Varig has reintroduced daily flights from Sao Paulo to Rome via Paris using a two-class Boeing 767ER.
Long established as the national airline of Brazil, Varig went into the equivalent of US Chapter 11 last year, suspending its London services (taken over by rival TAM) before being purchased by GOL, a successful domestic carrier quoted on the Brazilian stock market and which is retaining the name for international services.
”Launching this new route is another important step in our expansion plans,” says Varig commercial director, Lincoln Amano.
”This will serve the increasing demand for Europeans looking to travel to Brazil: around 275,000 French tourists travelled to Brazil in 2006, while nearly 300,000 Italians visited the country during the same period.”
No airline flies non-stop to Brazil from Rome although several, including Swiss and Air France, offer connections via other European points.
From Paris, GOL competes with SkyTeam partners Air France and TAM. Varig also flies to Bogot” (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Caracas (Venezuela).