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VASP

(Redirected from VASP Flight 780)
This article is about a Brazilian airline. For other uses, see VASP (disambiguation).

Viação Aérea São Paulo S/A (São Paulo Airways), better known as VASP, was an airline with its head office in the VASP Building on the grounds of São Paulo–Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil.[1] It had main bases at São Paulo's two major airports, São Paulo–Congonhas Airport (CGH) and São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU).

VASP Viação Aérea São Paulo
IATA ICAO Call sign
VP VSP VASP
Founded4 November 1933; 91 years ago (1933-11-04)
Commenced operations12 November 1933; 91 years ago (1933-11-12)
Ceased operations27 January 2005; 19 years ago (2005-01-27)
Hubs
SubsidiariesVASPEX (São Paulo Airways Express)
Parent companyViação Aérea São Paulo
HeadquartersSão Paulo–Congonhas Airport, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Key peopleWagner Canhedo
Websitevasp.com.br

History

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VASP operated the NAMC YS-11 from 1969. This example is arriving at Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport in 1972
 
VASP Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner
 
VASP BAC 1-11 at Rio Galeao in 1972

The airline was established on 4 November 1933 by the state government of São Paulo and started operations on 12 November 1933.[2] VASP was the first airline to serve the interior of the state of São Paulo (São Paulo-São Carlos-São José do Rio Preto and São Paulo-Ribeirão Preto-Uberaba), with two Monospar ST-4. At the start of the 1930s, it was the only carrier to operate with land planes in their service area. At the time this was a real exploit due to the lack of adequate non-coastal airports. Many landing strips were improvised in flat pastures. This insistence on using only land planes led to the building in 1936 of one of the country's most important airports, Congonhas, located in the city of São Paulo, far from the coast. During its early years, Congonhas Airport was popularly known as Campo da VASP ("VASP's airfield").[3]

In 1939, VASP bought Aerolloyd Iguassu, which included also a license to operate flights to the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina. In 1962, VASP became a national airline when it acquired Lóide Aéreo Nacional, and with it its license to operate nationwide.

On 6 July 1959, VASP, Cruzeiro do Sul and Varig initiated the air shuttle services between Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and São Paulo-Congonhas airports, the first of its kind in the world. The three companies coordinated their schedules, operations, and shared revenue. The service was a direct response to the competition imposed by Real Transportes Aéreos. The idea, baptized as Air Bridge (Ponte Aérea in Portuguese), was inspired by the Berlin Airlift. It was so successful that it was abandoned only in 1999.[4] Flights operated on an hourly basis initially by Convair 240 (Varig), Convair 340 (Cruzeiro) and Saab 90 Scandia (VASP). In a matter of a few months, the shuttle service led by Varig won the battle against Real, which was anyway bought by Varig in 1961. Sadia Transportes Aéreos joined the service in 1968. Between 1975 and 1992, it was operated exclusively by Varig's Lockheed L-188 Electra, which for sometime and for the sake of neutrality did not have the name Varig on the fuselage.

Although it had been remarkably well-run for most of its life as a state-owned company, by the 1980s VASP was being plagued by inefficiency, losses covered by state capital injections, and a bloated payroll for political reasons. Under the Brazilian government's neoliberal policies newly introduced at the time, VASP was privatized in 1990. A majority stake was bought by the VOE/Canhedo Group, a company formed by the Canhedo Group of Brasília and VASP employees.

Under the command of its new owner and president, Wagner Canhedo, VASP quickly expanded operations in the country, and created international routes. Until VASP's entry into the international market, Varig had, for all intents and purposes, been Brazil's sole international airline since 1965. However, after many years of mismanagement, financial losses, soaring debt and bad credit, in 2002 it cancelled all of its international operations to concentrate in the domestic market. By that time, VASP had plummeted from the second to the fourth position in the Brazilian airline market, flying an aging fleet of Boeing 737s (most of them of the obsolete −200 series) and Airbus A300s.

The company faced its worst crisis in 2004 as new airlines such rise in the country, which led to the suspension of service to many Brazilian cities and the cancellation of flights. As a result, the airline had its domestic market share reduced to 10%. On 27 January 2005, Brazil's then civil aviation regulator, DAC, grounded the airline from operating scheduled services pending a financial investigation. VASP was allowed to operate charter services until April 2005, giving it a chance to prove its financial stability in order to retain its air operator certificate.

By December 2007, the once-proud company had stopped flying altogether, and was reduced to providing maintenance services to other airlines. Even during the worst of VASP's troubles, its maintenance expertise and personnel had always been held in high regard. It had been operating under the new Brazilian bankruptcy law since July 2006, and had its recovery plan approved on 27 August 2006. However, in 2008 it declared bankruptcy.

