Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 11, 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707 registration PP-VJZ, made an emergency landing on onion fields about four kilometers from Orly Airport, due to smoke in the cabin from a fire in one of the toilets. The fire caused 123 deaths; there were only 11 survivors (ten crew members and one passenger). Flight 820's problems began when a fire started in a rear lavatory. Crew members moved
American Airlines Group could yield more than $1.5 billion a year in added revenue and cost savings. On April 20, American Airlines' three unions said they supported a proposed merger between the two airlines. With AMR under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, American Airlines had been looking to merge with another airline. Earlier in July, a bankruptcy court filing stated that US Airways was an American Airlines creditor and "prospective merger partner"; on August 31, US Airways CEO Doug Parker announced that American Airlines and US Airways had signed a nondisclosure agreement, in which they would discuss the possibility of a merger. In February