VARIG review - by Carles Salvena

5 May 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

GRU-MEX-GRU. The crew try their best but are let down by ancient aircraft, unpunctual flights and seats that are dirty. The food was the saving grace and was relatively good, entertainment was sufficient. The ticket price was quite cheap so this journey did provide value.

VARIG review - by G Zengin

7 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I was looking for a straight flight to London from Sao Paulo and the best price came from Varig. I needed a straight flight to minimize flying time and to suit the time schedules on my return day which is in mid-March before the bank holiday of the 20th in England, that'll allow me to complete my business day and then go to the airport and take the direct flight which would allow me to sleep straight after dinner on the plane and to be fresh for a new business day in Sao Paulo the next morning. One the day I have to fly into England, I learned that Varig cancelled their straight flights from London from 1st of March and they moved me to a connected flight thru Madrid, first with Iberia and then with Varig. The Iberia flight will depart around 17:30, which cancels half of my business day in London and the flight from Madrid departs only after midnight, arriving in Sao Paulo at around 10:00, which also delays my next business day in Sao Paulo. If it didn't suit me, they offered me a full ticket refund which wouldn't cover the price of a new ticket with another company given I was notified 1 day before departure and nothing else. I'm struggling with them to give me at least a free flight (same destinations) or an upgrade and they are refusing, they say it's not in their power to do so, it doesn't matter with whom I speak nor if it's a manager or not. Also, they have currently cancelled my flight from London to Madrid but kept my flight from Madrid to Sao Paulo, so I better start swimming today to get there on time for it. Anybody have any suggestions, please, put another comment here.

VARIG review - by Andreas Schubert

21 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

FRA-GRU-EZE return in Economy Class. I heard some bad stories about Varig, but also heard that it got a lot better recently, so for the price they offered it was worth a try. Service on the international Varig flights doesn't differ much from the others. Food is okay for Economy, drinks available throughout the entire flight (in Varig you get Guaraná which I really like) and also IFE (although not individual). The FAs do their best, act friendly and actually serve you if you press the button to call them. Plus, you get a tooth-brush and tooth-paste which seems to be a good idea. Leg-room is typical tourist-class - being almost 190cm it's not comfortable, but I managed to sleep. What really made the difference is the flight from Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires - airplane was quite new, plenty of leg-room and even drinks and food was provided. Same goes for the return flight - there it was even a really good and warm lunch. The only setback: three days prior to departure from Germany I got an E-Mail from Varig, stating my flight wouldn't leave at 22pm but at 3am the next day. One day before take-off I got another Mail by Varig Service Center, telling me that it would now leave at 6am! Then, at 5pm the day of the original scheduled departure I got a call by a Varig member telling me the flight would leave as planned at 22pm! So the holiday started slightly chaotic, but everything else went fine. And the price Varig offers is the best in the market, so 4 Stars seem fair to me.

VARIG review - by G Pichler

16 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

GRU-SSA-GRU in Economy. First experience with the new VARIG on a domestic flight. Online booking site does not accept international credit cards, however, the flight could be booked online and I paid the ticket later at the airport. Friendly and attentive service from ticketing, check-in, boarding and cabin crew. Check-In fast in both direction due to the fact that they do not have many flights these days. Cabin interior clean and does not show the age of the plane. Both flights on time. Several informative announcement by the captain. Inflight service consisted of two rounds of non-alcoholic beverages, a tasty cheese-ham sandwich and a hot brazilian bean soup. After the meal a brazilian typ expresso ("cafezinho") was served. Very good domestic flight.

VARIG review - by Ilias Biris

27 July 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

GRU-FRA flight is cheaper than other companies. But the plane is old, literally bits of it coming apart internally (plastic separators/holders on floor carpet, on seat lighting/voice controls). Also if you are slightly over 180cm you are in for a big squeeze on those seats in economy class. Positive stuff in all this mess: the plane can be largely empty so you may find some space to sit where you don't have to know yoga to place your legs properly. Food was ok (pasta was cold). Attendants polite and helpful.

