Suggestion: eliminate Varig forum
 

Varig was once the biggest carrier in South America, *A member and an important international player - as such, a Varig forum was warranted and attracted regular activity.

After one too many crisis, Varig is now a much smaller player and not a member of any alliance, with little hope of gaining back relevance . Consequently, activity in the RG forum has decreased to almost zero - right now it's been nearly a month without a post.

TAM is now the biggest Brazilian airline, both domestically and internationally, and has recently signed up partnerships with Lufthansa, United, Lan, and others; *A membership is rumored. It doesn't make sense that Varig has its own forum while TAM doesn't. I'm not proposing a TAM forum since I don't see enough activity to justify it; it just goes to show that the Varig forum is an anachronism. If any South American airline deserves a forum now, it's LAN (that would be a whole different discussion though).

I propose that the RG forum is closed and the existing threads be either archived or moved to Other North & South America Frequent Flyer Programs, where any further Varig discussion can take place.

Sounds like a good idea.

There hasn't been a post in that forum for a month and very few since the first of the year.

And thanks for the heads-up on the issues with Varig.

makes sense to me.

Agree, I think there is enough traffic on the site relative to Brazilian airlines; and all put together more might be generated. Good idea

Fully support the idea ^

I've started a thread in the private TB forum to discuss this whole issue.

And the alternative issue mentioned in this thread.

We'll keep everybody posted as to progress.

No Latin American Forum
 

It's sad to verify that South America is not important enough to have, at least, one single dedicated forum. A "Brazilian Airlines Forum" and/or a "LAN forum" as proposed elsewhere appear to be reasonable and I wonder if those ideas can be reconsidered.

Could you please demonstrate a need or show that sufficient demand exists for such a forum? Thanks!

I think there is some confusion about this. We see a number of members suggesting that giving an airline forum status is somehow a measure of importance - which I think greatly adds to the number of forums being requested.

It isn't. That an airline receives its own forum is usually just a measure that there is enough discussion about the airline to warrant it. It is not a measure of how big or important or even busy the airline is. It's just a measure that there are enough people on FT who fly that airline often enough to wish to discuss it frequently.

There are currently no airlines from South America which warrant their own forums. That does not mean that South America is not important. It is probably a reflection of the relatively small number of South American posters on FT, and the limited exposure that FT members from other parts of the world may have to South American airlines.