(Brazil) Varig @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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  • Lockheed L-188 Electra Lockheed L-188 Electra
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Varig

VARIG (acronym for Viaçïo Aérea RIo-Grandense) was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990 it was Brazil's leading and almost only international airline. In 2005, Varig went into judicial reorganisation, and in 2006 it was split into two companies informally known as "old" Varig - heir to the original airline and now defunct, and "new" Varig - a new company presently fully integrated into Gol Airlines.

Formation and Early Years (1927–1943)

Sociedade Anônima Empresa de Viaçïo Aérea Rio-Grandense – VARIG was the first national airline established in Brazil. It was founded on 7 May 1927 in Porto Alegre, by Otto Ernst Meyer-Labastille, a German aviator decorated in the World War I, who immigrated to Brazil in 1921 and noticed how necessary air transportation was for a large country like Brazil. Varig was an off-spring of the German trade company and airline Condor Syndikat, thus sharing the same origin as Syndicato Condor, later renamed Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul. Condor Syndikat gave the initial operational and financial support and for a short time Varig and the sister-company Syndicato Condor operated in partnership.

The first aircraft of VARIG was a ten-passenger Dornier Do J Wal flying boat, transferred from the assets of Condor Syndikat. This aircraft, named Atlântico, was also the first aircraft registered in Brazil as P-BAAA. Operations started on 22 June 1927 with a flight from Porto Alegre to Rio Grande via Pelotas. Varig inherited the route rights from Condor Syndikat which since 22 February 1927 had operated the service.

VARIG slowly but consistently in spite of difficulties added aircraft and destinations to its network initially focusing on the state of Rio Grande do Sul. On 5 August 1942 Varig began its first international route from Porto Alegre to Montevideo using its de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide.

On 1941, as the United States declared war against the Axis and joined the Allies in the conflict, aviation supplies became scarce, particularly in terms of petrol and replacement parts. Because it used mostly German equipment and had a German Manager-Director (President), Varig faced particular difficulties. For this reason, Varig's first Manager-Director Otto Ernst Meyer resigned on 24 December 1941 and shareholders decided that the next Manager-Director would be a Brazilian-born. érico de Assis Brasil was chosen but he died on an aircraft accident shortly after. It was in 1943 that Varig's first employee, Ruben Martin Berta, a descendant of Hungarian and German grandparents, was chosen as Manager-Director and thus would remain until his death in 1966.

Expansion (1943–1966)

One of the first decisions of Ruben Berta was to pursue an expansion plan and to unify the fleet around only one type of aircraft. The chosen one was the Lockheed L-10 Electra. Another ground-breaking suggestion was made on 29 October 1945 when, based on social ideas found on the Papal Encyclicals Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno and on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract, Berta proposed and the assembly approved the transfer 50% of Varig's shares to a not-for-profit foundation belonging to the employees. The aim of the foundation was to provide health, financial, social and recreational benefits to its employees. Decades later this foundation would be called Fundaçïo Ruben Berta.

In 1946, with the addition of Douglas DC-3 and later the Curtiss C-46 to its fleet, Varig was able to greatly increase its network by adding cities in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, Sïo Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, facing fierce competition with Real Transportes Aéreos, and SAVAG. On 29 February 1952, Varig bought Aero Geral, a small airline with concessions to fly from Natal until Santos. With this purchase Varig greatly enlarged its operations in Brazil, extending services beyond Rio de Janeiro until Natal along the Brazilian coast and was thus better prepared to compete with Panair do Brasil and Cruzeiro do Sul. In 1949 the Brazilian government granted to Varig the concession to fly to the United States, since the original airline which had the concession, Cruzeiro do Sul, was unable to operate the services. The inaugural flight between Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo and New York-Kennedy (then known as Idlewild) was on 2 August 1955. The services were operated by three new Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellations. On 30 May 1953 flights to Buenos Aires using Curtiss C-46s started. In January 1956 Varig served 55 cities in Brazil and four abroad, being the second Brazilian airline in terms of passengers transported.

