Varig - by Hardi Vieira

29 July 2005

B757 LIM-GIG (with a stop-over in GRU) Business Class. For a medium- range journey (about 4/5h) this was a very good flight. RG has an excellent business lounge in LIM, shared with other airlines. The C class on the B757 is spacious (2 x 2 configuration), seat recline is adequate, and interior configuration has the modern, although classical, Varig touch. Check-in was quick and efficient. Inflight service/food is above- average, with a choice of 2 hot dishes, with a full three-course menu. Wines are served everytime. Crew was a bit senior, very professional, but could improve in attentiveness or alertness. In-flight entertainment is average, poor video (no IFE for C class, which is okay for a medium range flight), but excellent selection of music channels. The stop-over in GRU is quick and uneventful. My overall rate for this flight: 9 out of 10.

Varig - by Christian Gotsch

7 July 2005

GRU-GIG and GIG-EZE, both in economy. Reading other correspondents comments I must have been extremely lucky! Smooth and friendly check-in (despite 100% excess luggage!), enough legroom, decent in-flight service and food. At check-in for EZE flight staff went out of their way to get VGML loaded for me. Only minus was total lack of info when flight was delayed.

Varig - by Jeremy Morais

7 June 2005

One word - AWFUL! Travelled from London to Rio via Sao Paolo and it was the worst journeys I have ever had the misfortune to travel. on the LHR-SAO route I was actually upgraded to Business, but overhead storage was poor on the MD-11's that they use, and there was hardly any overhead space for passengers in the middle. IFA were not interested and the food was mediocre. No personal screens and the movies were not up-to-date at all. Worst still, we were delayed getting out of the plane because the door was not changed to 'manual' and when opened, the escape chutes opened, causing havoc and a lot of trouble getting out. We were given the wrong forms on the plane, resulting in the terminal running out of the proper landing forms, which were few in number and causing a lot of stampeding when passengers tried to get one! The return journey was worse, and this time I was in economy, with no leg room and even less recline. The inflight entertainment was non-existent and no explanation of why. Service was very poor and food just passable. Not a pleasant experience I would like to repeat. Overall very disappointing from South America's biggest airline.

Varig - by David Lloyd-Davies

25 May 2005

I must say Varig is a below-average airline. I have flown with them twice business class LHR-GRU-LPB (La Paz) return, a journey which takes 24 hrs door to door. On two of the intercontinental legs I used a Star Alliance upgrade certificate to fly in First. First Class on these routes is pretty pleasant as you'd expect, with only 6 seats and 2 FAs to look after them the service is very attentive. 2 toilets for F passengers too, so you never have to queue. Nice champagne, caviar (although you sometimes have to ask), good food in generous portions. Although there's plenty of space, the seat does not go flat, which is poor for First nowadays. Overall I'd say Varig's First was at a similar level to Business on a good airline like Lufthansa or Virgin. Varig Business Class itself is more like a premium economy service, for a 12-hour flight there isn't much space to stretch out and the seat doesn't recline far. There's also a middle seat (7 across), which I think is unacceptable for long haul Business. The (mostly middle aged male) FAs seem very stressed, rushing up and down the aisles and avoiding contact with passengers where possible. Serving soup seems unusual on a plane, but makes a change. The LHR-GRU-LHR aircraft are old MD11s, which have big windows and a spacious feel but are in need of refitting or replacement -no individual IFE in Business or even First! They will reluctantly give you a video walkman if you insist, although mine took about 2 hours to arrive so I was at that stage ready to go to sleep. It didn't seem to be functioning properly either. At LPB there is no business class lounge for Varig pax, while AA has one. The relatively short-haul flight between GRU and LPB is on an oldish 737, standard short-haul business class service. Strangely they have plastic cutlery on the long haul flights and metal on the South American routes. Varig is letting the rest of the Star Alliance down, they really need to sharpen up their act.

Varig - by Rafael Barbosa

25 May 2005

The last time I flew Varig was some 6 months ago, to Los Angeles. Now I'm Brazilian and I consider myself to be something of a nationalist, but in this case I'll swallow my pride and admit this is the most hideous major airline in the world. I arrived in GRU 3 hours early, as recommended, but the line for my flight was already stretching far from the check-in counter, mixing itself up with other lines for other flights and just basically creating a horrible, horrible mess. Varig didn't seem to care much as no extra personnel were sent over nor were any additional counters (of the many available) open. I flew Y, so I can't comment on the state of the lounges (didn't lose much it seems) but spending 4 hours in a cramped deparure lounge (the flight got delayed two hours for a glitch in the old MD11 they were using) is enough to get even the most sesoned traveler bored out of his mind. The in-flight was standard Varig: old, dumpy aircraft, horrible entertainment (a single movie and 4 audio channels - for a 12 hour flight), a couple of stereotypically-greassy meals.

