VARIG PRESIDENT Carlos Willy Engels has stepped down after less than a year in charge of the Brazilian flag carrier. Officially, the company cites personal reasons for his departure, although it is believed that results for 1995 were not good enough to satisfy creditors who also sit on the Varig board.
Engels, who took over in April 1995 will be replaced by Fernando Pinto, the president of Varig regional subsidiary Rio Sul. The regional carrier, which has just added an eighth Boeing 737-500 to its fleet and earlier this year took over the routes of regional airline Nordeste, is expected to announce a profit of around $20 million for 1995, on a revenue of $240 million.
Engels replaced Rubel Thomas, who left in April after launching a restructuring programme aimed at saving the company, which had accumulated debts of around $1 billion in the previous three years.
Thomas reduced the fleet from 85 to 76 aircraft, closed several international routes and offices abroad and renegotiated leases and payments of debts. In return, creditors, including Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, were given places on the board.
Source: Flight International