VARIG review - by B Cavalcanti

1 May 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

GRU-EZE-GRU. Varig is now offering nice ground and in-flight service. The refurbished 737-300 was very clean and FA´s efficient and polite.

VARIG review - by Walter Gomez

26 January 2007

Sao Paulo - Buenos Aires, 737-300, refurbished, good catering, smiling and polite FA's. This new VARIG is much better then the older one.

VARIG review - by Lindsay Frost

15 November 2006

I am yet another unhappy Varig customer. What a shame because I had purchased three tickets from them in May. The tickets were for my parents and a cousin who are hoping to join me to my wedding in Argentina in December. Now that the time has come for ticket collection at the agent in South Africa, my parents were informed that the ticket has been cancelled and a refund has been made. No such thing has happened. We have not seen the tickets or the money returned. Now it is November and almost time for us all to travel to Argentina but unfortunately the refund will not nearly cover what we will be expected to pay for tickets today. That is if we find ticket availability. What an absolute disappointment! And who can we possibly turn to for help???? I don't think Varig cares!

VARIG review - by Andreas Hofer

27 October 2006

FRA-GRU/CGH-CWB return. Inbound long haul upgraded from Y to C because of my last awful experience with Varig, outbound long haul upgraded with smiles. Varig has changed. Check-In staff with a smile on her face, working efficient. Also the crew. Varig is flying on time. Inflight- Service is okay. The only negative point is, that their was no IFE on both 12 hour flights. Hope they will fix it soon. GRU-FRA was codeshare with LH again.

VARIG review - by Chris Stevenson

19 October 2006

LHR-GRU on 14/09/2006, at least that is what I thought, but what with Varig having problems they cancelled all flights from LHR for the time being. I telephoned their head office in London and was told that I can go to the ticket desk in the airport for a refund, or wait to see if the London route is re-started. I went to the ticket desk and was told they could fly me, but only from Frankfurt and I would have to pay to get to Frankfurt. I opted for the refund. Booked via UAL. To Varig's credit the guy on the ticket desk put the refund on my card there and then, avoiding going through the accounts department. Varig tell me they will re-start the London route at the end of this month. Don't hold your breath, and with TAM starting LHR-GRU direct, they have a lot to prove!

VARIG review - by Emma Raffle

12 August 2006

To just cancel all flights without notice to customers and then hang up on them when they try to find out what is happening is down right disgraceful. I was stranded in Peru recently because Varig decided to cancel all their flights and had to spend 4 nights without sleep travelling across the country to arrange new flights as Varig customer services kept hanging up and refused to tell us what was happening. We then spent 2 days in the Varig office in Lima and 2 nights at the airport trying to arrange flights with another carrier. To top it off when we were so worn out after our 3rd night without sleep trying to arrange how we would get out of the country one of the staff laughed and after a few of my choicest spanish vocabulary security were called, however on hearing the problem the security guard took on Varigs catchphrase - not my problem and backed me up. An appalling way to deal with customers.