In 1954, sensing the need for more modern aircraft, new Convair 240s were purchased. The addition of the Lockheed Super Constellation and the Convair 240 provoked a deep change of mentality in the culture of Varig, with the introduction of a more cosmopolitan corporate image that would remain until 1996.

On 6 July 1959 Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul and VASP initiated the air shuttle services between Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and Sïo Paulo-Congonhas airports, the first of its kind in the world. The three companies coordinated schedules and operations, and shared revenue. The service was a response to the competition imposed by Real Transportes Aéreos. The idea, baptized as Air bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Aérea), inspired on the Berlin Airlift was so successful that it was abandoned only in 1999. Flights operated on an hourly basis initially by Convair 240 (Varig), Convair 340 (Cruzeiro) and Saab 90 Scandia (VASP). In a few months the shuttle service led by Varig won the battle against Real, which was bought by Varig in 1961. Sadia Transportes Aéreos joined the service in 1968. Between 1975 and 1992 it was operated exclusively by Varig's Lockheed L-188 Electra which for the sake of neutrality did not have the Varig name on the fuselage.

On 19 December 1959 Varig started to fly their new 35-seat Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle I between Brazil and New York-Idlewild, stopping at Belem, Trinidad and Nassau; on 2 July 1960, the Caravelles were replaced by the Boeing 707-441, which could fly from Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo to New York-Idlewild non-stop. The Caravelles were switched to operate trunk routes within Brazil and to Buenos Aires-Ezeiza and Montevideo.

Between May and August 1961, after a lengthy battle for the Brazilian market, Varig gradually took over the Consortium Real-Aerovias-Nacional, which was in serious economic difficulty. This purchase not only made Varig the largest airline in South America but also granted rights to other cities in Latin America, Miami, the West Coast of the United States and to Japan.

European services started on 10 February 1965. Varig had been lobbying for European concessions for more than ten years, but after the sudden shutdown of Panair do Brasil by the Brazilian military government Varig was granted rights previously held by Panair and was ordered to immediately operate all scheduled services, including Panair's flight scheduled to depart that very night from Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo to Recife, Lisbon, Paris-Orly and Frankfurt.

Varig also inherited Panair's two Douglas DC-8-33 and the agreement with TAP-Transportes Aéreos Portugueses to operate the Voo da amizade (English: Friendship Flight) between Sïo Paulo-Congonhas, Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo and Lisbon, with stops in Recife and Sal, now using Varig's Lockheed L-188 Electra. Originally started on November 30, 1960 by Panair and TAP, only Brazilian and Portuguese citizens or foreigners with permanent residence in Brazil or Portugal were entitled to the purchase of tickets for these flights, which were extremely popular due to their low fares. Those flights operated until 1967.

On 14 December 1966, Rubem Berta died of a heart attack. The following day the administrative board elected Erik Oswaldo Kastrup de Carvalho, Berta's right-hand and former Panair employee, as Varig's fourth Director-President.

Consolidation (1966–2000)

The 1973 oil crisis brought to Varig the need to replace its older generation aircraft with newer ones. For international flights the chosen type was the Douglas DC-10, which had its first flight with Varig on 1 July 1974 and this aircraft had the range to serve European destinations including Paris without a refuelling stop en route. In the domestic arena gradually the Boeing 737-200 became the work-horse.

Still as a consequence of the 1973 oil crisis which caused many difficulties to airlines, on 20 May 1975 Varig acquired a controlling interest in Cruzeiro do Sul, which was in a particularly delicate economic situation. Cruzeiro do Sul was fully integrated into VARIG on 1 January 1993.

