Sociedade Anônima Empresa de Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense – VARIG was the first national airline established in Brazil.

[2] 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.

[3] In 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.

It was in 1943 that Varig's first employee, Ruben Martin Berta, a descendant of Hungarian and German grandparents, was chosen as manager-director, a post he would retain until his death in 1966.

[5] 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, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, facing fierce competition with Real Transportes Aéreos and SAVAG.

With this purchase, Varig greatly enlarged its operations in Brazil, extending services beyond Rio de Janeiro to Natal along the Brazilian coast and was thus better prepared to compete with Panair do Brasil and Cruzeiro do Sul.

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.

[7] On 6 July 1959, Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul and VASP initiated air shuttle services between Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont and São Paulo–Congonhas airports, the first of its kind in the world.

The idea, baptized as Air bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Aérea), inspired by the Berlin Airlift, was so successful that it was abandoned only in 1999.

Originally started on 30 November 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.

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.

[13] 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.

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.

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).

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.

[31] On 18 August 2009, the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil renewed the authorization of Flex to operate non-regular passenger, cargo and postal services.

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, Fundação Ruben Berta, which still owned 87% of the shares of Varig.

[37] 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.

[41] On 14 December 2006, the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil issued the final certificate to "new" Varig, making it fully operational.

[47] 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.

Points could be used for services from Varig, its subsidiaries, and its Star Alliance partners including flights, upgrades, holidays, hotel stays and car rentals.