AeroSur (legally incorporated as Compañía Boliviana de Transporte Aéreo Privado Aerosur, S.A.)"DOE Accepted Carriers." Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Retrieved on January 23, 2011. was the second largest privately owned airline in Bolivia, headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It operated a domestic and international flight network from its main hub at Viru Viru International Airport to major cities in Bolivia and destinations in South America, the United States and Spain."Contact Information ." AeroSur. Retrieved on February 27, 2010. "Central Office Santa Cruz de la Sierra Dirección: Av. Irala # 61" Founded in April 1992 taking advantage of the deregulation of Bolivia's air transport, it started flying on 24 August that year between Santa Cruz and Potosí.
For most of its operational history, AeroSur's main fleet was the Boeing 727-200. The airline even operated the type for its services to Miami, requiring a refueling stop due to its range. They were gradually replaced with more modern Boeing 737 aircraft. Additionally, the airline operated single Boeing 747 and 767 aircraft for its long-haul destinations to North America and Europe.
In 2008, AeroSur became Bolivia's flag carrier following the demise of the country's main airline, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, which ceased operations in 2010. In 2012, the airline declared bankruptcy and ceased operations shortly afterward; it had 1,200 employees at the time.
History Establishment and early operations AeroSur was established in April 1992, following the deregulation of the Bolivian airline market, which had been previously controlled by the then state-owned airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), Bolivia's flag carrier, which had been in service since 1925, making it South America's second oldest airline.
On August 24, 1992, AeroSur commenced its operations with an inaugural flight between Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Potosí using a Let L-410 Turbojet short-range aircraft. During the first year of its operations, the airline had carried around 400,000 passengers. Regular revenue flights on regional routes soon followed as the airline then acquired several Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner and British Aerospace 146 aircraft. Over the following years, AeroSur acquired larger Boeing 727-200 airliners, which allowed the airline to expand its network of operations by adding international flights and helped the airline increase the number of passengers transported.
Expansion
During the 2000s AeroSur renewed and expanded its fleet, introducing larger aircraft of the types Boeing 747 and Boeing 757, which made the inauguration of long-haul flights possible. In 2002, President Hugo Banzer declared the airline the flag carrier of the Republic of Bolivia (línea aérea bandera); in that same year AeroSur became the first airline in Bolivia to offer business and first class flights. In 2004, AeroSur started to operate nostalgic flights with a Douglas C-117 to tourist destinations such as the Salar de Uyuni and Rurrenabaque, both of which are internationally recognized.
When Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano went bankrupt in 2007, AeroSur became the largest airline of Bolivia and the only one with intercontinental flights (to Central and North America as well as to Europe). In 2009, the domestic fleet of aging Boeing 727s was replaced by second-hand, though more modern, Boeing 737 Classic airliners, and looked to start a Peruvian subsidiary, however that project was suspended indefinitely.
The subsidiary dubbed AeroSur Paraguay was planned to operate two Boeing 737-200 aircraft of mainline AeroSur. The further development of the project was postponed in mid-2009 pending Paraguayan governmental approval, and later deferred indefinitely. In 2010, AeroSur added five new aircraft to its fleet: three Boeing 737-300s, one Boeing 737-400 and a Boeing 767-200ER.
Bankruptcy On March 31, 2012, the airline suspended operations because of unpaid taxes, but resumed all flights on April 6, except for its Madrid route. AeroSur had used a 747 leased from Virgin Atlantic on that route but had returned it to the lessor. The airline planned to resume that route with an ex-Aerolíneas Argentinas 747-400. Ultimately, AeroSur struggled to keep its operations running smoothly and returned its 767 aircraft to the lessor.
On May 17, 2012 AeroSur suspended all its flights again, and other airlines such as state-owned Boliviana de Aviación began to fill the void left by AeroSur. The airline was in talks with potential US investor William Petty who signed a memorandum of understanding to invest up to US$15 million in the Bolivian carrier. AeroSur's air operator's certificate was revoked on July 20, 2012. A group of former employees, as well as William Petty, planned to create a new airline called TU Aerolínea, but as of 2018 nothing had resulted from that venture.
Subsidiaries AeroSur Paraguay AeroSur Paraguay was a brand of its parent company, which was trying to become a future airline based at the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Asunción, Paraguay, and was to be a subsidiary of the Bolivian airline.http://www.ultimahora.com/home/index.php?p=nota&idNota=39239 Unfortunately, the brand could never be consolidated as one legitimate and legally operational airline; it only became the name for one of the Bolivian airline's aircraft that has already been withdrawn from its fleet due to the financial problems that afflicted one of the most important private airlines in Bolivia in recent years.
AeroSur Cargo AeroSur had freight transport service nationwide and international with direct shipments. AeroSur did not operate any dedicated cargo aircraft, but used the cargo holds of its passenger aircraft for network-wide freight transport.
Destinations Prior to its shutdown, AeroSur operated a comprehensive network of domestic flights to major cities in Bolivia as well as international destinations in South America and long-haul flights to Miami and Madrid. The airline operated a main hub at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Fleet Last fleet
As of November 2011, the AeroSur fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
+ AeroSur fleetAircraftInservicePassengersRoutesNotesFBETotalBoeing 727-2001012138150DomesticBoeing 737-3004012114126Domestic, AmericanBoeing 747-40011458379451Madridleased from Virgin AtlanticTotal6
Fleet development Over the years, AeroSur operated the following aircraft types:
AircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotesAero Commander 50011998Airbus A330-200120062008Operated by Air CometBritish Aerospace 146-100219921996British Aerospace 146-200219931995Beechcraft Baron119921993Boeing 727-100719952005Boeing 727-2001320012012Boeing 737-200520032012Boeing 737-300520092012Boeing 737-400120102012Boeing 747-100SR120062007Leased from Logistic AirBoeing 747-300120082010Leased from Air Atlanta IcelandicBoeing 747-400120092012Leased from Virgin AtlanticBoeing 757-200420062010Leased from Ryan International AirlinesBoeing 767-200ER220082012Dornier 228120032004Leased from AeroconDouglas C-117120042008Leased from Líneas Aéreas CanedoFairchild Swearingen Metroliner919921998Let L-410419921997Piper PA-31 Navajo11993Piper PA-34 Seneca11993Yakovlev Yak-40319952003 The 747 aircraft were often given a bull-themed livery, for which those aircraft were sometimes dubbed "Torisimo" or "Super Torisimo."
Accidents and incidents On 31 December 1997, an AeroSur Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (registered CP-2321) was substantially damaged when it veered off the runway at Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport. The two pilots had lost control of the aircraft during takeoff run. There were no notable injuries among the 18 passengers on board.
Awards and recognitions 2008: Named Most Powerful Brand among Bolivian airlines by PricewaterhouseCoopers.History of AeroSur at aerosur.com 2009: Awarded one Bizz Award as Inspiring Company.
Contributions
AeroSur greatly supported sports, especially football, where it created the Copa Aerosur and la Copa AeroSur del Sur, and in mid-2009 the AeroSur Futsal Cup was organized for the first time, featuring CRE and AeroSur from Bolivia, River Plate of Argentina and President Hayes of Paraguay. Aerosur, the host team, won.
A preserved Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation nicknamed Avion Pirata was painted with the AeroSur livery, although it never entered in service with the airline.
Many street signs in Cochabamba, such as the signs for C. Mexico street, were financed by AeroSur and to this day still bear the airline's name.
References
External links