Real Transportes Aéreos (acronym to Redes Estaduais Aéreas Limitadas, literal translation: State Air Networks Limited) was a Brazilian airline founded in 1945. It was merged into

Varig VARIG (''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 into judici ...

in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional, of which Real was the main carrier.

History

Real was founded by Vicente Mammana Netto and Linneu Gomes, two former TACA pilots. TACA also started up Aerovias Brasil, a Brazilian airline that later would form a consortium with Real. In November 1945 Mammana and Gomes bought three

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

and on November 30, 1945 it was authorized to fly. The first flight took off on February 7, 1946 from

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Later a second route,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

was started. Real grew by offering low fares because it had lower costs. It is said that it started a fare war to which followed a schedule war. In spite of this, Real was able to grow by extending the service to Curitiba to

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

and opening flights to

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

and

São José do Rio Preto São José do Rio Preto () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located in the northwestern region of the state, approximately from the city of São Paulo and from Brasília ...

. Real opened many flights to new locations in precarious operating conditions. It had a bad maintenance record and crews were pressured to fly under adverse conditions. The results were many serious accidents. Real bought Linhas Aéreas Wright in 1948, Linhas Aéreas Natal in 1950 and

Linha Aérea Transcontinental Brasileira Linha Aérea Transcontinental Brasileira S.A. was a Brazilian airline formed in 1944 and that started scheduled flights in 1946. In 1951 it was sold to Real Transportes Aéreos, which incorporated the airline the following year. History Linha A� ...

in 1951, expanding its network on the northeast and center-west of Brazil. In 1951 Real started its first international flight, from

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

via

and

Foz do Iguaçu Foz do Iguaçu (; "Iguazu River mouth"), colloquially referred to as Foz, is the Brazilian city on the border of Iguaçu Falls. Foz in Portuguese language, Portuguese means the mouth or end of a river and Iguaçu in Guarani language, Guarani or Tup ...

. The Paraguayan Government also granted to Real domestic traffic rights on its route from

to Uruguaiana via Encarnación. Encarnación is the most important city in the south of Paraguay. The year 1954 brought to Real the most dramatic growth of its history: by purchasing the already established Aerovias Brasil, Real gained the prestige, experience and influence that it lacked. With the acquisition of Transportes Aéreos Nacional in 1956, a

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

which took the name of Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional was created to fly on the entire Brazilian territory. Though maintaining legal independent identities, because they were controlled by the same person, Linneu Gomes, the three airlines operated jointly and in practice it was Real which controlled the consortium. The consortium dominated the passenger traffic on the triangle

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, the economic center of the country. In 1957 it created a route to

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, then still under construction. To compete with

which flew from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with Lockheed Super Constellations 1049G on the east coast, Real received three Lockheed Super Constellations 1049H in 1958 and started a flight from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

via Manaus-Ponta Pelada,

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. In 1960 this route was extended to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and Tokyo-Haneda; São Paulo to Tokyo and return took just over a week. The expansion took its toll leading to the gradual purchase of the consortium Real-Aerovias-Nacional by

between May and August 1961. At this time, the airline also began flights to Chicago-Midway. Aerovias Brasil, part of the consortium Real-Aerovias-Nacional, bought three Convair CV-990A for its intercontinental routes shortly before the consortium was sold to

. Varig was unable to cancel the order and had to receive and operate those three aircraft.

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

Accidents involving fatalities *12 December 1949: a Douglas C-47-DL registration PP-YPM, en route from São Paulo-Congonhas to Jacarezinho crashed into a mountain while flying under extreme bad weather conditions over the location of Ribeirão Claro with faulty equipment, where an emergency landing had been attempted. Previously the aircraft had already made an unscheduled stop in

Itapetininga Itapetininga is a municipality in the state of São Paulo State, São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 165,526 (2020 est.) in an area of 1790 km2. The name comes from a Tupi-Guarani language, meaning "dry stone".Douglas C-47-DL registration PP-YPX crashed while flying over the location of Ubatuba. All 10 occupants died. *14 October 1952: a Douglas C-47-DL registration PP-AXJ belonging to Aerovias Brasil en route from São Paulo-Congonhas to

struck high ground while flying under adverse conditions over the location of São Francisco de Paula. Of the 18 passengers and crew aboard, 14 died. *6 March 1955: a Douglas DC-3/C-53-D-DO registration PP-YPZ crashed during approach to land at Vitória da Conquista. The landing gear was lowered but the undercarriage did not lock. The pilot made an overshoot and during a turn to the left the aircraft struck a pole, crashed and caught fire. Of the 21 passengers and crew aboard, 5 died. *10 April 1957: a Douglas DC-3/C-47 registration PP-ANX belonging to Transportes Aéreos Nacional en route from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to São Paulo-Congonhas crashed into a mountain over the location of Ubatuba. The no. 2 engine caught fire, which forced the crew to make an emergency descent for Ubatuba. Due to rain, the crew noticed Papagaio Peak on Anchieta Island too late. The aircraft stalled during the evasive manoeuvre and crashed into the mountain. Of the 30 passengers and crew aboard, 27 died. *18 September 1957: a Convair 440-62 registration PP-AQE belonging to Transportes Aéreos Nacional, flying from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

via

and

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

had an accident during touch down operations in Montevideo. While on a night landing procedure under fog, the aircraft undershoot the runway by 1,030m, causing the left and middle gear to hit an earth bank bordering a highway. The right wing touched the ground and further on the aircraft lost both propellers. The right wing then broke off. One crew member died. *25 February 1960: ( 1960 Rio de Janeiro air crash) a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6A) registration 131582 flying from Buenos Aires-Ezeiza to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Air Force Base collided in the air over

Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...

close to the

Sugarloaf Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain (, ) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on a peninsula at the mouth of Guanabara Bay. Rising above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf suga ...

with a Real Transportes Aéreos

registration PP-AXD operating flight 751 from

Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a city located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 483,540 inhabitants. It is the largest city in Rio de Janeiro (state) outside of the Greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan ar ...

to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont. The probable causes of the accident are disputed but include error of personnel and faulty equipment. Of the 38 occupants of the American aircraft, 3 survived. All 26 passengers and crew of the Brazilian aircraft died. *24 June 1960: a Convair CV-340-62 registration PP-YRB flying from Belo Horizonte-Pampulha to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont crashed into

in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro-Galeão due to unknown causes. All 54 passengers and crew died. *7 December 1960: a Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando registration PP-AKF belonging to Transportes Aéreos Nacional and operating flight 570 from

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...

to Manaus-Ponta Pelada crashed on Cachimbo mountains. The engine no.2 failed during the flight. Altitude was lost, the pilot jettisoned some of the cargo but the aircraft continued to lose height. It crashed and caught fire. 15 passengers and crew died. *6 September 1961: a Douglas C-47-DL registration PP-AVL belonging to Aerovias Brasil, while on visual approach under adverse conditions to Concórdia crashed into a hill 1,500m short of the runway. Three crew members died.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Timetable images of Real
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Transportes Aereos Defunct airlines of Brazil Airlines established in 1945 Airlines disestablished in 1961 1945 establishments in Brazil