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Aeroposta Argentina S.A. was an Argentine airline established on 5 September 1927 as a subsidiary of the French airmail carrier Aéropostale(Compagnie générale aéropostale). In 1929, Aéropostale expanded its airmail network within South America, including the first domestic air services on routes to Asunción, Paraguay, Santiago de Chile, and the Argentine cities of Bahía Blanca, Comodoro Rivadavia and Río Gallegos.
The task of opening the new air routes was assigned, among others, to the French aviators Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Jean Mermoz. Saint-Exupéry served as director of the newly formed company based in Buenos Aires, while Mermoz was appointed chief pilot. Saint-Exupéry conducted Aeroposta's inaugural flight on 1 November 1929, from the airfield at Villa Harding Green to Comodoro Rivadavia.
In the early years of commercial aviation, airline personnel surveyed routes and locations for potential emergency landing strips and fuel depots. Saint-Exupéry's experiences in Argentina later informed his novel Night Flight, which received the Prix Femina and was adapted into a film of the same name. Regular flights commenced in 1929 to additional Argentine cities, including Posadas and Mendoza. Service was further expanded the following year to Comodoro Rivadavia and San Antonio Oeste, followed shortly by Río Gallegos.
Aeroposta Argentina remained the only airline operating in Argentina until 1946, when several additional carriers were established.McCloskey, Erin. Argentina: 2 Bradt, part of Bradt Guides: Bradt Travel Guide Series, Publisher Bradt Travel Guides, 2011, , . In 1949, Aeroposta Argentina merged with ALFA(Sociedad Mixta Aviación del Litoral Fluvial Argentino), FAMA (Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina) and ZONDA (Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolíneas Argentinas) to form the new national airline, Aerolíneas Argentinas.
Parent company: Lignes Aériennes Latécoère
The airline Lignes Aériennes Latécoère was founded in the aftermath of World War I and established in September 1919. Its first scheduled postal route operated between Toulouse and Morocco, with stops in Barcelona and Alicante along the eastern coast of Spain. Around the same period, its founder Pierre-Georges Latécoère created the Compagnie générale d'entreprise aéronautique, and in May 1922 he established the Société industrielle des avions Latécoère.
To extend the line between Casablanca and Dakar, Captain Joseph Roig departed on 3 May 1923 with a group of three Bréguet XIV biplanes. The aircraft flew between Agadir, Cap Juby, Villa Cisneros and Port-Étienne on the west coast of Africa, arriving at their destination on 22 May.
According to a plan conceived during World War I by Pierre-Georges Latécoère, Captain Joseph Roig was sent to South America in May 1924 to examine the possibility of extending the route between Natal, Brazil, and Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires, Roig met with officials of the Department of Civil Aviation of the War Office and stated that the directors of the Compagnie générale d'entreprises aéronautiques (CGEA) intended Buenos Aires to serve as the terminus of a future South American airmail route between the continent and France, and subsequently as a hub for airmail between Argentina and neighboring countries.
President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear approved the proposal and authorized the company to send a civil aviation mission. Captain Joseph Roig and a group operating three Bréguet XIV Renault biplanes conducted a reconnaissance flight from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires, landing at El Palomar on 14 January 1925, accompanied by pilots Paul Vachet, Étienne Lafay and Victor Hamm, and mechanics Gauthier, Estival and Chevalier. In March 1925, under unfavorable weather conditions, the group began the return journey while carrying out aerial surveys between Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco (Recife), which were intended to support future operations on the Atlantic route. In June 1925, regular airmail service was established between Toulouse, Casablanca and Dakar.
To raise the capital required for development of the South American route, Pierre-Georges Latécoère travelled to Rio de Janeiro on 3 December 1926 to meet French businessman Marcel-Lafont Bouilloux, who was residing in Brazil. In January 1927, Latécoère, accompanied by Argentine aviator Vincent Almandos Almonacid, met President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear in Buenos Aires to request the prompt submission of a contract that would authorize the proposed airmail service between Argentina and France.
Acting as representative and trustee of the Compagnie générale d'entreprises aéronautiques, Vicente Almandos Almonacid signed an agreement on 8 February 1927 with the director general of Posts and Telegraphs, Arturo Goyeneche, establishing a framework for the transport of mail by air within Argentina and to neighbouring countries. The agreement was ratified by a decree of the national executive on 10 June 1927, signed by President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear and the minister of the interior, José P. Tamborini. Meanwhile, negotiations between Pierre-Georges Latécoère and Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont concluded when Bouilloux-Lafont purchased, on 11 April 1927, 93 per cent of the shares of the Compagnie générale d'entreprises aéronautiques for 30 million francs, assumed control of the company's management, and agreed to purchase Latécoère 25, 26 and 28 aircraft manufactured by the Société industrielle des avions Latécoère At a special meeting held in Paris on 12 December 1927, the company was renamed Compagnie générale aéropostale
Birth of Aeroposta Argentina S.A.
On 13 August 1926, an executive order amended the Regulations for Navigation on Argentine Territory, prohibiting the use of Argentine airspace by foreign companies and assigning the War Office responsibility for defence and oversight of civil aviation. In order to comply with these regulations, Vicente Almandos Almonacid proposed the creation of a national corporation, a proposal that received the support of President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear and several Argentine legal scholars.
