SAVAG – Sociedade Anônima Viação Aérea Gaúcha was a Brazilian airline founded in 1946 that operated mainly in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was absorbed by Cruzeiro do Sul in 1966.

History

SAVAG was founded in on November 25, 1946 in the city of Rio Grande, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, by Augusto Otero and Gustavo Kraemer, with a concession to fly within the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Later, the concession was expanded to include the state of Santa Catarina. In 1947 SAVAG purchased 3 Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar from

Panair do Brasil Panair do Brasil was an airline of Brazil. Between 1945 and 1965 it was considered to be the largest carrier not only in Brazil but in all of Latin America. It ceased operations in 1965. History NYRBA do Brasil (1929–1930) ''Panair do Bras ...

and initiated services between Porto Alegre, Rio Grande, Pelotas, and Bagé. In 1948 SAVAG started flying to the north of the state was well. SAVAG faced fierce competition from

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, for this reason, it had strong support from Varig's competitor in the region, Cruzeiro do Sul. It was from Cruzeiro do Sul that SAVAG purchased 2 Douglas DC-3 and it was with Cruzeiro that SAVAG established an operational partnership. Varig, a politically more powerful player, pressured the Air Force Ministry to gradually cancel route concessions of SAVAG, alleging excessive competition. On January 1, 1966, SAVAG was bought and merged into Cruzeiro do Sul. In 1953 Bagé International Airport was named in honor of Gustavo Kraemer, founder of SAVAG. Moreover,

Salgado Filho International Airport Salgado Filho Porto Alegre International Airport is the airport serving Porto Alegre and the region of Greater Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888� ...

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 twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

was named in honor of the senator and minister Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho, who was killed in the 1950 accident with a SAVAG aircraft.

Destinations

In 1960 SAVAG operated in the following locations in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul * Alegrete *

Bagé Bagé () is a city located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2020, its population was 121,335 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the seventeenth largest city in the state according to the 2011 census. The city was founded in 18 ...

– Comte. Gustavo Kraemer Airport *

Carazinho Carazinho is a city located 246 km from Porto Alegre, in the northwest portion of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Carazinho-RS was founded on 1931 and as of 2020 has a population of 62,265. Carazinho's primary economy is focused on ...

Cascavel Cascavel is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. It is the fifth most populous city in the state with 332,333 residents, according to IBGE, a government agency. The distance to Curitiba, the state capital, is 491 kilometers by f ...

–

Cascavel Airport Coronel Adalberto Mendes da Silva Airport is the airport serving Cascavel, Brazil. It is operated by Transitar, the semi-independent transportation authority of Cascavel, indirectly related to the Municipality of Cascavel, and under the supervis ...

Erechim Erechim is a Brazilian municipality located in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. A regional center in the northern portion of the state, it is the second most populous city in the region with 106,633 inhabitants, second only to the city of ...

–

Erechim Airport Erechim Airport is the airport serving Erechim, Brazil. It is operated by DAP. History In 2010, the entire airport complex received major investments, including renovation of the runway and of the terminal building. Airlines and destinations ...

* Joaçaba – Joaçaba Airport *

Passo Fundo Passo Fundo is a municipality in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the twelfth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 204,722 inhabitants living in a total municip ...

– Lauro Kurtz Airport *

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 ...

– Pelotas International Airport *

–

* Rio Grande –

Rio Grande Airport Rio Grande Regional Airport , also known as Gustavo Cramer Airport is the airport serving Rio Grande, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South Ameri ...

Santana do Livramento Santana do Livramento is a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located along the border with the city of Rivera, Uruguay, forming together an international city of almost 170,000 inhabitants. Santana do Livramento was founded on ...

* Toledo – Toledo Airport *

Uruguaiana Uruguaiana is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located on the eastern shore of the Uruguay River bordering Argentina. Opposite to Uruguaiana, and joined to it by a road/railway bridge, lies the Argentine city of P ...

–

Ruben Berta International Airport Ruben Berta International Airport is the airport serving Uruguaiana, Brazil. It is named after Ruben Berta (1907–1966), third Manager-Director of Varig. Even though Ruben Berta was spelled as Ruben the airport's official name is spelled Rubem ...

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

*11 January 1949: a Lockheed Model 18-10-01 Lodestar registration PP-SAC flying from Pelotas International Airport to

crashed just after take-off from Pelotas killing all 8 occupants. Causes are likely to have been fuel contamination. *30 June 1950: a Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar registration PP-SAA, flying from

São Borja São Borja is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. São Borja is the oldest municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and was founded in 1682 by the Jesuits as the first of the Seven Points of the Missions, and name ...

in bad weather collided against a hill, caught fire and crashed near the location of

São Francisco de Assis São Francisco de Assis, Portuguese for Saint Francis of Assisi, may refer to: * São Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, municipality in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * São Francisco de Assis do Piauí, municipality in the State of Pi ...

. All 10 occupants died, including the founder of SAVAG and pilot, Gustavo Kraemer, and Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho, senator and first Minister of Air Force in Brazil.

References

External links