1964). Colombia’s first second-level airline is formed at Bogota in August 1954 to operate domestic and regional services with a fleet of 3 Curtiss C-46 Commandos. Daily revenue flights commence in December over routes to Barranquilla, Cartagena, Medellin, and Cali.
A Fairchild C-82 Packet is acquired in March 1956 and during the first quarter, a C-46 is equipped with Palas/JATO jets for difficult operations. After two years of start-up operations, the company initiates flights from Bogota-Leticia-Riberalta-Cochabamba on April 19. The rocket-assisted Commando crashes at Bogota on June 26. Without the traffic to make it economically viable, the new Colombia-Bolivia route is suspended on November 3.
In early 1957, LAC orders three Vickers Viscounts and is awarded a U. S. CAB foreign air carrier permit for Miami operations. Later in the year, as financial problems continue, the Viscount order is cancelled and a new government begins to question the company’s various route awards.
The company is reorganized in 1958 and sold to its employees, who unsuccessfully seek another buyer. En route from Barranquilla to Miami on June 26, a C-46A with 3 crew and 20 passengers, makes a forced landing at Puerto Columbia, Colombia; there are no fatalities.
The domestic network is maintained during the next seven years against stiff well-funded competition from AVIANCA Colombian Airlines (Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia, S. A.).
Flight 503, a C-46D with 7 crew and 44 passengers en route from Miami, crashes at Bogota’s Eldorado Airport on April 19, 1960 (37 dead).
The contest with AVIANCA Colombian eventually proves unequal and LAC is faced with very unattractive prospects by late 1964. In February 1965, the Colombian government withdraws the carrier’s Miami authority and follows this drastic action with cancellation of its operating certificate during the fall.
LACSA (LINEAS AEREAS COSTARRICENCES, S. A.): Apartado 1531, La Uruca, San Jose, 1000, Costa Rica; Phone (506) 290-2727; Fax (506) 232-4178; Http://www. flylatinamerica. com/acc_lacsa. html; Code LR; Year Founded 1945. Pan American Airways (PAA),
The Costa Rican government (20%), and local private interests (40%) form this carrier at San Jose on October 17, 1945; the American major’s shareholding is 40%. In the late January 1946, the first company aircraft, a Douglas DC-3, is received on lease from COPA (Compania Pana-mena de Aviacion, S. A.) and it is employed to fly a San Jose-Parrita demonstration flight on June 1. Service with the machine continues between summer and fall.
On November 27, the DC-3 with 3 crew and 20 passengers crashes near San Jose while on initial approach to the capital’s airport; there are no survivors.
The public outcry later in the year and early 1947 occasioned by the loss of the COPA Douglas delays the further start-up of flight activities. A replacement DC-3 lands into the sea off the Ecuadorian island of San-tay on January 22; there are no fatalities among those aboard.
In early summer joint flights begin to Managua in cooperation with another PAA affiliate, LANICA (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua, S. A.), which supplies the DC-3. At the same time, the carrier begins to receive new fleet elements: a C-47, a pair of DC-3s, a Consolidated C-46D, and a pair of Beech 18s. These are used to begin domestic flights and on August 16, service to Panama City.
The government commandeers LACSA’s three Douglas transports upon the outbreak of the March 12, 1948 revolution, the leadership employing them to flee to Nicaragua on April 24. As a result of this development, the carrier is forced to limit operations. Although the airline is recompensed by the new Costa Rican government, it has no aircraft until four Curtiss C-46 Commandos can be purchased.
The DC-3s in Nicaragua are repatriated in 1949, but are later sold in Miami. The new Curtiss fleet maintains increasingly reliable domestic services as the carrier regains strength. During the year, LACSA is designated as the national flag carrier and is authorized to open foreign routes, including services to the U. S. cities of Miami, New Orleans, and Brownsville. The U. S. CAB, however, balks at San Jose’s largess and only permits service to Miami. Still, new international routes are started in 1950 to Panama City, Havana, Miami, Mexico City, and San Salvador.
A longtime rival now politically out of favor, the pioneer TACA de Costa Rica, S. A. is purchased on June 2, 1952 and integrated; among the assets thus acquired are 4 DC-3s and a route network of 20 domestic stops. One of the new Douglas transports, with 3 crew and 11 passengers en route from Palmar Sur Airport, crashes in the San Ramon Mountains near San Isidro del General on June 15, 1953; there are no survivors. On August 7, the PAA shareholding is reduced to 36%.
