VARIG Named Best Airline in Central/South America and the Caribbean by OAG.

Business, Travel & Lifestyle Editors

VARIG Brazilian Airlines, the official airline of the World Cup Champion Brazilian Soccer Team, has been named best airline based in Central/South America and the Caribbean by OAG.

The award to VARIG was presented at OAG's annual ceremony in London which was attended by his Royal Highness, the Duke of York, and numerous executives from the airline industry. VARIG joins fellow Star Alliance members Singapore Airlines, which won top honors as Airline of the Year 2002 and Air Canada, named best airline based in North America and Canada. "We are very proud to once again be singled out for excellence by receiving this prestigious award," said Vicente Cervo, VARIG's Director-North America. "The awards are a result of questionnaires from frequent business travelers who use OAG's products and services and these are some of the most knowledgeable, and demanding, passengers thus it is a tribute to be put on the top of their list," Cervo pointed out.

Seventy-five years after VARIG became the first commercial aviation company in Brazil, it is now Latin America's largest airline and is the anchor for Star Alliance in South America. During its 7 1/2 decades of providing high quality of service to customers, the airline has flown more than 210 million passengers on over 2.5 million flights. Along with its sister companies, RIO-SUL, NORDESTE and PLUNA, the group offers services to over 100 cities in Brazil and throughout the major capitals of South America. VARIG has daily services from New York, Los Angeles and Miami to Brazil and will soon introduce its newest aircraft type, the Boeing 777, on its key route between New York and Sao Paulo, and has recently re-introduced nonstop service between New York and Rio de Janeiro.

For further information please call VARIG at 1-800-GO VARIG or visit http://www.varig.com.