Varig - by Ricardo Queiroz

19 May 2005

My husband and I flew recently with Varig from MIA to GRU to REC to JPA and in reverse to return home. I am not one to complain, but in this case, I must! On the long segment from MIA to GRU, my husband's seat was broken, and both our radio/audio systems were also broken--we could not listen to any of the TV programming. In addition, the plane we were flying in was old and small and, thus, very uncomfortable for a long 8 hr trip. The food was not commendable, to say the least. The customer service aboard the plane was also not commendable. On our return trip to MIA, I went to the bathroom and could not find any of the toileting supplies that they are supposed to have. Later, when we arrived at MIA, we learned that our luggage was lost! The Varig representative assisted us in filling out a luggage claim form and gave us 3 phone numbers to contact to follow-up our process. Well, not to my surprise, I have called all the phone numbers, and no one answers. Another thing - four out of our six flights were delayed, with no courtesy announcements --we had to go and ask what was happening. Poor communication, or, should I say, no communication. On my next trip to anywhere, I will stay away from Varig because my life and my comfort are important to me, especially when I have to pay a lot of money for them!

Varig - by Matt Liaw

18 May 2005

Flew Y with VARIG return CDG-AMS outbound on May 10 and inbound on May 12. I have to say that I was satisfied with their service on this short flight. The flights both took off on time with early arrivals (20 min early than the scheduled arrival time). The MD-11 they used were old and it was easy to tell from the seats inside. Flight attendants were extremely nice on both flights especially on the CDG-AMS leg considering they just finished a long flight in from Sao Paolo. The sandwich and drink service on board was standard on intra-euro flights. All in all I liked flying with them and next time if I have another chance going to AMS, I will consider flying with VARIG again.

Varig - by John Grant

1 May 2005

Probably the worst airline in business class I have experienced for many a year. Travelling from LHR to SAO in Business Class the experience was a throw back to the 70's with very uncomfortable seats, poor catering and no personal IFE despite the claim of such service in the in-flight magazine. The return was equally as poor and the supposed executive lounge at SAO unable to accommodate more than 30 passengers. For a member of the 'Star Alliance' the experience was very very poor and reflective of a company going with no ideas about customer service. If you have to fly this lot then take your own sandwiches and a book! Incidentally, how can a Brazilian airline serve rubbish coffee that's luke warm and served from plastic containers!

Varig - by Peter Sorger

21 April 2005

MIA-GRU. As always RG flights leaves the Gate after the scheduled departure time. I'm always asking why they can never be on time? We passengers need to be on time to check-in and to board - maybe one day I get lucky. As an Diamond FQTV I asked for an upgrade in exchange with miles. Flight was not full so I got it. Old MD11 - maintenance of the cabin is worst. Service was okay. No IFE as on the most flights, you can have it only on the B777 flights - the best on the VRA and VRB prefix planes. FA as always have problems to speak and make announcements in English. No excuses from RG - TAM FA's are perfect in English. Is time for Varig to work on their FA's , hire new people, bring back the excellent service from some years ago.

Varig - by Leo Santangelo

3 April 2005

LHR to GRU. The aircraft: and MD11 that has seen better days, some of the cabin lights were missing, so were some no smoking and fasten seat belt signs, the toilets did look old. The crew - would not smile and did their job and just that. The service - after take off a small tray, with a small casserole with chicken, bread roll, salad and salad dressing, and a kind of apple strudel - and before landing a cold breakfast. Cold meat and cheese with a couple of pieces of fruit. They offered hot drinks and when I asked for tea with milk (because it wasn't any milk on the tray) the stewardess told me that she didn't have tea with milk - she had black tea, black coffee or white coffee. The In Flight Entertainment: a few small over head monitors and in a 11:50 hour flight we were shown one movie - and no chance to watch anything else. That's Varig for you - things that they could have done better like tea and coffee after the meal service, hot towels, on demand IFE.