VARIG review - by Bryan Monkman

10 June 2006

LHR-GRU LIMA. LIMA-GRU GIG-GRU-LHR. Our outward evening flight was OK MD11 with working IFE. We were well looked after pillows/blankets evening meal (choice) by FA's and they even checked on us during the flight with torches to see if you were OK. Connection in GRU OK Flight to Lima 757-200 15 minute delay but I did notice a 767 to Buenos Airies was delayed by 2 hours (both engine cowls being inspected!) Flight to Lima good reasonable meal and pilot informative in 3 languages on points of interest on route (Lake Titicaca, La Paz, ANDES mountains Volcanoes etc.) FA's even bought water to us later into the flight. However, on return service not as good. 757-200 1 hour late arriving at Lima. Further wait in GRU for flight to RIO. In fact I checked whether or not we could stay on the plane and the FA's said OK but we had to move to our reallocated seats. Noticed same passengers getting on again who had got off at GRU! Return Flight from GIG to GRU delayed by over an hour.(737-800) Not a problem as plenty of time for connection with onward flight to LHR. Now the fun starts. Flight scheduled 22.30. Delayed due to tech fault. Crew waiting to board disappeared after an hour. Bad news. A gricer managed to find out that a part had to be flown from RIO but was not expected until after midnight. Eventually boarded at 0300 at a remote stand 4 and half hours late. MD 11 started take off along runway then sudden drop in power and take off aborted. Another attempt, my wife was petrified though the Brazilians on board were quite laid back about it all (hoping for divine intervention). Could not understand what the captain said but I assured her he would not endanger his crew. Second attempt OK. Flight the OK but no IFE and cabin staff disappeared after the meal. Passengers had to get drinks from the FA's at the galley at the back. Missed my BA connection at Heathrow to Manchester but Varig arranged another later flight with BMI. Luggage did not appear at MAN. Had to wait for another 2 days eventually found at Heathrow. Obviously VARIG has been suffering from a lot of low cost competition on internal routes with TAM and Gull. Staff morale low. The return of some 777's back to leasing company has not helped with avaliablity of remaining fleet. When compared to LAN Peru's A320's their fleet does look tired. VARIG in need of a major restructuring with a Brazilian Willy Walsh from BA needed. Unfortunately major fleet investment is needed as well and I hope VARIG does survive to celebrate it's 80th birthday next year but I hope it will be leaner and fitter to meet the competion of the new low cost carriers.

VARIG review - by Paul McMahon

18 May 2006

I am a Star Alliance Gold and One World Gold card holder. Being located here in Sao Paulo, I sometimes have no option but to travel with Varig. Travelling in first, business and economy. I have to say that the negative experiences of the various recent travellers are experiences I incur on just about every trip I take with Varig. (Delays - Longest 7 hours with no apology, service cutbacks, curt if not unfriendly cabin crew, poor customer service, etc, etc). Currently the situation of Varig is critical as it looks like the government will not assist them this time but the attitude of the crews and customer service remains the same. Varig really are not interested in the thing that keeps an airline in business - the passengers. Apart from the current doubt about the financial stability of the airline I would recommend from a service and pleasant flight point of view that you avoid flying Varig!

VARIG review - by Nicholas Rhodes

13 May 2006

Varig has to be one of the worst airlines I have ever flow, if not the absolute worst. I had read reviews online but I never figured it would be that bad, but did I get a surprise ! MD11 from FRA to GRU. 3 days before it was a 777, but it got changed. Our connection arrived late so we arrived at the gate with minutes to be spared to be told rudely we were too late and to "move aside". When we showed our first class tickets, they let us aboard with a snarl. Once aboard, the seats are fairly comfortable (they do go flat). But no personal inflight entertainment and no sign of portable dvds or their new Personal Entertainment Systems. It was back to watching the big screen. Flight attendants had big smiles but spoke little or no english or spanish. Smiles evaporated when we had a 2 hour delay on the ground as they could not shut the cargo door. So my wife and I put down the seats (it was midnight) and went to sleep. We woke up in the air. We had taken off with the seats in bed position and with no emergency demonstration ! Apart from the food, we did not see the crew for the rest of the flight. 777 from GRU to SCL. Boarded in First. Wife and I only 2 passengers. Luckily we were only 2 as of the 8 first class seats on this repainted United jet, only 2 were working (on different sides of cabin). Seats comfortable, food ok, cabin service just not there. The FA filled in her sheets on the 6 broken seats and said they would be repaired. 777 from SCL to GRU. Again on our own in First Class. Sit down and surprise, surprise, seats not working. It was the same plane and nothing had been fixed. We ended up sitting in the same seats as the incoming flight. FAs spent whole flight gossiping in the galley and ignored us totally. 767 from GRU to MAD. In Business as no First. Terrible seats. Old, no IFE, seat recline minimal. When we found out my wifes leg rest would not hold up, the FA came back with a plastic crate to prop it up. It was a joke. On take off, one of the trolleys had not been shut in properly and went flying down the aisle spilling salmon dinners everywhere. FAs disappeared after cleaning it up without a word of apology. Not seen again. Fishy smell all the way across the Atlantic. Varig is a 1* airline. So if you have to fly on this airline, go in First (the only acceptable seats) and take your own sandwiches and water as the FAs won't be there for you !

