VARIG

abbreviation of Empresa De Viao Aerea Rio Grandense (Portuguese: Rio Grandense Air Transport Enterprise), Brazilian airline founded on May 7, 1927, with the assistance of a Berlin trading concern, Kondor Syndicat, which had begun flights in the state of Rio Grande do Sul the previous January. Thereafter, Varig opened several more intrastate routes. Major expansion did not begin until 1953, however, when the Brazilian government guaranteed Varig's service from Rio de Janeiro to New York City (a service inaugurated two years later). In the 1960s the company absorbed a number of smaller Brazilian airlines, including Real (Redes Restaduais Aereas) and Panair do Brasil. Its route network covers the five continents of South America, North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Headquarters are in Rio de Janeiro.