On 11 November 1975 the Brazilian Federal Government created the Brazilian Integrated System of Regional Air Transportation and divided the country in five different regions, for which five newly created regional airlines received a concession to operate air services. Rio-Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais S/A was the fourth of those regional airlines to be made operational and it was established by Varig in partnership with Top Táxi Aéreo, Bradesco Bank, and Atlântica-Boavista Insurance. Its services started on 8 September 1976 and its operational area comprised roughly the Southern and parts of the Southeast regions of Brazil. Soon Rio-Sul was operating as Varig's feeder-airline.

In February 1979 Carvalho left the Presidency of Varig due to serious illness being succeeded by Harry Schuetz for a short time, by Hélio Smidt, Berta's nephew, in 1980 and by Rubel Thomas in 1990.

The 1980s were marked by a modernization of the fleet, growth in the number of destinations and increasing financial problems originated in high inflation and in a foreign currency crisis. Furthermore with the end of the military régime and the return to democracy in 1985, Varig lost its intimate connection with the ruling powers. In 1990, with a gradual deregulation promoted by the Federal Government, VASP and Transbrasil were authorized to fly to international destinations, breaking an almost-monopoly held by Varig since 1965 (Cruzeiro do Sul was the only exception). More international carriers were also authorized to fly to Brazil, greatly increasing competition. Slowly Varig began to lose its financial health, aggravated by the early 1990s world recession and administration problems. In 1988, a few years after the inauguration of Sïo Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, Varig decided to move its operational hub from Rio de Janeiro to Sïo Paulo.

In June 1995, Varig bought 49% of the shares of Pluna Uruguayan Airlines.

In an attempt to solve its increasing problems, Carlos Willy Engels became president in 1995 and in 1996 he was succeeded by Fernando Abs da Cruz Souza Pinto, who would be the last president of the consolidation phase in the history of the company. He developed an ambitious project to bring financial and operational health back to the company. The two most visible milestones of this project were the new corporate image launched on October 15, 1996 - the first change since 1955 - and the membership of Varig on Star Alliance, as of 22 October 1997. Varig was its sixth member airline, and first to join after it was launched only 5 months earlier.

In spite of some success in the re-organization of the company, Pinto did not have full support of Ruben Berta Foundation, the controller of Varig and, as a consequence, he left the Presidency of Varig on 28 January 2000. That same year he became the CEO of TAP Portugal and successfully re-organized that airline. Pinto was succeeded by Ozires Silva, former president of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.

Decline and Final Split (2000–2006)

The administration of Ozires Silva, which lasted for only 2.5 years, started with major restructuring in the company, aiming at making Ruben Berta Foundation more powerful and the President-Director weaker. Also, on 28 January 2000, all cargo operations were united under a new airline named VarigLog. Even so, the airline presented at the end of the year, for the first time in its history Exposed Net Assets of BRL148.6 million - that is, the amount of debits was greater than the amount of credits and assets. One year later, it would reach BRL523 million.

In 2001 Varig saw the birth of a new competitor in the Brazilian market: Gol Airlines and increasing competition of VASP and Transbrasil fighting for survival by dumping fares. Furthermore, for the first time since 1961, Varig lost the first place in the domestic market share in terms of passengers/km for TAM Airlines . Later in the year, the September 11 attacks further increased operational and economic difficulties of Varig.

In 2002 Ruben Berta Foundation merged the administration of Varig and its subsidiary Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais (which included the brand Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais). The three brands were used separately with Rio-Sul and Nordeste providing feeder services to Varig.

Year-long discussions to merge Varig with TAM Airlines ended unsuccessfully in 2004 and the same year Varig fell to third place in the Brazilian domestic market share, behind TAM and Gol.

As of May 2005, VARIG fleet comprised 87 aircraft (76 passenger, 11 cargo), with an average age of 13.2 years; 83 of them had operating leases, while the remaining four had finance leases. As of June 2005, VARIG had a negative net worth of approximately US$ 2.5 billion, with balance sheet debt of US$ 2.8 billion and off-balance-sheet debt of US$ 2.0 billion.

