Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais

Infobox Airline
airline = Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais

logo_size = 150
fleet_size = 10
destinations =
IATA = SL
ICAO = RSL
callsign = Rio Sul
parent =
company_slogan =
founded = 1976
headquarters = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
key_people =
hubs = Congonhas Domestic Airport
Salgado Filho Int'l Airport
Santos Dumont Airport
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer = Smiles
lounge =
alliance =
website = http://www.voeriosul.com.br/

Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais was an airline based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, being a regional airline operating scheduled services to southern Brazil. Its main base was Congonhas Domestic Airport (CGH), São Paulo, with hubs at Porto Alegre Airport (POA) and Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro.

History

The airline was established on 24 August 1976 and started operations in September 1976. It was formed when the Ministry of Aeronautics divided Brazil into five regions and offered air taxi companies the chance to start commercial operations as regional airlines. In Rio de Janeiro, Top Taxi Aéreo, the Bradesco bank and the Atlantic-Boavista Seguros insurance company created an alliance with Varig, from which Rio Sul was born. In 1992 the National Conference of Civil Aviation abolished the geographical division of the country and allowed further expansion in national and regional routes, prompting Rio Sul to acquire Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais in 1995. It was then owned by Varig Participações em Transportes Aéreos (VPTA).

In 2003 the Rio Sul and Nordeste services were merged with Varig. In July 2006, the company was purchased by Varig's former subsidiary Varig Logística together with Varig itself, only to be again sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos. Nordeste remains an independent company, divided from Varig. As of 2007, Gol relaunched the Varig brand, however, had no plans for using the Rio Sul name. Nordeste is currently planning to resume its services under the name Flex Linhas Aéreas.

Services

Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais operated services to the following scheduled domestic destinations (at January 2005): Caxias do Sul, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Londrina, Maringá, Passo Fundo, São Paulo and Vitória.

Fleet

The Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais fleet consisted, at June 2005, of the following aircraft:

*3 Boeing 737-300
*6 Boeing 737-500
*1 Boeing 737-700

External links

* [http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Rio_Sul?show=all Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais Fleet Detail]