The first pressurized airliners to fly for any Central American airline are two Convair CV-340s placed in service by LACSA on March 5, 1954; the C-46s are diverted to new duties, primarily cargo. Grand Cayman is authorized as a scheduled destination during the year.
LACSA’s DC-3s are employed in government support during an abortive January 1955 coup attempt. In February, the subsidiary Cayman Brac Airways, Ltd. is established to provide Cessna T-50 service to the Cayman Islands on routes leased from British West Indies Airlines, Ltd. (2) (BWIA).
San Jose-Panama City-Cura9ao-San Juan CV-340 service is initiated in February 1956; uneconomical, the new route will be dropped within a year.
Other operations, however, continue without change or incident in 1957-1959. Flight 19, a DC-3 freighter with three crew, is lost at San Isidoro, Costa Rica, on August 15 of the latter year (one dead).
A C-46 with 32 aboard crashes while landing at Bogota on April 19, 1960; there are no survivors. On June 25, a DC-3 crashes near San Jose (one dead). Two ex-PAA DC-6Bs are introduced on the international routes in 1961, replacing the CV-340s. On June 1, 1964, PAA shareholding is reduced to 33%.
On January 19, 1966, an order is placed for a single BAC 1-11-409, with an option. The BAC 1-11-409 is received in early May 1967 and is christened El Tico; it begins revenue flights on May 14 from San Jose to Miami. The jetliner cuts two hours off the DC-6B time.
Cayman Brac Airways, Ltd. is reorganized by the Cayman Islands government and LACSA, becoming Cayman Airways, Ltd. While en route to Miami on October 9, two passengers are killed and six hurt when the El Tico hits clear air turbulence over Nicaragua.
Airline employment in 1968 totals 473 and the fleet comprises 2 BAC 1-11-409s, 2 DC-6Bs, 2 CV-340s, 3 C-46s, and 1 DC-3.
Following the sale of El Tico to TACA International Airlines, S. A. in September 1969, the second BAC 1-11-409, taken up on option and leased to two other carriers after its inaugural flight on February 14, is delivered on charter in November.
En route from Puerto Limon to San Jose on December 23, a C-46 with 3 crew and 30 passengers, is captured by a lone hijacker, who orders the aircraft flown to Cuba. The pilot persuades the gunman to let the passengers deplane at an intermediate stop before proceeding to Havana.
Enplanements this year reach 193,579.
The workforce is increased 13% in 1970 to 544 as the number of C-46s drops to 3. An order is placed for three BAC 1-11-531s.
On September 14, the Costa Rican investment firm Aero Transportes Internacionales, S. A. purchases Pan Am’s remaining 33% shareholding.
En route from Limon to San Jose on October 21, a C-46 with 44 passengers is captured by five men and two women passengers, who demand that it be diverted to San Andres Island for refueling. There they steal a smaller aircraft and flee to Cuba.
Passenger boardings jump 21.3% to 245,971 and freight traffic is up 7.8%.
The Grand Cayman-Miami and Kingston routes are transferred to Cayman Airways, Ltd. in 1971 as LACSA opens a new service to Caracas via Barranquilla and Maracaibo. The first BAC 1-11-531 arrives in June and is christened Arenal. It replaces the Dash-409 on the international frequencies from San Jose to Mexico City or Miami.
Airline employment stands at 750 in 1972 and the fleet includes 10 aircraft: 2 Curtiss C-46As, 1 BAC 1-11-409, 2 CV-440s, 3 BAC 1-11531s, and 2 DC-6Bs. Jetliner service is now available from San Jose to Barranquilla, Maracaibo, and Caracas. The second BAC 1-11-531, Poas, arrives on November 6.
Passenger bookings jump 10.3% to 299,000 and freight traffic is up a slight 2.3%.
Enplanements in 1973 total 333,216. This rise comes in spite of the fact that the previously operated route from Grand Cayman to Miami and Kingston is now operated by Cayman Airways, Ltd. using the BAC 1-11-531 Arenal chartered from LACSA and given the name Cayman Progress. Meanwhile, on May 14, the third BAC 1-11-531 enters service as the Barracuda. A former Paninternational Airways, mbH. & Co. BAC 1-11-531 is acquired in December and is christened Arenal.
The BAC 1-11-409 is returned to the U. K. in January 1974. Passenger boardings increase 19.9% to 416,000 and cargo climbs 14.3%.