VARIG applied to the Commercial Bankruptcy and Reorganization Court in Rio de Janeiro on 17 June 2005, for the commencement of "judicial reorganization" proceedings pursuant to the New Bankruptcy and Restructuring Law of Brazil (Law 11.101). The request was granted on 22 June 2005. VARIG continued to provide services despite its financial troubles.

In order to raise funds, the Bankruptcy and Reorganization Court decided to sell two of Varig's subsidiaries:

In November 2005 the maintenance centre VEM Maintenance & Engineering was sold to a consortium presided by the Portuguese airline TAP Portugal;

In December 2005 the cargo division VarigLog was sold to Volo do Brasil, a consortium started by the private equity fund MatlinPatterson Global Advisors and three Brazilian investors (Marco Antonio Audi, Marco Hapfel and Luiz Gallo). The negotiation was concluded in June 2006.

After two unsuccessful attempts to auction the airline as a whole, the bankruptcy court decided to split the airline in two different judicial entities, informally known as "old" Varig and "new" Varig:

The first portion, formally called Nordeste Linhas Aéreas S/A and informally known as "old" Varig, comprised the brand Nordeste, one aircraft, debts, liabilities, legal disputes, various assets, concessions and properties of the original Varig. Since "old" Varig, could not use the name Varig anymore, the company used the brand-name Nordeste for a while and in 2008 it began using the name Flex Linhas Aéreas. The second portion, formally called VRG Linhas Aéreas and informally known as "new" Varig, is a brand new airline which comprises the brands Varig and Rio-Sul, Varig's route rights, all aircraft but one and the Smiles mileage program. "New" Varig was auctioned on 14 July 2006 to Volo do Brasil (owner of VarigLog) and legal procedures finalized on 20 July 2006;

"Old" Varig

Since 23 October 2007, the former Viaçïo Aérea Rio-Grandense S/A was judicially known as Nordeste Linhas Aéreas S/A, and operated under the brand-name Flex Linhas Aéreas. On August 18, 2009, the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil renewed the authorization of Flex to operate non-regular passenger, cargo and postal services. Therefore, Flex operated flights on behalf of other airlines, as contracted.

Between 17 June 2005 and 2 September 2009, "old Varig" remained in Recovery Order in the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro, under the leadership of Judges Luiz Roberto Ayoub and Miguel Dau. After the bankruptcy protection was lifted, the administration of the airline could have returned to its original owner, Fundaçïo Ruben Berta, which still owed 87% of the shares of Varig. However, Fundaçïo Ruben Berta preferred to keep a judicial administrator.

In September 2006 "old" Varig sold its participation in PLUNA (49% of the shares) to the Uruguayan Government.

On 31 January 2007, Varig Brazilian Airlines ("old" Varig) was suspended from membership in Star Alliance for not fulfilling membership pre-requisites, and on 19 October 2008, the IATA code RG and the callsign Varig officially ceased to exist.

As a result of accumulated debts, on 20 August 2010, at the request of the airline administrator, the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro declared Flex bankrupt and initiated the process of liquidation. However, on September 10, the bankruptcy process was suspended at the request of Ruben Berta Foundation and the company returned in practical terms to recovery order status until the validity of the bankruptcy is judged.

New" Varig

VRG Linhas Aéreas S/A is today fully integrated with Gol Airlines.

On 21 July 2006, the "new" Varig canceled all its flights, except for Rio de Janeiro-Sïo Paulo shuttle service, which remained being operated in an agreement with "old" Varig. On 28 July 2006, "new" Varig announced that it would cut 60% of its staff.

Between September and November 2006, "new" Varig announced its intentions to gradually resume some international and domestic flights. On December 14, 2006, the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil issued the final certificate to "new" Varig, making it fully operational. Soon after the certificate was granted, orders for 16 aircraft were announced, to bring the fleet to 31 aircraft and the operational agreement with "old" Varig expired.