As of October 2020, nine of the company's planes (seven Boeing 737-200s and two Airbus A300s) are still grounded at Congonhas-São Paulo Airport since 2005 and by now badly weathered and dilapidated, began to be dismantled and sold for scrap at auction. Each plane in its current condition was estimated to be worth only 30,000 to 50,000 real (approximately $20,000 to 33,000 US dollars), considerably less than even its monthly parking and storage fees. The company's fleet of 27 planes had been also grounded in similar circumstances since 2005 at various Brazilian airports.

Services

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Services at time of closure

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Airbus A300 at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport in 1984

VASP operated services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (as of January 2005): Aracaju, Belém, Brasília, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Foz do Iguaçu, Maceió, Manaus, Natal, Recife, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont, Salvador, São Luís, São Paulo–Congonhas, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Teresina and Porto Alegre.

Services ended before closure

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VASP once had a much more extensive network, which covered virtually every major Brazilian city with an airport and in the 1990s included such international destinations as: Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Quito, Miami, New York–JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto–Pearson, Seoul–Gimpo, Casablanca, Barcelona, Lisbon, Brussels, Osaka–Kansai, Athens, Frankfurt and Zürich.

Fleet

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A VASP McDonnell Douglas MD-11 at Recife Airport in 1998
 
DC6, formerly of VASP, at the Bebedouro Museum, the only one of this model to operate in Brazil
 
A VASP Vickers Viscount 800 at Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport in 1973
 
A VASP Boeing 737-200 Advanced at Recife Airport in 1998

Fleet history

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Over the years, the fleet of VASP consisted of the following aircraft:[5][6]

VASP fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300B2 3 1982 2005
Airbus A310-300 1 1997 1997 Leased from Ecuatoriana de Aviación
BAC One-Eleven Series 400 2 1967 1974
Boeing 707-320C 3 1992 1995
Boeing 727-100C 2 1979 1981
Boeing 727-200 13 1977 2005
Boeing 737-200 41 1969 2005
Boeing 737-300 26 1986 2005
Boeing 737-400 3 1991 1992
Curtiss C-46 Commando 14 1962 1973
de Havilland Dragon 1 1934 1941
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver 1 1951 Un­known
Douglas C-47 Skytrain 9 1946 1981
Douglas C-54 Skymaster 8 1962 1970
Douglas DC-3 3 1951 1962
Douglas DC-6A 4 1962 1977
Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante 10 1973 1992
GAL ST4 Monospar 2 1933 1944
Junkers Ju 52 7 1937 1957
Learjet 35A 1 1991 1996
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 6 1991 1996
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 9 1992 2001
McDonnell Douglas MD-11ER 1 1998 1998 Leased from World Airways
NAMC YS-11A 8 1968 1977
Saab 90 Scandia 18 1950 1969
Vickers Viscount 700 10 1962 1975
Vickers Viscount 800 6 1958 1975

Fleet in 1970

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VASP fleet in 1970[7]
Aircraft Total Notes
BAC One-Eleven 400 22
Boeing 737 50
Douglas DC-3 30
Douglas DC-6A 4
Vickers Viscount 700 32
Vickers Viscount 800 24
NAMC YS-11 7
Total 124

VASPEX

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A VASPEX Boeing 727-200F at Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport in 198 8

VASPEX was the company's subsidiary for immediate dispatch of correspondence, documents and objects. It filed for bankruptcy, but ended up going bankrupt with VASP on September 4, 2008. It operated the Boeing 727 and 737-200 for almost all of Brazil. It was created to operate together with VASP delivering orders of the type.[8][9]

VASPEX fleet

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VASPEX fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 727-200F 12 1996 2005
Boeing 737-200F 8 1993 2005
Douglas DC-8-63F 1 1993 1993 Leased from Arrow Air
Douglas DC-8-71F 3 1991 1993
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF 1 1997 1998 Leased from World Airways