Reply from : Customer Relations Management, VARIG S.A

30 March 2005

Concerning the comments in this page made by Mr. Henrique Abreu, we would like to thank you very much for the offered space for our reply. We kindly inform that the client was contacted by Varig and then the clarifications were duly performed about what had happened and Mr. Henrique Abreu got satisfied with the solution.

Varig - by Marc Savini

17 February 2005

LHR-GIG via GRU in Feb 2005 out First back Business on their MD11. First class out was very nice indeed. Was able to use both Singapore airlines F lounge or United Airlines F lounge at LHR, of which I preferred the United Airlines Lounge. On board, there were two cabin crew members attending to 6 passengers in First. The service was quick and friendly. The seat was comfortable though not fully flat (more like 170 degrees) but nevertheless I slept quite well. The food was very good. There were also two toilets available for the exclusive use of F class. The only complaint would be that there were no personal video screens but as it was a night flight it didn't bother me that much. The flight back in business was good and bad. The business lounge in GRU is so unbelievable overcrowded. There were lots of people having to stand up. The service on board was reasonable, 4 crew members and 2 toilets for about 45 passengers. Food was good, about the same as First but without the caviar. The biggest complaint would be the seat recline which is only about 130 degrees and again the lack of a personal TV screen.

Varig - by Henrique Abreu

11 February 2005

We spent more than 8 hours in the boarding room of the Salvador da Bahia Airport in a flight Porto Seguro-Salvador-Lisbon without getting updated information, a proper meal, and with my 5 year old son and many other children around being uncomfortable and sleepy. It was really a very nasty situation and the Varig personnel was not managing at all this situation. Would not recommend to fly Varig.

Varig - by Don Lindsay

30 January 2005

I have never entered a comment on one of these forums before but my experiences with Varig were so second-rate that I felt I should. I was travelling around Brazil for three weeks during which time I was booked on 7 Varig flights. The logo and image of Varig suggests flair and panache but the flights were all late, some very late. All but two went via somewhere which was very irritating considering that I was travelling between major centres - even more so when I had to change planes too. All the planes from MD11's through a variety of 737's were tired and in bad need of a refurb. The air crew were friendly enough but so unstylish - who in heaven's name ever thought those aprons were appropriate attire for the female cabin crew (they wear them outside of meal-service times). Ground crew were unknowledgeable and not able to field complaints regarding late flights. I got so fed up with the experience that I actually chose to drive between between Belo Horizonte and Rio despite having paid the ticket. My last experience was a humdinger GIG-GRU scheduled departure 11:30. Plane eventually arrives at gate 12:30. Passengers board 1:00; too many passengers - chaos ensues. Plane eventually departs 13:45 and, believe it or not, with two young boys in the cockpit! Star can only want Varig for their route network. The other STAR majors must hate putting their passengers on Varig.

Varig - by James Foye

28 January 2005

My flight from Rio to SP was cancelled and Varig put me and a lot of other people on a later flight. There were a number of delays including a strange last-minute bag check, and they lost count of how many people were on the plane and some people had to get off. Then we sat on the runway for an hour in oppressive heat. No announcements were made. Finally the plane took off. At SP I had already missed my connection to Atlanta on Delta. There were no Varig people to greet us, so we went running through the near-empty terminal looking for help. We found some Varig employees who were getting ready to go home, and they got me booked on one of their flights to Los Angeles, which (fortunately for me) was running very late. She told me my bag would get on the flight (certainly there was enough time for them to get it on there), but when I got to LA my bag did not arrive. Delta delivered it two days later. (Just to cap things off, I missed my connection from LA to Austin on American, something that the AA personnel could easily have avoided if they had cared. That's another story). There is no question but that I can never, ever fly this airline again. I would rather take a bus first. The most terrible thing about the whole ordeal is that no Varig employee would ever tell us what was going on.

Varig - by Eduardo Lacson

20 January 2005

Frankfurt-Rio Business Class. Check-in by Lufthansa and was efficient and fast. I was upgraded to First at the gate due to overbooking in economy, who were upgraded to business. The crew were pleasant and professional. The plane, an MD11 was clean, the flat bed in First was quite comfortable. The food was good, I would say better than most European and US airlines. Wines were choices from Argentina, Chile, Italy and Germany. Good selection. The only negative point was the Personal entertainment - I normally don't watch the movies as I prefer to sleep on long flights. However they do offer personal videos on First and Business but it seemed no one really bothered to ask for one. My return was on Business class, and again I had excellent service on the ground and on board. The flight was full and the crew handled this very well - seats were quite comfortable, good pitch and I slept almost the entire flight. I don't know if I am just a lucky passenger having read all the negative reviews on this airline.