Before and after relaunch in December 2006, "new Varig" struggled greatly to find a strategic partners, due to lack of credibility, affecting aircraft contracts, network and personnel inherited from "old" Varig. "New" Varig was facing monthly losses as high as US$20 million, and MattlinPatterson was unwilling to invest more money in the company, putting "new" Varig in extreme economic difficulties.

On 28 March 2007, Gol Airlines purchased "new Varig" (VRG Linhas Aéreas) for US$ 320 million, and announced that VRG Linhas Aéreas, the operator of the brand VARIG, would continue to operate under its original name. The transaction was completed on 9 April 2007.

The new owner radically restructured the fleet, the network, eliminated the First Class cabin from the aircraft, and gradually transformed the brand Varig into the arm of Gol Group specialized in international scheduled and charter medium and long-haul destinations. On 23 October 2007 Varig's new corporate image was unveiled, stressing the orange colour of Gol.

On 29 September 2008 Gol was merged into VRG Linhas Aéreas and thus VRG Linhas Aéreas became an airline with two different brands: Varig and Gol. As a consequence, on mid-April 2009, Varig's booking systems were integrated into Gol's and the Smiles frequent flyer program was reformulated to include Gol. In June 2009, "new" Varig ceased to operate its own flights and started to use Gol's flight numbers.

From 2006 to 2009 "new" Varig was obliged by contract to purchase a minimum of 140 hours/month of services from "old" Varig. Therefore, some of VRG Linhas Aéreas flights operated with Gol flight numbers are actually flown with chartered aircraft from Flex Linhas Aéreas.

Accidents and incidents

As of January 2012, Aviation Safety Network reports 39 accidents or incidents for Varig since August 1949.

Major accidents involving fatalities :

