Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais
Encyclopedia
Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais was a regional airline
headquartered in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
, operating scheduled services to southern Brazil. Its main base was Congonhas Domestic Airport (CGH), São Paulo
, with hubs at Porto Alegre
Airport (POA) and Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro.
and parts of the Southeast
regions of Brazil, specifically the states of Rio Grande do Sul
, Santa Catarina
, Paraná
, Rio de Janeiro
, and parts of São Paulo
, and Espírito Santo
.
The airline was originally formed by Top Táxi Aéreo, Bradesco Bank
, Atlântica-Boavista Insurance, and Varig
.
In 1992 the National Conference of Civil Aviation abolished the geographical division of the country and allowed further expansion in national and regional routes, prompting Rio Sul to acquire Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais
in 1995. It was then owned by Varig Participações em Transportes Aéreos (VPTA).
In 2002 the administration of Rio Sul (which included its former subsidiary Nordeste) were merged with Varig
. The brand Rio Sul was part of the assets sold as VRG Linhas Aéreas although its debts remained under the judicial entity Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense, which uses the brand name Flex Linhas Aéreas
. As a result of accumulated debts around BRL10 billion (USD5,7 billion, EUR4,5 billion), on August 20, 2010, at the request of the administrator, the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro declared Flex, which included remaining assets of Rio-Sul, bankrupt and initiated the process of liquidation.
, Belo Horizonte
, Brasília
, Londrina
, Maringá
, Passo Fundo
, São Paulo
and Vitória.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
headquartered in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, operating scheduled services to southern Brazil. Its main base was Congonhas Domestic Airport (CGH), São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, with hubs at Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
Airport (POA) and Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro.
History
On November 11, 1975 the Brazilian Federal Government created the Brazilian Integrated System of Regional Air Transportation and divided the country in five different regions, for which five newly-created regional airlines received a concession to operate air services. RIO-SUL Serviços Aéreos Regionais S/A was the fourth of those regional airlines to be made operational. Founded on August 24, 1976, Rio Sul had its services start on September 8, 1976. Its operational area comprised roughly the SouthernSouthern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...
and parts of the Southeast
Southeast Region, Brazil
The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil,...
regions of Brazil, specifically the states of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
, Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, and parts of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, and Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
.
The airline was originally formed by Top Táxi Aéreo, Bradesco Bank
Banco Bradesco
Bradesco is one of the Big Four banks in Brazil, the others being Banco do Brasil, Itaú Unibanco and CEF. Bradesco was the largest private bank in Brazil until Banco Itaú and Unibanco merged in 2009. Bradesco is headquartered in Osasco, has 3,945 branches and 38,772 Automatic Teller Machines...
, Atlântica-Boavista Insurance, and Varig
Varig
VARIG was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990 it was Brazil's leading and almost only international airline...
.
In 1992 the National Conference of Civil Aviation abolished the geographical division of the country and allowed further expansion in national and regional routes, prompting Rio Sul to acquire Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais
Nordeste Linhas Aereas Regionais
Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais was a regional airline based in Brotas, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil which operated scheduled passenger services in northeast and southeast Brazil...
in 1995. It was then owned by Varig Participações em Transportes Aéreos (VPTA).
In 2002 the administration of Rio Sul (which included its former subsidiary Nordeste) were merged with Varig
Varig
VARIG was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990 it was Brazil's leading and almost only international airline...
. The brand Rio Sul was part of the assets sold as VRG Linhas Aéreas although its debts remained under the judicial entity Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense, which uses the brand name Flex Linhas Aéreas
Flex Linhas Aéreas
Flex Linhas Aéreas, styled as FLEX, was a Brazilian non-regular charter airline based at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport. It is the brand name of Nordeste Linhas Aéreas S.A., judicial successor of former Viação Aérea-Rio Grandense, known as Varig. Informally Flex is known as "old Varig"...
. As a result of accumulated debts around BRL10 billion (USD5,7 billion, EUR4,5 billion), on August 20, 2010, at the request of the administrator, the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro declared Flex, which included remaining assets of Rio-Sul, bankrupt and initiated the process of liquidation.
Services
Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais operated services to the following scheduled domestic destinations (at January 2005): Caxias do SulCaxias do Sul
Caxias do Sul is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. Coordinates: 29°10′0″ S, 51°11′0″ W....
, Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, Londrina
Londrina
Londrina is a city located in the northern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil, and is 369 km away from the capital, Curitiba. Londrina was originally founded by British settlers. The city exerts great influence on Paraná and Brazil's south region...
, Maringá
Maringá
Maringá is a city in southern Brazil that was founded on May 10, 1947. Maringá is the third largest city in the state of Paraná. The city has a population of 357,117 , 612,617 in its metropolitan area...
, Passo Fundo
Passo Fundo
Passo Fundo - RS is a city in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the twelfth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 188,302 inhabitants living in a total municipal area of 780 km2.-Communications:The following...
, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
and Vitória.
Fleet
The Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais fleet consisted, at June 2005, of the following aircraft:- 3 Boeing 737-300
- 6 Boeing 737-500
- 1 Boeing 737-700
External links
- Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais (Archive) (1998-2000)
- Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais (Archive) (1997)
- Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais (Archive) (1998-2000)
- Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais (Archive) (1997)
- Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais Fleet Detail