The employee population in 1975 totals 886. Two Lockheed L-188 Electra freighters, including one first flown by Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) , are ordered late in the year to join a fleet that now includes 3 BAC 1-11-531s, 2 DC-6Bs, 1 DC-3,2 C-46s, and 2 CV-340s.
Passenger bookings rise 5.3% to 423,000 and cargo accelerates 4.5%.
The workforce is reduced 7.9% to 816 in 1976. On June 1, the former PSA L-188A, converted to AF status, joins the C-46s on the all-cargo service to Miami, replacing the DC-6Bs, which are now retired.
Freight skyrockets 53.67% while passenger traffic is up only a slight 0.24% with 425,000 passengers carried.
Ownership of the carrier is reconfigured in 1977; shareholders are now the Costa Rican government (8.52%), local government and private interests (81.11%), and an employee association (10.37%). Dr. A. Pena Chavarria is named chairman of the 860-employee company.
Revenue services continue as before. First flown by Western Airlines and converted to freighter status, an L-188CF is acquired for the company’s growing air cargo business.
Enplanements drop to 358,000.
The CV-340s and C-46s are retired in 1978 and the ex-PSAL-188AF is sold to Hawaiian Airlines. When Pan American World Airways (1)
Transfers its Central American hub from Guatemala to Miami, opportunity exists in the Central American market for expansion. Simultaneously, a 900% devaluation of Costa Rica’s currency leads to a drop in operating costs.
Although bookings dip by another 1,000 to 357,000, cargo grows 8.3% and a net $531,000 profit is realized.
In an effort to increase tourism and earn hard foreign currency, a liberal aviation bilateral is signed by Costa Rica with the U. S. in 1979; the arrangement allows protection for LACSA from competition on its route to Miami. Four Boeing 727-200As are ordered and BAC 1-11-531 scheduled routes are started to New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Cancun. In September, the domestic subsidiary SANSA (Servicios Aereos Na-cionales, S. A.) is formed by the carrier (51%) and the government (49%).
Late in the year, SANSA’s commuter operations are launched with a fleet of 2 DC-3s and 2 CASAC-212s.
Passenger boardings are up 7.1% to 360,000 and freight shows a 4.2% increase. Revenues jump 17.5% to $37.1 million, but expenses, including dramatically increased fuel costs, advance 18.8% to $36.9 million. The previous net profit is thus turned into a $220,000 loss.
The workforce is reduced by 6.6% in 1980 to 995. Two B-727-2Q6As arrive and are placed in service, allowing the L-188CF to be withdrawn. To ease the financially weak airline’s move to competition from monopoly, protection of the airline’s Miami route is continued for another two years under a letter of understanding signed between the U. S. and Costa Rican governments.
The world economic situation and rising fuel costs force enplane-ments down to 244,375. Expenses outrun revenues by 4.2%, resulting in an operating loss of $936,000 and a net downturn of $813,000.
A third B-727-2Q6Ais delivered in 1981, replacing the three BAC 1-11531s, two of which are sold by year’s end to Dan Air, Ltd./Dan Air Services and one of which remains leased to Cayman Airways, Ltd. On October 30, Nicaraguan rightists hijack a BAC 1-11-409 with 19 aboard, demanding the release of seven Nicaraguan prisoners in Costa Rica. After releasing all of the hostages, except for the plane’s two pilots, in exchange for six willing prisoners, the aircraft is flown to El Salvador, where officials detain both the pirates and their newly freed colleagues.
A DC-8-55F freighter is also received and as a result, cargo gains 2.8%. Passenger boardings, however, dip again, falling 5.9% to 325,189. Revenues accelerate 16.6% to $54.7 million and expenses grow only 7.3% to $51.3 million, allowing profits: $2.98 million (operating) and $2.9 million (net).
The company’s fiscal improvement allows the workforce to be increased 11.9% in 1982 to 1,112. The carrier’s administrative functions are computerized and service is inaugurated to San Pedro Sula, as a fourth B-727-2Q6A joins the fleet. The U. S.-Costa Rica market surges and, for a period of nine months ending in July, LACSA’s market share actually reaches a high of 61%.
When TACA International Airlines, S. A. is revitalized, LACSA loses its fifth-freedom rights over El Salvador to the U. S.