  • 28 February 1942: a Junkers Ju-52/3m registration PP-VAL, crashed shortly after take-off from Porto Alegre. Seven of the 23 occupants died, including 2 crew members.
  • 20 June 1944: a Lockheed 10 A/E Electra registration PP-VAQ on approach to Porto Alegre after a flight from Pelotas during a storm crashed on the waters of Guaíba river. All 10 passengers and crew died.
  • 2 August 1949: a Curtiss C-46AD-10-CU Commando registration PP-VBI operating a flight from Sïo Paulo-Congonhas to Porto Alegre made an emergency landing on rough terrain near the location of Jaquirana, approximately 20 minutes before landing in Porto Alegre, following fire on the cargo hold. Of the 36 passengers and crew aboard, 5 died.
  • 4 June 1954: a Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando registration PP-VBZ operating a cargo flight between Sïo Paulo-Congonhas and Porto Alegre crashed during take-off from Sïo Paulo. All crew of 3 died.
  • 7 April 1957: a Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando registration PP-VCF operating a flight from Bagé to Porto Alegre crashed during take-off in Bagé following a fire developed in the left main gear wheel well and consequent technical difficulties. All 40 passenger and crew died.
  • 18 October 1957: a Douglas C-47A-80-DL registration PP-VCS operating a cargo flight from Porto Alegre crashed upon take-off. The crew of two died.
  • 12 April 1960: a Douglas C-53 registration PP-CDS operating a flight on behalf of Cruzeiro do Sul from Pelotas to Porto Alegre collided with two other aircraft, crashed and caught fire after it deviated to the right on take-off and an over correction caused a sharp turn to the left. Of the 22 passengers and crew aboard, 10 died.
  • 27 November 1962: a Boeing 707-441 registration PP-VJB operating flight 810 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo to Lima after initiating an overshoot procedure at the suggestion of the control tower because it was too high, proceeded to start another approach when it crashed into La Cruz peak, 8 miles away from Lima Airport. Possibly there was a misinterpretation of navigation instruments. All 97 passengers and crew aboard died.
  • 22 December 1962: a Convair CV-240-2, registration PP-VCQ, flying from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília via Belo Horizonte-Pampulha, descended below the prescribed altitude while on final approach to Brasília, struck trees, skidded and fell to one side. One crew member died, out of 40 occupants of the aircraft.
  • 1 July 1963: a Douglas C-47B-20-DK registration PP-VBV flying from Porto Alegre to Carazinho, Passo Fundo and Erechim collided with trees on high ground and crashed shortly before arriving in Passo Fundo. Of the 18 passengers and crew aboard, 15 died.
  • 5 March 1967: a Douglas DC-8-33 registration PP-PEA operating flight 837 from Beirut and Rome-Fiumicino to Recife and Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo via Monrovia caught fire after a mistaken approach to Monrovia, missing the threshold of the runway by 6,023 ft. Of the 90 passengers and crew aboard 51 died as well as 5 on the ground.
  • 9 June 1973: a cargo Boeing 707-327C registration PP-VJL flying from Viracopos-Campinas International Airport to Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo while making an instrument approach to Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo had technical problems with the spoilers which eventually caused the aircraft to pitch down, descended fast, struck approach lights and ditch. Two of four occupants died.
  • 11 July 1973: a Boeing 707-345C registration PP-VJZ operating flight 820 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo to Paris-Orly made a successful emergency landing at an open field 5 km before landing, after reporting fire in a rear lavatory. However, 123 of the 134 passengers and crew aboard died, overcome by smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning before the aircraft could be evacuated.
  • 30 January 1979: a cargo Boeing 707-323C registration PP-VLU en route from Tokyo-Narita to Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo via Los Angeles went missing over the Pacific Ocean some 30 minutes (200 km ENE) from Tokyo. Causes are unknown since the wreck was never found. Among other cargo, the aircraft was carrying 153 paintings by the Japanese Brazilian artist Manabu Mabe, worth USD 1.24 million. The aircraft was flown by Gilberto Araújo da Silva, who was also the captain and survivor of the accident with Flight 820 six years earlier. The crew of 6 died and their bodies were never recovered.
  • 3 January 1987: a Boeing 707-379C registration PP-VJK operating flight 797 from Abidjan to Rio de Janeiro-Galeïo crashed due to a failure on engine 1 shortly after take-off. While attempting to return to the airport for an emergency landing, it crashed on a field 18 km away from Abidjan’s airport. Of the 51 passengers and crew aboard, a single passenger survived.
  • 3 September 1989: a Boeing 737-241 registration PP-VMK operating flight 254 flying from Sïo Paulo-Guarulhos to Belém-Val de Cans via Uberaba, Uberlândia, Goiânia, Brasília, Imperatriz and Marabá crashed near Sïo José do Xingu while on its last leg of the flight due to a pilot navigational error, which led to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent belly landing into the jungle, 450 miles (724 km) southwest of Marabá. Out of 54 occupants, there were 13 fatalities, all of them passengers. The survivors were discovered two days later.
  • 14 February 1997: a Boeing 737-241 registration PP-CJO operating flight 265, flying from Marabá to Carajás while on touch-down procedures at Carajás during a thunderstorm, had its right main gear collapsed rearwards causing the aircraft to veer off the right of the runway. The aircraft crashed into the forest. One crew member died.

Incidents

  • 30 May 1972: a Lockheed L-188 Electra registration PP-VJL operating a flight between Sïo Paulo-Congonhas to Porto Alegre was hijacked. The hijacker demanded money. The aircraft was stormed and the hijacker shot.

Fleet

See "Data" page.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article VARIG of Wikipedia ( authors )

Fleet

The fleet list below is related to "old" VARIG and based on the standard published Varig history.