VARIG review - by Jean-Louis Vergaert

7 April 2006

Mexico to Sao Paulo Business Class. Check-in: very friendly and efficient. As our flight was delayed by 2 hours, they extended it to Rio which was my final destination, instead of having to change plane in Sao Paulo. I thought it was a good luck. Lounge: UA, nice, clean, vast, and free wireless. Boarding: chaotic as we use the "shuttles". Business Class boards first the shuttle bus, but then we are joined by all economy until the bus is full. Plane: old 757 200 instead of the promised 767. Wide seats, but almost no pitch or space between seats. No PTV, only a few old monitors from the ceiling. No footrests, but some kind of pillows velcroed to the floor. Staff: friendly and smiling, but took 1 1/2 hours after take-off before serving the first drink. Drinks: champagne is a pale imitation which must cost $5 in a super-market. All cheap brands of alcohol and wine. Menu: staff asks you if you want "Fish, Beef or Pasta". Food: one of the worst pasta I ever seen. Salad with shrimps without any taste. Chewy roll and 2 slices of cheese. Take- away chocolate cake. Itinery: for a strange reason (I guess need to re- fuel), we stopped in the middle of the night in Manaus where we boarded a few people. Conclusion; such service would be barely acceptable for a 4 hours trip, and here I had to stay a total of 11 hours in that plane. Surely my worst experience of business class travel ever. It is time that Star Alliance finds another partner in South America.

VARIG review - by Ron den Hoed

26 February 2006

LAX-GRU 1st Class. There is no 1st class check in despite the sign on the counter. You check in with business or economy. Old MD-11 with the old unconfortable seats. Non existent service. The stewardess did not speak English or Spanish and ignored my basic Portuguese. Mediocre food. The goal of the crew was to serve dinner quickly at 3 PM Pacific (the plane left at 12 noon), pull the shades down and go to sleep. No entertainment. A TV monitor was flickering all night. No checks for seatbelts. To get a drink of water at night you had to go to the back of the plane or serve yourself. No personnel in 1st or business galley. The cockpit door was open and got a good look of the old cockpit. Some of the crew bolted of the plane before the passengers disembarked in GRU. GRU-EZE : A nice 1st class lounge in GRU with helpful and friendly personnel. Boarding was a cattle call. The 777 needed some refurbishment, but the crew in 1st class was delightful and performed their duties with grace and poise. EZE-GRU : Again an old and tired MD- 11 in 1st class. Some semblance of an organized boarding. The plane was parked in the sun (90K) for quite a while and the A/C did not come on until we took off. Passengers were loudly complaining of the heat to the crew. Service was great. The food was again mediocre. It is sad to see Varig in this sorry state. It was long ago such a great airline. They must be the black sheep of the Star alliance.

VARIG review - by Matt Krenzel

26 February 2006

MUC-GRU return in C class. It had been over 10 years that I had last set foot on a MD11 - the condition of the plane was accordingly. No IFE, some of the seats in very poor condition. Food and service quite good. No earplugs in the seat. Overall an okay trip, however no match at all for the BA flight provided at the same price!

