For the sixth consecutive year, VARIG Brazilian Airlines has been named top South American airline in voting by travel industry professionals for the prestigious World Travel Awards. The carrier received its recognition Monday night at a gala dinner and awards presentation at New York City`s Plaza Hotel where over 1,500 people honored the industry`s leading performers in a wide range of categories.
The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in all sectors of the travel industry where peers select the year`s outstanding companies by internet voting. This year, votes were tallied from travel agents in over 200 countries with an excess of 1.8 million votes in total having been cast in nearly 100 categories.
“We are honored to have again been recognized by the real experts in the travel business, those who make their livelihoods on their knowledge of all aspects of this challenging field,” said Vicente Cervo, VARIG`s Director-North America, who accepted the award on behalf of his fellow employees. “Since our founding over 76 years ago, we have prided ourselves on high quality service and continue to hold safety and service as our foremost customer objectives,” he added.
Awards were given by geographic region to other airlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, car rental companies and additional providers of the tour and travel segment. Together as a consolidated industry, travel ranks as the world`s largest employer.
VARIG is South America`s largest air carrier and is Star Alliance`s anchor in the region. VARIG is one of Brazil`s proudest exports, serving the United States, South America, Mexico, Europe and Asia as well as over 50 cities in Brazil.

——-