Curiousities

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The 3rd ex-VASP B737, the first operator of the legendary Boeing model in Brazil, is today at Auto Shopping Só Marcas, in the city of Contagem, almost on the border with Belo Horizonte. With the old license plate PP-SMC, this B737-200 was manufactured in 1969 and flew exclusively on the former VASP, until the company closed, staying at Congonhas Airport for several years, until it was auctioned and bought by the owner of the shopping center and other enterprises. This plane has been the scene of several events and was even used during a political propaganda by the Workers' Party - PT in 2022. It was also in evidence because of a girl who filled it with World Cup stickers. Despite the political and football art, and now graffiti, the plane itself was not painted, but gained a cover around it, which receives the art related to the events that take place on the top floor of the used car shopping centre. The last so-called artistic intervention was by Red Room, a production company that is taking German DJ Emanuel Satie, who plays Melodic House & Techno, to the capital of Minas Gerais, as well as Brazilian DJ Jessica Brankka, who recently broke through with the track Too Many Roads. The B737 is the backdrop for a sunset event starting at 6 pm on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The idea is for the jet to make a composition with the DJs who will play until 6 am.[10][11][12]

Accidents and incidents

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Accidents

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Incidents

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March 1985. "130". Retrieved 17 June 2009. "Edificio VASP, Aeroporto de Congonhas, CEP-04368, Sao Paulo, Brazil"
  2. ^ Instituto Histórico-Cultural da Aeronáutica (2014). História Geral da Aeronáutica Brasileira: de janeiro de 1956 a dezembro de 1966 da posse do Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira até as vésperas da Reforma Administrativa (in Portuguese). Vol. 5. Rio de Janeiro: INCAER. p. 474.
  3. ^ Saconi, Rose (2 April 2013). "Como era São Paulo sem o aeroporto de Congonhas" (in Portuguese). O Estado de S. Paulo (acervo). Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  4. ^ Beting, Gianfranco; Beting, Joelmir (2009). Varig: Eterna Pioneira (in Portuguese). Porto Alegre and São Paulo: EDIPUCRS and Beting Books. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-85-7430-901-9.
  5. ^ "Fleet." (28 January 1999) VASP. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  6. ^ "VASP fleet". aerobernie.bplaced.net. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  7. ^ Flight International 26 March 1970
  8. ^ "Vasp brand auction fails". Valor Econômico (in Portuguese). 29 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Vasp brand auction fails" (in Portuguese). TMA Brasil. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Boeing 737 da VASP é grafitado de vermelho e vira palco de música eletrônica em Minas". aeroin. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Garota mineira enche toda a lateral de um Boeing 737 com 175 mil figurinhas da Copa do Mundo". aeroin. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  12. ^ "eria um empresário homenageado Lula com um Boeing 737 personalizado?". aeroin. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Accident description PP-SPF". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  14. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Vizinhança perigosa". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 33–36. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  15. ^ "Accident description PP-SPD". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  16. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Colisão com a Escola Naval". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 54–60. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  17. ^ "Accident description PP-SPT". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  18. ^ "Accident description PP-SPL". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  19. ^ "Accident description PP-SPQ". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Accident description PP-SPM". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  21. ^ "Accident description PP-SQE". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  22. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Ponte aérea das doze horas". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 171–173. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  23. ^ "Accident description PP-SQV". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  24. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Falha de motor na decolagem". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 177–181. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  25. ^ "Accident description PP-SRG and FAB0742". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  26. ^ Pereira, Aldo (1987). Breve História da Aviação Comercial Brasileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Europa. pp. 205–206.
  27. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Reportagem derradeira". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 177–181. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  28. ^ "Accident description PP-SRA and PT-BRQ". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  29. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "No céu de Paraibuna". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 214–216. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  30. ^ "Accident description PP-SRR". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  31. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "A montanha trágica". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 243–248. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  32. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  33. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  34. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  35. ^ "PP-SPR Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  36. ^ "Accident description PP-SPP". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  37. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Arremetida monomotor". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 262–266. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  38. ^ "Accident description PP-SMI". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  39. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O Samurai desaparecido". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 274–278. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  40. ^ "PP-SQA Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  41. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  42. ^ "Accident description PP-SMJ". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  43. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Dia do aviador". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 291–293. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  44. ^ "Accident description PP-SBE". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  45. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O primeiro Bandeirante". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 294–301. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  46. ^ "Accident description PP-SMY". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  47. ^ "Accident description PP-SRK". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  48. ^ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "VASP 168". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 318–326. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  49. ^ "Accident description PP-SME". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  50. ^ "Accident description PP-SND". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  51. ^ "Incident description Vasp April 25, 1970". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  52. ^ "Incident description Vasp May 14, 1970". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  53. ^ "Incident description PP-SMU". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  54. ^ "Incident description PP-SNT". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  55. ^ "Sangue no vôo 375" (in Portuguese). Abril: Veja. 5 October 1988. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  56. ^ "Incident description PP-SMG". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  57. ^ Maschio, José (21 August 2000). "PF liga sequestro de avião da VASP à rebelião em penitenciária em Roraima" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
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