Varig economic difficulty. This purchase not only made Varig the largest airline in South America but also granted rights to other cities in Latin America, Miami, the West Coast of the United States and to Japan. European services started on . Varig had been lobbying for European concessions for more than ten years, but after the sudden shutdown of Panair do Brasil by the Brazilian military government Varig was granted rights previously held by Panair and was ordered to immediately operate all scheduled services, including Panair's flight scheduled to depart that very night from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Recife, Lisbon, Paris-Orly
History of American Airlines American Airlines de Mexico S.A., to fly to Mexico and built several airports there. American Airlines provided advertising and free usage of its aircraft in the 1951 film "Three Guys Named Mike". Until Capital merged into United in 1961 AA was the largest American airline, which meant second-largest in the world, after Aeroflot. American Airlines ordered British-built de Havilland Comets; the orders were cancelled when the Comets were found to suffer serious metal fatigue. American Airlines introduced transcontinental Boeing 707s on 25 January 1959 and invested $440 million in jet aircraft up to 1962; launched the first electronic booking system,