Varig Porto Alegre, by Otto Ernst Meyer-Labastille, a German aviator decorated in the World War I, who immigrated to Brazil in 1921 and noticed how necessary air transportation was for a large country like Brazil. Varig was an off-spring of the German trade company and airline Condor Syndikat, thus sharing the same origin as Syndicato Condor, later renamed Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul. Condor Syndikat gave the initial operational and financial support and for a short time Varig and the sister-company Syndicato Condor operated in partnership. The first aircraft of VARIG was a ten-passenger Dornier Do J Wal flying boat, transferred
American Airlines international carrier, purchasing Trans World Airlines in 2001. In 2011, due to a downturn in the airline industry, American Airlines' parent company AMR Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2013, American Airlines merged with US Airways but kept the American Airlines name, as it was the better recognized brand internationally; the combination of the two airlines resulted in the creation of the largest airline in the United States, and ultimately the world. As of December 2018, American Airlines flies to 95 domestic destinations and 95 international destinations in 55 countries in five continents. American currently operates ten hubs. American Airlines