VASP–Viação Aérea São Paulo
VASP was founded by the State Government of São Paulo in1933, and publicly-run until 1990. Their main hubs were in São Paulo at Guarulhos and Congonhas, from which they operated domestic services, international flights to the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and even the famous “Ponte Aerea” joint service to Rio de Janeiro.
VASP was once second only to VARIG in the Brazilian airline industry market share, and transference to, private-sector ownership led to tremendous expansion, but also to financial issues stemming from inefficiency and mismanagement. The carrier scaled back to domestic operations in 2004 before being grounded by the Brazilian government a year later. Afterward, VASP would carry out only contract maintenance operations until declaring bankruptcy in 2008. Their legacy remained abandoned, badly-weathered planes parked at Congonhas Airport – Stephan J. Cox
