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
Business Express Airlines Business Express Airlines Business Express Airlines , often referred to as Business Express or BizEX, was an American regional airline founded as Atlantic Air in 1982. In an effort to appeal to its predominantly business commuter clientele, the airline assumed the Business Express name in 1985. In 1986 Pilgrim Airlines (Groton/New London), which itself had acquired NewAir (New Haven) about a year prior, was acquired by the airline. This opened the valuable New York and Washington, D.C. markets. Shortly thereafter, Business Express became one of Delta Air Lines's first Delta Connection carriers, along with Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair and SkyWest