Aircraft Total Years of operation Notes
Dornier Do J Wal 1 1927–1930 First aircraft registered in Brazil
Dornier Merkur 1 1928–1930
Morane-Saulnier 130 1 1930–1931
Klemm L-25 2 1930–1937
Nieuport-Delage 641 1 1931
Junkers A-50 Junior 3 1931–1944
Junkers F 13 ke 2 1932–1948
Messerschmitt Bf-108 Taifun 1 1936
Messersschmitt M-20B 1 1937–1948
Junkers Ju-52/3m 1 1938–1942
Focke-Wulf Fw 58C Weihe 1 1940–1941
de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide 1 1942
CANT Z.1012 1 1942
Fiat G.2 1 1942–1945
Lockheed L-10 A/E Electra 11 1943–1955
Douglas DC-3/C-47 47 1946–1971
Noorduyn C-64 Norseman 1 1947–1950
Curtiss C-46/Super C-46 Commando 29 1948–1970
Convair 240 13 1954–1969
Lockheed L-1049G/H Super Constellation 10 1955–1967
Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle I (III) 3 1959–1979
Boeing 707-441 3 1960–1979
Convair 340/440 15 1961–1967
Douglas DC-6B 5 1961–1968
Lockheed L-118 A/C Electra 15 1962–1992
Convair 990A 3 1963–1971 Received from Aerovias Brasil
Douglas DC-8-33 2 1965–1975 Received from Panair do Brasil
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (Avro) 11 1966–1976
Boeing 707-320/320C 17 1966–1990
Beechcraft 99 Airliner 1 1968
Fairchild Hiller FH-227B 4 1970–1975
Boeing 727-100 11 1970–2006
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 16 1974–2006
Boeing 737-200 20 1975–2003
Airbus A300-B4-203 4 1980–1990
Boeing 747-200 4 1981–1996
Boeing 747-300/300 Combi 5 1985–2000
Boeing 767-200/200ER 9 1986–2004, 2008 Some operated for "new" Varig
Boeing 737-300 48 1987–2009 1 to Flex Linhas Aéreas
Some operated for "new" Varig
Boeing 767-300ER 16 1989–2008 Some operated for "new" Varig
Boeing 747-400 3 1991–1994
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 26 1991–2007 Some operated for "new" Varig
Boeing 737-400 8 2000–2006
Boeing 737-700 10 2001–2006
Boeing 737-800 2 2001–2006
Boeing 777-200ER 8 2001–2006
Boeing 737-500 25 2003–2006
Boeing 757-200 4 2004–2006

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article VARIG of Wikipedia ( authors )
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    To continue providing the Service for free, the Webmaster reserves the right to insert advertising or promotional messages on any page of the Site. In the same idea, any donations will only by used to cover the running costs of the site, such as hosting, connection fees, hardware and software necessary for the development and maintenance of the Website.

    Links and other websites

    Administrators shall in no case be liable for the non-availability of websites operated by third parties to which users would access through the Website.

    Administrators assume no liability for any content, advertising, products and/or services available on such third party websites. It is reminded that those sites are governed by their own terms of use.

    Placing a link to third party sites or authorize a third party to include a link on their website refering to this Website does not mean that the Administrators recommend in any way the products or services offered by these websites.

    Modifications

    The Webmaster reserves the right to modify at any time without notification the present terms of use as well as all content or specific functionality that the Website offers.

    The modified terms and conditions immediately apply to the using Visitor when changes come online. Visitors are invited to consult the site regularly on the most current version of the terms and conditions

    Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    These general conditions are governed by Belgian law.

    In case of dispute regarding the interpretation and/or execution of the above terms, the parties agree that the courts of the district of Nivelles, Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction power.

    Credits page

    Wikipedia.org

    Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia.

    Youtube

    YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos.

    Special thanks to all Youtube quality aviation vids providers, specially (Those I forgot, please excuse me or report) :

    Airboyd
    Andys Video
    Aviation videos archives
    Bomberguy
    Classic Aviation TV
    Historical Aviation Film Unit
    Horsemoney
    Jaglavaksoldier
    Joluqa Malta
    Just Planes
    Koksy
    Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
    Memorial Flight
    Octane130
    Okrajoe
    SDASM archives
    Spottydog4477
    The Aviators TV
    Valentin Izagirre Bengoetxea
    Vexed123
    VonBerlich
    Zenos Warbirds

    Bundesarchiv

    The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany.