VARIG review - by Hans Wegscheider

18 February 2006

FRA–GRU–Lima return in economy. Boarding in FRA was on time, but we had to wait about 1½ hour for departure. No explanations. The flight to GRU is normally a nonstop flight but shortly before takeoff Varig announced that there is refueling stop in Recife. I had great luck to reach my connecting flight in GRU to Lima. The plane was an old B777-200 with United Airlines interior. Seat pitch is quite good but the cabin was very shabby – some seats broken. Food was of small quantity but good taste . Service not worth the name. After they served the meal the whole crew disappeared until 2 hours before landing in GRU. The attitude of the crew is terrible. The flight from GRU to Lima was on an old B757-200 but in better condition than the B777. Service also non- existent. On the way back to FRA the same story. Overall a very poor experience. I would rate Varig a 1-star-airline. I don’t think they can survive with this product and service-attitude.

VARIG review - by Erik Wiklund

6 February 2006

FRA-RIO-SAO-SCL, Business class. I must say that Varig provides by far the poorest long haul C-class product I have experienced. I got a middle seat on the MD-11, it was worn, the leg rest did not work properly - it collapsed as soon as I tried to put my feet up on it - moreover, the leg room was inadequate - thus making it difficult to get out from the middle seat - and the recline was poor. The cabin also appeared worn and dull and the FA's seemed extremely uninterested. After a tasteless meal my tray was removed (without asking me first) and I was never served coffee or dessert. The person next to me did, however, get some sweets and coffee - I did not seem to have missed out on much. The IFE was also an absolute joke. No PTV even in C-class! There were two overhead monitors, one did not have any colour, the other was too blurry to watch. They did, however, provide the video walkmans that airlines used have back in the good old days. I tried to watch a film on it, but the head phones provided did not fit in the plug! I asked an FA, and she just shrugged her shoulders and told me that was what they had. Luckily I did have my own earplugs with me and they did fit. Only about 30 min into the movie the battery went flat. At that stage I had had enough and went to sleep. Luckily I was able to sizz away for a good while, thus making the flight survivable. Towards the end of the flight, the monitors were saying 50 min to landing, but suddenly the pilot announced 15 min to landing. This resulted in chaos in the cabin as everyone wanted to use the lavatories, rearrange their luggage etc. The short haul flights in South America were OK. The FA's were very helpful and friendly and service was generally much better. Seats and food were adequate for the flight duration. Again the video walkmans were up for grabs, but I opted for a rest instead.

VARIG review - by Eduardo Dhers

6 February 2006

SAO-FRA First Class. Old 777, seat would not recline - not even on manual mode. I don't know how Varig can sell this expensive service and get away with it. When landed, a simple typed letter from Varig saying nothing was the only compensation I got. I've been Smiles diamond for more than 8 years in a row. This is the reward and appreciation of business that I get in return. I have to agree with most of the comments regarding Varig here. I would rate Varig as a HALF star airline. I switched and continue accumulating miles on fellow LH. Not the best, but at least their seats are more comfortable!

Varig - by Sven Riehl

1 February 2006

I take RG flights 3-4 times a year to Brazil (mainly FRA to GIG), and sometimes domestic Brazilian flights as well. My last experience FRA to GIG and back to FRA on 29 January. Both flights were on time, food was okay, staff friendly. I took several domestic flights with Varig during this period as well, all of them on time, food being a snack and also friendly staff. Of course, one cannot compare Varig to LH or SQ. That is also explained with the flights being cheaper with Varig then the other airlines. The airline is going thru difficult times but deserves to survive.

Varig - by Gustavo Aguinaga

27 January 2006

GIG-FRA return C class. I'm a Star Alliance member (UAL Gold Mileage Plus member) and usually fly twice a year to Europe. This last trip, I decided it was the last time I'd fly Varig !! On the first leg, my flight was delayed 15 hours! On the flight back, a dirty aircraft, poor reclining and comfort for Business Class seat, which also had footrest broken. During a 12 hrs flight, one terrible Brazilian movie and the staff seemed very old and tired - and were a little unfriendly and had to ask at least three times, every time I asked for something. I would not advise anybody to fly Varig to/from Brazil. You can really tell that Varig is a company with great problems, and it does not deserve to survive.

