Brazil Varig says leasing firm seizes jet in Paris Thursday January 30, 2:14 pm ET SAO PAULO, Brazil, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's beleaguered flagship airline Varig (Sao Paolo:VAGV4.SA - News) on Thursday said International Leasing Finance Corporation (ILFC), owned by U.S. insurer AIG (NYSE:AIG - News), had seized a Boeing 777 in Paris that the carrier was leasing. It is the first plane operated by Latin America's largest airline to be seized by a leasing company and comes as the lossmaking 75-year-old carrier struggles to pay off its big debts amid a slump in the global aviation industry. "The only thing that I can confirm is that there was a seizure of a plane," said Sylvia Leccia, from Varig's press and marketing department in Paris. "As you know Varig is a serious company that has been around for 75 years," she said. "It's clear we are in the storm like all airlines, but that we have always honored our debts." She said Varig's head office, whose press department also confirmed the seizure, was currently negotiating with representatives of the ILFC over the plane in Charles de Gaulle airport. A Varig spokesperson in Brazil said passengers' travel plans would not be affected by the seizure and they would continue on their journeys on another aircraft. The jet, a 220-passenger Boeing 777, flies the Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Paris, Amsterdam route, and had been leased since 2001, Varig said. Varig has suffered along with other Brazilian airlines in the last year as the Sept. 11 attacks and an economic slump hit demand for flights, while a slump in Brazil's currency magnified its dollar-denominated fuel and jet leasing costs. _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail