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
Sun Country Airlines the summer of 2001. After fighting to stay operational by cutting flights, destinations and planes, the company closed on December 8, 2001. During bankruptcy, Sun Country lost almost all of its 727 fleet and four recently delivered 737 aircraft. Sun Country retained one 737 as well as its operating certificate. In the following months, a local group of investors organized as MN Airlines, LLC purchased the remaining assets in bankruptcy court and restarted the airline. The airline initially operated combined charter-scheduled services from Minneapolis to casinos in Laughlin, Nevada and gradually added more charter destinations as finances allowed. Sun Country