Varig - by Carlos Fonseca

23 December 2004

LIS/GIG on an old B767. The seat of my son would not recline in a proper way. Both seats were dirty and one of them had an old chewing gum. The worst was the flight to RIO. A messy boarding in a small plane without C class, with a rude crew. And they could not care less. VARIG always misleads the passengers from Europe informing that the same plane will fly to Rio. As a Brazilian, it is sad to acknowledge that the company is probably one of the worst in the world. It even sadder when one remembers that 15 years ago Varig would rank with the best.

Varig - by Duarte Fernandes

21 November 2004

Lisbon to Fortaleza with VARIG and have to say this was the worst flight ever in my life. Cabin staff attitude were - we could not care less about you. Pressing the buzzer was useless even to ask for a glass of water on a 12h flight via Recife. No PA's were made apart from the one with the emergency procedures to which cabin crew were absent to point out exits and so on. After the emergency procedures announcement was already in half one stewardess arrived to finalize the demos! This was a 767-300 on behalf of Portuguese airline Euro Atlantic. No IFE for all flight and surprise it was the same aircraft back to LIS and again no IFE! Meals were ok but equipment seemed a lit bit old as there were no light signs indicating exits ( on a night flight ) .I asked one crew about this and he replied that in fact the IFE and other equipment were out of order. I asked on the way back if maintenance did not fix these problems to which he replied that is with Euro Atlantic not Varig business. All cabin attendants were more concerned to rest than to perform their tasks. They vanished 5 Hours from the cabin after meal service and I went to the rear galley for a glass of water to found them seating on jump seats and telling me to serve myself. When we arrived in Recife the passengers to Fortaleza were not told what to do were to go. On the way back it was a rather bumpy flight with the same senior old lady who was in a bad mood and was most unpleasant to attend passengers.

Varig - by Pedro Vagueiro

18 November 2004

Economy class from Lisbon to São Paulo and from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon via São Paulo plus 9 domestic flights in Brazil. I chose Varig only because I could earn miles on my Lufthansa’s Miles & More card and could buy Varig’s Brazil Air Pass. The check-in for the LIS-GRU flight RG 8707 was fast and efficient as I arrived at the airport more than 2 hours in advance. The only minor problem was that the young lady at the counter didn’t know that I could earn miles on a Varig flight with my Lufthansa’s Miles & More card. Apparently she didn’t know what Star Alliance was, but quickly realised that I could actually earn miles with my card. Boarding was 15 minutes after departure time and the plane took-off 45 minutes late. Surprisingly enough it arrived at GRU 15 minutes early. The flight was operated by a MD-11 that despite its apparent age was reasonably well maintained, clean and tidy. I was lucky to get a seat on the last row (40) in the middle of the aircraft and had plenty of legroom for an economy class seat, which was fairly comfortable. IFE on this aircraft consisted in small screens on the ceiling and only one movie was shown on this more than 9 hour-flight. There’s no such “luxuries” as PTV’s. Service on board consisted in a lunch served shortly after take-off with a choice of 3 main dishes: pasta, chicken or pork. I chose pork and it was fine but the portions were small. No drinks were offered afterwards and the crew went to the galleys and only appeared near the end of the flight to serve what was called “dinner” but was actually a snack, a hot ham and cheese sandwich basically. I arrived at GRU feeling hungry and wondered what was the use of the toothpaste and brush that I was given as amenity kit. The flight was quiet and safe. Flight attendants did their job without smiles and didn’t greet anyone during boarding or leaving the plane. On the return flight from GIG to LIS via GRU the check-in was a bit of a mess as there was only one queue to all the Varig flights. Only when boarding time was near did the stewards open a separate counter for the Lisbon and London flights. It’s strange that both flights shared the same aircraft until GRU with different codes, RG 8706 for the Lisbon flight. A MD-11 was used for this 40 minute-flight to GRU that then went to London and I had to change plane. The flight departed late and so did the second plane from GRU, almost one hour. This time was an old Boeing 767-300 with both the markings Varig Charter and EuroAtlantic Airways (a Portuguese charter airline). This aircraft although showing very much its age was fairly maintained and this time I got a “normal” seat with the usual tight legroom common to most airlines. IFE was only a movie again but this time there was only a main screen, which was practically impossible to me to see. Dinner was served, as it was a night flight with 2 choices: pasta or chicken. I had chicken and it was fine and portions seemed a little larger. FA’s disappeared again and I had to go to a galley to ask for some water. Shortly before landing breakfast was served. FA’s were again not particularly friendly. This flight was also quiet and safe but quite boring because of the limited IFE and the seats are not very comfortable on this aircraft. As for the domestic flights they were comparatively better because there was always a snack offered even on short flights. In 11 flights only one departed on time and boarding time seems to be an unknown concept for Varig. Delays usually varied from 30 minutes to 1 hour except for the flight from Brasília to Belo Horizonte/Pampulha which departed 4 hour late but at least I was offered dinner at the airport. Fortunately my luggage was never lost even in tight connections in Brazil. I also have my doubts about Varig’s FA’s ability to speak decent English considering the flight announcements made in this language although in the Lisbon route this is not relevant as most of the passengers are Portuguese like myself or Brazilians and we all speak Portuguese. All in all Varig seems to be a very average airline especially as far as long haul flights are concerned.

