1 Comment
![]()
Following on from Part 1 VARIG by the mid-1960s was Brazil's primary international airline, but in getting to this position, through its acqusition of its competitors, it sure had gained a varied fleet. VARIG had chosen the 707-441 as its primary long-haul jet type but REAL and Panair do Brasil had not and that led to multiple jet types in service. Eventually however VARIG would in the 1970s be able to clean things up a bit and standardise on McDonnell Douglas' DC-10 trijet.
![]()
Sociedade Anônima Empresa de Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense – VARIG was founded in May 1927 by a German immigrant who was also an ex-WW1 pilot. The influence of WW2 and Brazil's eventual allied status put an end to any German involvement but the airline's development progressed well postwar with the addition of DC-3s and C-46s. In 1949 it gained permission to begin international services to the USA, though services did not begin until 2 August 1955 after the delivery of 3 L-1049G Super Constellations. Two years earlier international services to Buenos Aires had begun with C-46s.
REAL (Redes Estaduais Aéreas Limitadas) was formed by two ex-TACA pilots in 1945 starting operations with 3 DC-3s. Several smaller airlines were purchased in the and in 1951 international routes began. ![]() Brasil has always had an interesting and colourful civil scene and like many South American nations its aviation history is now a graveyard of great names as airlines have been mismanaged and found themselves unable to compete with startups in the deregulated era. So Varig, VASP, Transbrasil and Cruzeiro Do Sul now find themselves consigned to the history book and replaced by TAM, Gol, Azul and others. Transbrasil must surely be the most colourful of the Brasilian airlines of the past... ![]()
Empresa de Transporte Aéreo del Perú was formed in 1973 to takeover operations of SATCO, a Peruvian Army predecessor. The initial fleet consisted of three F28s originally delivered to SATCO which began service on the Lima-Cusco route in October.
OB-R1018 was originally PH-EXN which first flew on 18th May 1973 and was delivered to SATCO three days later. |
AuthorI'm Richard Stretton: a fan of classic airliners and airlines who enjoys exploring their history through my collection of die-cast airliners. If you enjoy the site please donate whatever you can to help keep it running: Archives
January 2025
Categories
All
|