Varig health, financial, social and recreational benefits to its employees. Decades later this foundation would be called . In 1946, with the addition of Douglas DC-3 and later the Curtiss C-46 to its fleet, Varig was able to greatly increase its network by adding cities in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, facing fierce competition with Real Transportes Aéreos, and SAVAG. On , Varig bought Aero Geral, a small airline with concessions to fly from Natal until Santos. With this purchase Varig greatly enlarged its operations in Brazil, extending services beyond Rio de Janeiro until
History of American Airlines the dominant U.S. carrier in the region. On October 15, 1998, American Airlines became the first airline to offer electronic ticketing in the 44 countries it serves. In 1999, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Canadian Airlines, and Qantas founded the global airline alliance Oneworld. Robert Crandall left in 1998 and was replaced by Donald J. Carty, who negotiated the purchase of the near bankrupt Trans World Airlines (it would file for its third bankruptcy as part of the purchase agreement) and its hub in St. Louis in April 2001. American Airlines began losing money in the economic downturn that