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
Airline Ambassadors International Airline Ambassadors International Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, affiliated with the United Nations and recognized by the US Congress . It was founded by Nancy Rivard in 1996 and has since donated 50 million dollars in aid to clinics, schools, orphanages and programs in 52 countries. AAI was conceived by Rivard, an American Airlines flight attendant, after seeing first hand wasted excess cargo space on commercial flights. She sought ways to leverage that space for the transport of needed aid by successfully lobbying American Airlines and many other carriers. Additionally Rivard began to enlist colleagues