Varig is the oldest airline in Brazil and one of the oldest in the world, dating to its founding in 1926. Serving both the national and the international markets, Varig remains one of Brazil's largest airlines. Its 2006 fleet consists of approximately 70 Boeing aircraft. Varig's primary offices are in Porto Alegre and in Rio de Janeiro. Varig also operates a semi-autonomous maintenance subsidiary, VEM, which is also a Hanover customer, and VarigLog, its cargo arm, which operates a separate fleet of approximately 15 cargo aircraft.

TAM Airlines in recent years has become the largest carrier of passengers in the Brazilian market, having transported nearly 14 million in 2004, surpassing Varig. TAM has been a rising success story since its inception in 1976 as an air-taxi service between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It now provides service to virtually all of Brazil, as well as destinations in Europe and North and South America. TAM's fleet consists of around 55 Airbus and 25 Fokker aircraft. TAM's headquarters are located near São Paulo's Congonhas Airport in the city center, pictured to the left.

GOL Airlines is Brazil's low-cost airline, and one of the newer arrivals in the Brazilian aviation market. It has experienced rapid expansion and now serves approximately 40 Brazilian destinations as well as other South American cities. GOL has concentrated on streamlining its fleet with a focus on Boeing 737, 300, 700, and 800 models. Its current fleet is about 40 aircraft, but GOL has placed large orders for new aircraft and is anticipated to continue growing substantially. GOL's headquarters are also located at Congonhas Airport, near Hanover's São Paulo office.

Hanover Brazil counts among its best customers a number of airlines in other Latin American nations. We maintain excellent relationships with Avianca of Colombia, LAN Airlines of Chile, Aeromexico and Mexicana, Aerolineas Argentinas, Lloyd Boliviano, and a number of other carriers throughout Latin America. Hanover makes regular sales trips to meet with and serve all of its customers.

The CCMA Aviation Conference is the largest annual event for the Latin American Aviation industry. In 2005 it was held in Manaus, Brazil and was sponsored by TAM Airlines, and in 2006 the conference will be in Cancun, sponsored by Mexicana Airlines. Hanover regularly attends and represents our principals at the CCMA, often while accompanying executives of the aviation-aerospace providers whom we represent.

CCMA has recently joined ranks and become part of the "Asociacion Internacional de Transporte Aereo Latinoamericano" (AITAL), or International Latin American Air Transport Association. This is a non-profit organization that represents the airlines of the region and works closely with the CEOs of the airlines who are its board members. This merger should make future CCMA conferences even more successful than those in the past. Please contact Hanover for more information about representation at the CCMA.