a result of the accumulated debt, on August 20, 2010, at the request of the airline administrator, the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro declared Flex bankrupt and initiated the liquidation process. However, on September 10, the bankruptcy proceedings were suspended at the request of the Ruben Berta Foundation and the company returned practically to the status of the recovery order until the bankruptcy validity was assessed.
"New" Varig
VRG Linhas AÃÆ'Â © reas S/A is currently fully integrated with Gol Airlines.
On July 21, 2006, the "new" Varig canceled all flights, except for the Rio de Janeiro-SÃÆ' Â £ o Paulo shuttle service, which remained in operation through an agreement with the "old" Varig. On July 28, 2006, the "new" Varig announced that they would cut 60% of its staff.
Between September and November 2006, "new" Varig announced its intention to gradually continue several international and domestic flights. On December 14, 2006, Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency issued a final certificate to the new "Varig", making it fully operational. Immediately after the certificate was given, orders for 16 aircraft were announced, to bring the fleet to 31 aircraft and the operational agreement with the "old" Varig expired.
Before and after it was re-launched in December 2006, "New Varig" fought hard to find strategic partners, due to lack of credibility, affecting aircraft contracts, networks and personnel inherited from the "old" Varig. Varig "Baru" faces a monthly loss of US $ 20 million, and MattlinPatterson does not want to invest more money in the company, putting "new" Varig in extreme economic hardship.
On 28 March 2007, Gol Airlines purchased a new "Varig" (VRG Linhas AÃÆ'Â © reas) for US $ 320 million, and announced that VRG Linhas AÃÆ' Â © reas, operator of the VARIG brand, will continue to operate under its original name. The transaction was completed on April 9, 2007.
The new owner radically restructures the fleet, network, eliminates the First Class cabin of the aircraft, and gradually transforms the Varig brand into a Gol Group arm that specializes in scheduled international medium and long distance destinations. On October 23, 2007, Varig's new corporate image was launched, emphasizing the orange color of Gol.
On 29 September 2008 Goals merged into VRG Linhas AÃÆ' Â © reas and thus VRG Linhas AÃÆ' Â © reas became an airline with two different brands: Varig and Gol. As a result, in mid-April 2009, Varig's booking system was integrated into the revised Gol and Smiles frequent flyer program to include Goals. In June 2009, "new" Varig stopped operating its own flights and started using Gol flight numbers.
From 2006 to 2009 "new" Varig is required by contract to purchase at least 140 hours/month of service from "old" Varig. Therefore, several VRG flights Linhas AÃÆ'Â © reas operated with Flight number Gol was actually flown by charter plane from Flex Linhas AÃÆ' Â © reas.
Maps Varig
Destination
Historical Fleet
The list of fleets below is related to the "old" VARIG and based on the published standard Varig history.
Affinity Airline Program
Smiles are Varig Frequent-flyer programs until July 20, 2006. Points can be used for the services of Varig, its subsidiaries, and Star Alliance partners including flights, upgrades, vacations, hotel accommodations, and car rentals. Smiles are part of the new "Varig" package purchased by Gol Airlines. All miles respected and finally Smiles became Gol's Frequent Flyer program.
Accidents and incidents
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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