Passenger bookings rise 6.4% to 364,302 and cargo is up 2.7% to 21.9 million FTKs. Revenues jump 21.7% to $66.6 million and expenses rise 15.7% to $59.8 million. The operating profit doubles to $6.7 million, but the net income falls by about $800,000 to $3.12 million.
Airline employment rises 7.6% in 1983 to 1,200. Returned from Cayman Airways, Ltd., the BAC 1-11-531 that it had flown as Cayman
Progress is sold and a second DC-8-55F is acquired. Joint flights commence in April with VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, S. A.). In the face of heavy traffic declines, the SANSA (Servicios Aereos Nacionales, S. A.) subsidiary is reorganized in May, its two CASA C-212s being sold and replaced with three Cessna 306s.
Overall passenger boardings fall 19.8% to 320,368 while freight soars 13.4% to 24.67 million FTKs. Revenues total $63.7 million.
Staff layoffs ensue in 1984, primarily at SANSA (Servicios Aereos Nacionales, S. A.), dropping the workforce to 990. Orders are placed for two B-757-200s.
Passenger bookings dip 4.8% to 294,000, but freight jumps 36.6% to 33.72 million FTKs. Losses are again suffered: $2.7 million (operating) and $9.2 million (net).
Airline employment declines another 1.9% in 1985 to 943. Direct San Jose-Orlando flights commence.
Passenger enplanements dip 0.8% to 291,189. Revenues rise 2.3% to $61.9 million and expenses fall 8.1% to $58.1 million; although a $3.75-million operating profit is generated, another net loss is taken: $2.85 million.
The payroll is increased 3.5% in 1986 to 976 and the fleet includes 3 B-727-2Q6As and 1 DC-6.
Customer bookings accelerate 5.8% to 326,739 and cargo is up 20.7% to 29.43 million FTKs. Revenues swell 6.7% to $64.8 million and with expenses gaining only 0.9%, the operating profit is able to improve to $2.39 million, but the net gain falls to $72,000.
The employee layoffs commence again in 1987 as 36 positions are cut (a 3.7% decline). Two B-727-100s are acquired. In late fall, government ownership is reduced from a third to 5% as a number of Japanese investors, operating through the local investment company Agraexport and Costa Rican concerns, purchase significant shareholding.
In addition, the Sanyo Oil group directly acquires a 4.6% stake. Briefly dismissed by the company, longtime Director General Luis Casafont returns to his office in December.
Although passenger boardings are up only 2.6% to 313,042, freight ascends by 24.9% to 31.02 million FTKs.
The workforce grows in 1988, rising a healthy 22.3% to 1,150; again, there are no fleet changes. In January, the company contracts to carry the traffic of Challenge International Airlines between Miami and San Jose.
On May 23, a B-727-22 with 10 crew and 16 passengers fails to lift off from the runway at San Jose. It overruns the end of the runway and goes through a fence, crosses a ditch, crashes into a hill, and catches fire; although the wreck must be written off, there are no fatalities.
Customer bookings shoot up 14.5% to 358,424 and cargo climbs 6.9% to 33.17 million FTKs. Revenues reach $78.84 million and expenses are $78.04 million; the operating profit is $801,000, but a net loss of $3.32 million is suffered.
Company employment is cut by 13.4% in 1989 to 996 and the fleet now includes 2 B-727-212As, 2 B-727-2Q6As, 1 B-727-100, and 1 DC-8-55F. Orders are placed for three Airbus Industrie A320-212s and two A310-300s. In a decade, dependence upon the U. S. market has increased from 30% of sales to 49%. For the same period, passenger enplanements are level and on total revenues of more than $760 million, the airline has lost $9 million. Throughout most of the year, the company battles a proposed entry into the Miami-San Jose market by American Airlines.
The debate reaches a point where the U. S. government announces its plan to restrict LACSA’s route access to U. S. markets. As a result, Costa Rican officials drop their resistance and American begins its service in December.
Passenger boardings jump 11.8% to 400,859, but freight slips 0.5% to 33 million FTKs. Revenues are $90.88 million and costs total $88.06 million; although there is an operating profit of $2.82 million, there is also a net loss of $1.66 million.
The employee population remains the same in 1990. The joint leasing venture GATX/CL Air delivers an Airbus Industrie A320-212 in December; when it is placed into service, the Costa Rican airline becomes the first in Latin America to operate the type.
Customer bookings move ahead by 6.1% to 425,850 and cargo rises 18.2% to 39.23 million FTKs. Revenues total $103.32 million, but expenses are $103.84 million; as a result, there is an operating loss of $524,000 and a net downturn of $2.56 million.
