VARIG AIRLINES – Situation Assessment
The Brazilian airline Varig has been making headlines since mid-June due to filing bankruptcy following the initial failed sale of the financially strapped airline to investors and employee groups. Other groups continue to prepare bids to submit to the bankruptcy court, and how this will ultimately play out is yet to be seen.
Fortunately for our congress, Brazil is not a remote island dependent on a single airline to transport visitors in and back out again. Most major international airlines include Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, or both cities among their destinations, and the Brazilian regional carriers Tam and Gol have cornered the market for flights within Brazil to Fortaleza (Tam also has international flights originating in New York (JFK), Miami, and Paris).
If you have already purchased your tickets to Brazil on Varig, please check with your travel agent immediately to ensure the flight is still confirmed (some news outlets have reported Varig cancellations of as high as 70% of all flights), or to rebook on another carrier if allowed at this time. If rebooking is not an option because your flight is still scheduled, familiarizing yourself with back up options in the event of additional flight cancellations before or during your travels is recommended.
If you have not yet booked your travel to Brazil, we recommend you avoid the uncertainty of Varig’s future flight schedule and select another reputable carrier to transport you to Brazil and back home again.
As a reassurance, neither the Swiss-Prot congress nor ISMB2006 will be cancelled due to the situation with Varig airlines. We have a very strong program in place and delegates from all over the world arriving on airlines as varied as their points of origin. We look forward to counting you among them!
For the latest news on Varig as it develops, please see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5119896.stm