    FAQ

    I don't see my comments any more!

    Please note that each page has it's own comment entry. So, if you enter a comment i.e. on the B-747, you will only see it on that related page.

    General comments are accessed via the "BLOG En" button.

    Comments are moderated, so please allow some delay before they appear, specially if you are outside Europe.

    Menus are developing below the page, because they are too long!

    But they remain accessible, for example by scrolling the mouse wheel, or with your finger (on the menu) on a smartphone or tablet.

    I see adds on all videos.

    Use a good free add remover software.

    The site is loading random pages at startup.

    We think it is a good way to bring back the memory of aircraft, persons or events sometimes quite forgotten.

    HELP PAGE

    Why this site?

    Discovery

    This website is dedicated to one's aeronautical passion (which I hope we share) and was realised mainly as an educationnal tool. Knowing that, you'll notice that each new visit brings random topics for the purpose of making new discoveries, some achievements or characters certainly not deserving the oblivion into which they have sometimes fallen.

    By these pages, we also want to pay tribute to all those who gave at one time or another, their lives or health in the name of freedom, aeronautical security or simply our comfort.

    Centralisation

    Internet is full of websites dedicated to aviation, but most are dedicated to subjects or periods that are very limited in space or time. The purpose of this site is to be as general as possible and thus treats all events as well as characters of all stripes and times while putting much emphasis on the most significant achievements.

    The same years saw birth of technologies like photography and cinema, thus permitting illustration of a large part of important aeronautical events from the start. Countless (and sometimes rare) media recently put online by enthousiasts finally give us access to these treasures, but the huge amount of information often makes things a little messy. A centralization effort is obviously most needed at this level.

    All persons who directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement or posting of such documents are here gratefully acknowledged.

    General

    Fluid website

    This site automatically fits the dimensions of your screen, whether you are on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

    Bilingual website

    You can change the language by clicking on the flag in the upper left or via "Options" in the central menu. Of course, the videos remain in the language in which they were posted ...

    Browser compatibility

    The site is not optimized, or even designed to run on older browsers or those deliberately deviating from standards. You will most probably encounter display issues with Internet Explorer. In this case, it is strongly recommended installing a modern (and free!) browser that's respecting the standards, like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.

    Cookies and Javascript

    This site uses cookies and JavaScript to function properly. Please ensure that your browser is configured accordingly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Site for the retention or disclosure of personal information about its Visitors. See the "Legal" page for more on this subject.

    Website layout

    Left menus

    Because of the lack of space on smartphones and small tablets, these menus are hidden. Everything is nevertheless accessible via the main menu option, located between the video and photo sections. This menu is placed there for compatibility reasons with some browsers, which play the videos over the menus.

    "Search" and "Latest" :
    The link "In Titles" restricts the search to the titles of different forms. Use this option if you are looking for a plane, a constructor, a pilot or a particular event that could have been treated as a subject.

    The link "In Stories" will bring you to a search in all texts (the "Story" tab) and will take more time. The search term will appear highlighted in green when opening the corresponding story.

    Would you believe, "Timeline" will show all subjects in chronological order.

    "Random" will reload the entire page with a new random topic.

    The bottom section keeps you abreast of the latest five entries. New topics are added regularly. Don't hesitate to come visit us often : add bookmark.

    Blogs and Comments central section

    Under the photos section comes the comments tabs window :

    You can enter general comments in your own language via one of the two buttons on the left (BLOG EN and BLOG FR). Note that these buttons are accessible regardless of the language to allow some participation in the other language.

    All comments are subject to moderation and will be published only if they comply with the basic rules of decorum, while remaining relevant to the purpose of this site.

    The third tab allows you to enter comments on the shown topic and is bilingual. Personal anecdotes, supplements and other information questions will take place here.

    The "Story" tab shows the explanatory texts. They are most often taken from Wikipedia, a site where we participate regularly.

    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).