Varig - by Eric Van de Catsije

21 January 2006

CDG to Sao Paulo - Rio return last week. I have to agree with most of the comments here. Being quite tall (1.92m) I asked in Paris for a seat in the front row/emergency exit. The airport staff assure me this was not a problem. Well it was not the case. Old MD11 aircraft, semi- friendly, old unmotivated staff, food below the average and flight delayed. On my return to CDG, I missed my flight connection to Dublin and did not even bother to queue 1 hour at the help desk, to get an expected negative answer concerning any refund.

Varig - by Mailan Henning

12 January 2006

It certainly feels like the beginning of the end for Varig. I tried to leave Brazil yesterday (Jan 10th) and found that my flight to Lisbon was cancelled (the third time my itinerary had been changed). Listening to other passengers at Guarulhos it seemed that all international flights had been grounded. The airport was in chaos with no one taking charge. I feel for the staff as clearly they must have been thinking about their own situation - will they have jobs next week? My concern was to get out of the country as quickly as possible - I boarded a TAM flight to Paris and finally made it home to London via other airlines. I wouldn't suggest that anyone risk Varig at this time.

Varig - by Gustavo Sassi

11 January 2006

As a VARIG Smiles diamond member (Star Alliance Gold), all I have to say regarding the previous comments is that unfortunately I agree with them all. VARIG used to be a great airline some 10 years ago, but a series of chaotic administrations lead this company to what we see today: old, dirty airplanes with no entertainment, no punctuality, no friendly staff. Poor VARIG, I hope after this financial turmoil a new company arises.

Varig - by Eddie Tofpik

4 January 2006

London to Sao Paulo return - going out economy, coming back business. Went out in an old MD11 - I hear that they don't own most of their fleet anymore (sold and leased back from US investment banks) and that their average age of plane is 13 years - it showed on this one. The staff were okay- without any special commendations, except that the staff acted as if you don't own the aircraft you tend to treat it as a rental. Got upgraded on miles back to UK as I didn't think the airline will be around for much longer. Ground staff were good though stressed, they closed one of their lounges in GRU and crammed everyone into the other - serious negative points on this. Plane coming back very shabby with bits of broken seat and plane all over the cabin. So sad to see a great airline brought down but I don't think they will be around for much longer.

Varig - by Pete Larsen

21 November 2005

Frankfurt to Rio de Janeiro return. I had heard a lot of good things about Varig, and I must say that I was very disappointed. The staff seemed very old and tired. They were semi-friendly, but I had to ask at least three times every time I asked for something. On the way from Frankfurt to Rio the plane had an entertainment system, but something went wrong with my screen and everything froze, so I couldnt use it. I asked the crew 5 times to come and fix it. They kept saying "a little later". they never came and fixed it. I couldn't turn it on and during the whole night I had this bright screen turned on, making it hard to sleep. On the way fro Rio to Frankfurt the service was even worse. The plane seemd very old. The seats was very worn and there was no entertainment system. Only some tv-screens above the aisles. But screens were so old that the picture quality was very bad. I would advise anybody to fly other airlines to Brazil. You can really tell that Varig is a company with great problems.

Varig - by Andrew King

21 November 2005

I fly frequently on all the Brazilian airlines, but principally with Varig. I have had around 100 flights with them. Their tradition of service and catering is high, and delivered with warmth and enjoyment. The company is going through a very bad time, and the service has deteriorated. Food on internal flights is now normally just a snack - but a good tasting snack, which I find preferable to something which is pretending to be a full meal and which never is, in any economy service, anyway. Time-keeping seems to me neither better nor worse than other companies. They have pulled a lot of flights from their schedules - where I live in south Brazil this has made for less convenient travel with them, and more flights booked with rival TAM, which has a better service internally, but without linking into the Star Alliance airmiles for the long trips to the UK. The company is in trouble, as I say, but if you love Brazil you have to love Varig and wish it well. Every airline has its bad days.