Varig - by G Collett

31 October 2004

Sao Paulo - LHR. This airline has to be one of the poorest airlines in the industry. The flight was delayed in Sao Paulo by 10 hours, no worries I thought as I had a business class ticket and therefore access to the lounge - big mistake! The lounge was crowded, overheated and noisy. There were no english language journals, newspapers or magazines and all TV was in portuguese. I think given the airline is flying to London then it should at least cater for the english speaking passengers. The only food in the lounge for the entire delay was those strange cheese sandwiches they provide - until we asked forcefully for something to keep us going. It appears the economy passengers outside had been given vouchers for food but the high revenue passengers had been ignored! Eventually we took off and the equipment (MD11), staff, food and all elements of the flight were shoddy to say the least. Some might say it was outrageously bad and I would not disagree with them!

Varig - by Philipp Merten

6 September 2004

FRA-GIG-CWB; the long haul flight was carried operated with an MD-11, no PTV's, only one single movie shown on a 12 hour flight! After our departure in FRA we were served dinner (nothing special); after the flight attendants had served dinner they literally disappeared! I think I didn't see one single flight attendant for 7 hours (so beverages are not served frequently throughout the flight!); after 8 hours of flight I got up in order to get hold of some water! I ended up in the rear of the plane! The F/A gave me looks because I asked for water (I have to add I interrupted her conversation with a colleague!). The some of the cabin crew on the flight from GIG-CWB had difficulties speaking English! To come to an end RG is very expensive and the service is compared to the price there bad! On LH you pay the same amount of money but the service is by far better! I don't even want to start an comparison with SQ, CX, EK, MH, etc.!

Varig - by José António

10 August 2004

Lisbon to São Paulo and RG8706 back to Lisboa. Lisboa to São Paulo I went in a B767-300. Nice crew, very friendly and attentive. From São Paulo to Lisboa got luckier and caught a better plane, a MD-11 with more space and excellent crew staff !! Although I am not an everyday frequent flyer, I would say it was a pleasant trip in a good airline. I would also say that one can not judge an airline either by one or two good experiences or bad experiences. In flights inside Europe I already had good experiences and bad ones in the same company depending crew, plain and other aspects.

Varig - by S Nicoros

19 July 2004

SAO to LHR. Old plane, uncomfortable, unfriendly (senior) staff, stale breakfast, poor (almost non existent) entertainment, broken seats (in front of me!) and a full plane with no air conditioning! It was hotter than hell!! And the air was really thin and stale. So, on behalf of the rest of the sweaty passengers, I asked an FA what's the problem with the air condition and heat - she motioned a "wait a second, I'll find out and let you know" hand gesture - never saw or heard from her again! Then when I went to the end of the plane to get some water to help deal with the dehydration and I kind of realised why - their area was lovely and cool! No wonder they all were gathered there - even when people (14 of us) lit the attendant Lights! I experienced the same level of service on my way out to SAO - if you want to have a journey where you will feel like a human being - during and after flight - avoid Varig. As a side note, I was speaking to a Brazilian woman on the flight who was also complaining about the service and I informed her that I was told Varig were comparable to BA - the only reason I booked with them in the first place, as my first trip to Brazil was with Alitalia which also left a lot to be desired! She said something about how this may have been true 6-7 years ago but since then there has been a change in the company and spending has been reduced leaving old planes, staff, etc.