Varig Natal along the Brazilian coast and was thus better prepared to compete with Panair do Brasil and Cruzeiro do Sul. In 1949 the Brazilian government granted to Varig the concession to fly to the United States, since the original airline which had the concession, Cruzeiro do Sul, was unable to operate the services. The inaugural flight between Rio de Janeiro-Galeão and New York-Idllwild (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was on . The services were operated by three new Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellations. On flights to Buenos Aires using Curtiss C-46s started. In January 1956 Varig served 55 cities
Indigo Airlines (American airline) alternatives to regular airline travel. The company was the originator of two new categories of corporate jet air travel service: per seat, high frequency and the public or commercial corporate jet. Indigo priced its service between its first city pair Chicago and New York City close to a so-called unrestricted coach class fare. The venture was backed by the American Express Corporation, which owned approximately 12% of Indigo's capital structure. Former American Express CEO Harvey Golub, now Chairman of Sentient Jet, led the Indigo investment and marketing agreement. Indigo's inventory was marketed and sold through American Express' Travel Related Services