Condor Syndikat was a German trade company, with headquarters in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, that operated airline services in Brazil while also providing aircraft, maintenance and aviation information. It is also the parent company of the Brazilian airlines
Varig
VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went ...
and
Syndicato Condor, which later became
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul was the second oldest airline of Brazil, tracing its origins to 1927, when it was founded as Syndicato Condor, a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Syndicato Condor retained rights and interests of a former Ger ...
. They were the two oldest airlines in Brazil.
History
On May 5, 1924, the German airline
Deutsche Aero Lloyd established a partnership with the Colombian company
Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéreo – SCADTA to create the Condor Syndikat. SCADTA was interested in establishing international passenger services linking
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
to other countries in Central America and to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Deutscher Aero Lloyd, on the other hand, wanted to establish a base for a future transatlantic service to South America, while selling aircraft manufactured in Germany, aviation equipment and maintenance services.
With this intention, two
Dornier Do J Wal
The Dornier Do J ''Wal'' ("whale") is a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by ''Dornier Flugzeugwerke''. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry (''RLM'') under its aircraft designation system of 1933.
De ...
seaplanes
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
were bought and were put into service for SCADTA. Services however were not as successful as planned, particularly because of the resistance of American authorities. The seaplanes were thus returned to Germany. The failure however became a golden opportunity for AeroLloyd to implement its own plans. A few months later two planes, one of them named ''Atlântico'', were sent by ship to
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
and flown to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.
On November 17, 1926, a German commercial mission was organized by the Pilot, Engineer and General-Director of Condor Syndikat Fritz W. Hammer, with the presence of Dr.
Hans Luther
Hans Luther () (10 March 1879 – 11 May 1962) was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany for 482 days in 1925 to 1926. As Minister of Finance he helped stabilize the Mark during the hyperinflation of 1923. From 1930 to 1933, Luther was h ...
, a former
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
German Reich
German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...
, at the time of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
took off from Buenos Aires. Though officially an enterprise of Condor Syndikat, in reality it was heavily subsidized by the German Government via Deutsche Luft Hansa. This commercial mission flew first from
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
via
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
and then on to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, where it arrived on November 27, 1926. On January 1, 1927 the aircraft flew back to
Florianópolis with a few illustrious guests aboard. Among them were journalists, a minister, and a cinematographer. As a result of this successful demonstration, on January 26, 1927, Condor Syndikat received a provisory one-year authorization to operate air services in Brazil.
Those services had three different routes: one linked
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
to
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
via
Santos,
Paranaguá
Paranaguá (''Great Round Sea'', in Tupi) is a city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, to the west and the ca ...
,
São Francisco do Sul
São Francisco do Sul is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It covers an area of 540 km² (208 miles2) and had an estimated population of 53,746 in 2020.
Location
It was founded as a village by the Portuguese in 1658. ...
, and
Florianópolis. The second service linked Porto Alegre to
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
via
Pelotas
Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and municipality (''município''), the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located 270 km (168 mi) from Porto Alegre, the state's capital city, and 130 km (80.8&n ...
. The third was between Porto Alegre and
Santa Vitória do Palmar
Santa Vitória do Palmar (lit. "Saint Victoria of the Palms") is a Brazilian city and municipality. It is the southernmost municipality in Brazil, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. To the west of the municipality is the Lagoa Mirim and ...
, on the border with
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. This service could, pending authorization from the Uruguayan authorities, be extended to
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. The first flight between Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre took off one day later, on January 27, 1927 operated by the Dornier Do J Wal ''Atlântico'', still with the German registration D-1012. It arrived in Porto Alegre two days later. Later, the ''Atlântico'' would be the aircraft to receive the first Brazilian registration: P-BAAA.
On February 22, 1927, Condor Syndikat operated the first flight between Porto Alegre and Rio Grande in which the ''Atlântico'' carried crew, three passengers and mail. Those flights continued to be operated with great success and the German name ''Condor Syndikat'' became informally known by its Portuguese translation: ''Syndicato Condor''.
Meanwhile, in Germany,
Deutsche Luft Hansa
''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...
was formed on January 6, 1926, with the forced merger of Deutsche Aero Lloyd with
Junkers Luftverkehr to form one German national airline. The transaction included subsidiaries such as Condor Syndikat, which officially ceased to exist on July 1, 1927. In order to care for the ongoing interests of Luft Hansa in Brazil, on December 1, 1927 a Brazilian company was officially formed and named Syndicato Condor.
On June 10, 1927 the Brazilian Government authorized a businessman from Porto Alegre, Otto Ernst Meyer-Labastille, to establish an airline that could operate in the States of
Santa Catarina and
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
, and to extend the services, with the necessary governmental authorizations, to
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. This airline was named
Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense – Varig, which had the support of Condor Syndikat, including share-holding. In order to facilitate start-up operations, Condor Syndikat transferred to Varig its rights for the route Porto Alegre - Rio Grande and the seaplane ''Atlântico''. Flights started on June 22, 1927. Until that date, Condor Syndikat had already made 63 flights and carried 800 passengers and tons of post between the two cities.
On January 20, 1928, the Brazilian Government authorized the establishment of an airline called
Syndicato Condor. Its first share-holders were the three directors of Condor Syndikat, including Fritz W. Hammer, and the Brazilian Count Pereira Carneiro, owner of
Jornal do Brasil and a shipping company. It could operate in all Brazilian territory and extend services, with the necessary governmental authorizations, to
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Between the end of Condor Syndikat and the birth of Syndicato Condor services never stopped and Syndicato Condor informally and later formally took over the rights and interests of Condor Syndikat. Condor Syndikat and later Syndicato Condor kept the rights and operations between Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre, and further to Montevideo and Buenos Aires, because this route was of utmost interest for the future plans of Deutsche Luft Hansa in South America. Later, Syndicato Condor extended the route north to
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
and connected its network to the one of Deutsche Luft Hansa.
Fleet
See also
*
Deutsche Luft Hansa
''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...
*
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul
Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul was the second oldest airline of Brazil, tracing its origins to 1927, when it was founded as Syndicato Condor, a subsidiary of Deutsche Luft Hansa. Syndicato Condor retained rights and interests of a former Ger ...
*
Varig
VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went ...
*
List of defunct airlines of Brazil
a. German trade company that operated airline services in Brazil while also providing aircraft, maintenance and aviation information.
See also
* List of airlines of Brazil
* Transportation in Brazil
References
{{List of defunct airl ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Dornier Wal Documentation Center
{{Brazil topics
Defunct airlines of Germany
Defunct airlines of Brazil
Airlines established in 1924
Airlines disestablished in 1927
1924 establishments in Brazil
1927 disestablishments in Brazil
Defunct seaplane operators
German companies established in 1924