Varig

Varig (Varig Brazilian Airlines) also known as Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense SA, is one of Brazil's leading international airlines, along with TAM. Varig's beginnings can be traced to 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 Atlantico 9[?], considered to be one of the most modern planes of the time. Its first employee, Ruben Berta[?], later turned into the airline's President and led the airline thru great expansion and economic times. He left office only when he died, in 1966.

Varig's first flight went from Porto Alegre to Rio Grande (the Brazilian[?] city) and it stopped in Pelotas[?].

In 1978, Varig suffered a great tragedy, when a DC-8 of the company crashed near Charles De Gaulle International Airport and most of the passengers died after burning alive on the ground. Besides that incident, the airline has basically been clear of any tragedies.

The airline flies many types, such as Boeing 737, Boeing 747 and Boeing 777. It is a member of the star alliance[?] and has partnerships domestically with Nordeste[?] airlines and Rio-Sul[?] airlines.