The constitutive act of Aeroposta Argentina S.A., an affiliate of Compagnie générale aéropostale, was signed on 5 September 1927. The company was established with its headquarters at Calle Reconquista 240 in Buenos Aires, and its founding signatories included Agustín Melián (on behalf of Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont), Alberto Dodero, Gaston Fouvell Lleau Rigo, Alejandro Behety Menéndez, Luis Nicol, Guillermo Padilla (head of Aeronautical Radio, Department of Civil Aviation), Raúl A. Razzio, Emmanuel Sieyès and Vicente Almandos Almonacid.
On 1 November 1927, Paul Georges Pivot inaugurated the Natal–Rio de Janeiro–Buenos Aires route using a Latécoère 25 registered as F-AIOZ. The route was extended on 1 March 1928, when Jean Mermoz, flying a Latécoère 25 carrying 36 bags of mail, inaugurated what was then one of the longest airmail routes, covering approximately 13,600 km from Toulouse to Dakar, with the Dakar–Buenos Aires section operated by sea between Buenos Aires and Natal until 1935. This route became known as the "Mermoz line".
After considering several locations, Almonacid selected General Pacheco, approximately 35 km from Buenos Aires, where an airfield was built in 1928. One section of the field contained three 30-metre antennas and equipment that had been used for the LPD Radio Station "General Pacheco", which was later transferred to the postal and telecommunications authorities. The station initially handled communications with other bases at a time when aircraft lacked onboard radio equipment, and later with the company's aircraft and overseas vessels.
Buenos Aires to Asuncion, Paraguay route
Two exploratory flights were conducted to survey the route between Buenos Aires and Asunción, Paraguay. On 3 April 1928, Peter Ficarelli departed from the General Pacheco Aerodrome in Buenos Aires in a Bréguet XIV (Renault 300 hp) biplane. After a stopover at the Aeroclub Rosario, he continued over the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Chaco and Formosa, noting existing airfields and flying clubs that could serve as potential landing sites. On 31 October 1928, Paul Vachet, the company's chief of traffic, departed General Pacheco Aerodrome in a Bréguet XIV biplane at 07:00 carrying copies of the newspaper La Prensa and arrived at Asunción Airport in Paraguay at 18:00, confirming the final alignment of the route between Buenos Aires and Asunción.
On 1 January 1929, Aeroposta Argentina began airmail and passenger services, operating without formal authorization. At 06:00, two Latécoère 25 (Renault 450 hp) monoplanes departed from General Pacheco Aerodrome.
One of the aircraft, no. 619 (registration F-AIFX), was flown by Paul Vachet and Peter Ficarelli and carried as passengers Lidia Vachet, engineer Padilla (a company director), and mechanic Gutiérrez. The other aircraft, no. 631 (registration F-AIJZ), named "Colonel Bogado", was flown by Argentine pilot Leonardo Selvetti and carried mechanic Ferrando, passenger Di Sandro, a small quantity of mail and copies of the newspaper "La Prensa".
After a stop in Corrientes, both aircraft landed at the military airport of Campo Grande, Paraguay, where authorities and a large crowd were present. As the Argentine government had not granted the necessary authorization, the mail carried on these flights was not officially dispatched, and the journeys are regarded as trial airmail flights.
Following amendments to the Regulations on Navigation on Argentine Territory, the national government granted the necessary authorization on 27 February 1929. On 22 March 1929, at 06:00, Pedro Ficarelli departed from General Pacheco Aerodrome in a Latécoère 25, making the first official postal flight from Argentina.
Pedro Ficarelli was killed near Asunción, Paraguay, on 16 August 1929, when the Latécoère 25 no. 619 (registration F-AIFX) he was flying collided with a mountain in dense fog.
Buenos Aires – Mendoza – Santiago de Chile route
To identify routes for crossing the Andes, which extend along much of South America, Jean Mermoz and his mechanic Alexandre Collenot undertook test flights between Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. These flights began on 19 November 1928 and continued until 9 March 1929. Operating a Latécoère 25 (no. 603, registration F-AIEH), they flew westward via Mendoza. During one flight, they made an emergency landing on a narrow mountain ledge and, after adjusting the engine carburettor, were able to take off and reach Copiapó, Chile.
The experience led them to conclude that the Potez 25 was better suited to the airmail route between Argentina and Chile across the Andes because of its climb performance, which was necessary for high-altitude operations. Five aircraft were acquired and registered as F-AJDX (no. 1520), F-AJDY (no. 1521), F-AIDZ (no. 1522), F-AJZR (no. 2035) and F-AJZS (no. 2036).
On 14 July 1929, Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet conducted the first airmail flight from Santiago de Chile to Mendoza in a Potez 25. On 13 June 1930, Guillaumet crashed a Potez 25 (registration F-AJDZ) on the frozen surface of Laguna del Diamante. He was found on 20 June by 14-year-old Juan García after walking out of the Andes. García was later awarded the Legion of Honour for his role in the rescue. This period of Aeroposta Argentina's history is depicted in Wings of Courage, an IMAX film by French director Jean-Jacques Annaud.James, Caryn. Wings of Courage: High Over the Andes, In Enormous Goggles (1995 Film Review), The New York Times, April 21, 1995. Retrieved: September 28, 2012.
Buenos Aires – Bahía Blanca – Comodoro Rivadavia route