Varig - by Mark Aspinall

28 October 2005

GIG-GRU-EZE-GIG-LIS. I didn't have a negative experience with Varig, they got me from A to B and on-time. For the cost of my flights from Europe and back and internally, I had a 25% saving over Lufthansa. I wanted cheap and I wanted Star Alliance, and got what I wanted. I had no high expectations from Varig and wasn't disappointed. I did not suffer any of the delays people have been talking about, all flights left on- time or within 10 minutes. I can't say that inflight Entertainment was great, but meals were OK. Varig cannot and should not be compared to the first stringers - LH, BA, SQ etc.

Varig - by Clive Barker

23 October 2005

We flew Heathrow to Sao Paulo & onward to Rio. Arrived 7 hours too early at Sao Paulo and was advised to take an earlier connection only after a stewardess heard our comments. Otherwise we would have waited 7 hours without knowing of the earlier connection and without knowing that our lugage was going on ahead of us. We made the earlier connection but only just due to lack of signs and information in the airport almost preventing us from finding the correct gate. If we had not made the connection our luggage would have arrived in Rio 7 hours before us. As it was we arrived In Rio too early to meet our rep. and were obliged to put our trust in complete strangers. Thankfully they were genuine and were not con-men or worse. They went out of their way to even take us to our destination with no payment being demanded of us! Some days later we spent an hour or two sat on the airport tarmac apparently waiting for a thunderstorm to settle before take off on an internal flight. We still still flew off into a violent storm and journeyed through it for most of the distance travelled .We wondered why the B.A. plane in front of us had not taken off when it was its turn and yet other planes had broken sequence to go before it. Our return from Rio to Sao Paulo was delayed (excuse was loading delays), we were directed to a gate but locked glass doors prevented us from reaching it. Many people obediently sat waiting as the monitors confirmed this was the correct gate for Milan and yes we had all correctly guessed this was the Sao Paulo flight too! Eventual enquiries revealed the gate number was now different to that on the monitors even though the monitors continued to display the original incorrect information. Our connection at Sao Paulo was supposed to leace at 23.30. We has only just disembarked at this time. We passed through hand luggage/passport control for the second time and were directed verbally and by a board to gate 16. After queuing there some time we felt things did not seem quite right. They were not - a monitor was displaying yet another number for our flight which, thankfully, was to be delayed. I say thankfully because this meant we and our luggage would be on it. We finally left about 2 hours late. A night flight. as expected, necessitates a lot of people needing toilet use at similar times. We had one with no water and one with no internal handle which required opening from the outside due to the person inside knocking to be released. The cabin crew on all our flights were very good indeed but as for the problems with times, delays, lack of information and incorrect information together with a plane needing refurbishment of whatever it needed we could have easily finished up in the wrong country with no luggage, unwashed and probably being met by unscrupulous types instead of good samaritans.

Varig - by Stuart Broom

2 October 2005

LHR to GIG then 4 internal flights in Brazil all on Varig. This forum scared me stiff about the service I would get. All the flights arrived on time, no baggage lost, staff always polite and comfortable planes. Perhaps other airlines do have better in-flight entertainment/food but on the fundamentals no complaints whatsoever.

Varig - by P Amoniczeck

2 October 2005

Varig is really deteriorating in service in recent months. Now it seems again that 3-4 hours delay on any international flight is the norm (again) and if you are on board the seats and the entertainment on board (in business class) is a real flashback to the 60ies . It seems that the planes havent been refurbished since then. Also through their frequent technical problems on any flight it can happen that instead of a 777 you get a pretty old 767 with seats that dont recline at all. I really dont understand, why Varig is on this page still rated as 3 stars. It really offers no better service than Ryanair, which is rated 2 stars.