The payroll is cut 11.7% in 1991 to 1,100 and the fleet now features 4 leased A320-212s, 2 B-727-2Q6As that are leased to Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V., 1 B-727-212A, and 1 CASA C-212-200 Aviocar chartered to the domestic operator SANSA (Servicios Aereos Na-cionales, S. A. de C. V.). The A310-300 order is still pending.
Daily flights begin from Cancun to New York in March and in July, twice-weekly service is inaugurated from San Jose to Los Angeles via Acapulco.
Passenger boardings ascend 9.4% to 465,674, but freight declines by 7.4% to 36.14 million FTKs. Revenues total $109.04 million.
The number of workers drops another 9.5% in 1992 to 996 as a 5th leased A320-212 is delivered. A 10% interest is sold to TACA International Airline, S. A.’s TACA Group. Under terms of the agreement, the two companies begin joint purchasing, fleet rationalization, and cooperation in such support services as ground handling, catering, and maintenance. Under leadership from the San Salvador-based carrier, TACA Group will come to comprise six members.
Statistics are provided only through May, but these show customer bookings up 58.6% to 262,496 and cargo rises 12.9% to 15.95 million FTKs. Revenues total $127.2 million and an operating surplus of $500,000 is recorded. Unhappily, so too is a net loss of $1.6 million.
In 1993, Chairman/President Mario Quiros Lara oversees an employee population of 1,100, up 10.4% over the previous year, and a fleet of 6 chartered A320-212s, 2 each B-737-2L9As and CASA C-212-200 Aviocars, and 1 B-737-242A. International markets served from San Jose include Barranquilla, Cancun, Caracas, El Salvador, Guatemala, Los Angeles, Maracaibo, Mexico City, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Panama City, and San Pedro Sula. Again, only partial year figures are made public.
Through August, passenger boardings of up 3.8% to 568,241, but freight is off by 4% to 20.97 million FTKs. Revenues reach $141.18 million.
One A320-212 is returned in 1994, as four leased A320-233s take its place. TACA Group begins to refine its infrastructure. Hubs are established in San Salvador for traffic headed to North America and San Jose for southbound TACA Group passengers. A secondary hub is also set up at Guatemala City.
Customer bookings, reported through June, are ahead by 14.3% to 341,093 while cargo is up 22.5% to 21.84 million FTKs.
There is no change in the size of the workforce in 1995, just as there had been none a year earlier. An A320-233 is leased to LADECO Chilean Airlines, S. A. between January and March to fly that carrier’s international services to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The U. S. reservations centers of the TACA Group members are consolidated in a single El Salvador facility.
Although enplanements dip 1.9% through the first half to 334.689, cargo inches ahead by 0.6% to 21.97 million FTKs. During the summer, four B-737-200s are leased from TACA International Airlines, S. A. Three are repainted in full LACSA colors while one wears TACA livery with LACSA titles.
Airline employment climbs 4.5% in 1996 to 1,150. Two Airbus A320-233s are subleased from TACA International Airlines, S. A. During the year, American Airlines begins discussions with the TACA Group concerning a possible strategic alliance. By the end of the year, TACA Group operates an impressive international route network with 14 destinations in Central America, 12 in South America, 3 in Mexico, and 8 in the U. S.
Full year traffic figures show that 868,872 passengers are carried and 42.41 million FTKs operated.
The employee population declines 4.3% in 1997 to 1,100. From its base at San Jose, the company visits Barranquilla, Cancun, Caracas, El Salvador, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Havana, Liberia, Lima, Los
Angeles, Managua, Mexico City, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Panama City, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, San Pedro Sula, Santiago, and Tegucigalpa.
During the spring, TACA Group signs a code-sharing pact with American Airlines.
LAC inaugurates thrice-weekly roundtrip service from San Jose to Toronto via Havana, on July 2. In so doing, it becomes the only airline to offer scheduled service from Cuba to North America. The company also starts flights to Buenos Aires, Bogota, and Santo Domingo in August, September, and November, respectively.
During the fall, a number of company aircraft are repainted in a new TACA Group livery, which features a white fuselage and a blue tail, with a red vertical slash over which appears a logo consisting of five golden macaws, which represent the group members.
Thrice-daily roundtrip service to Dallas (DFW) from San Salvador, San Jose, and Guatemala City begins in December.
Passenger boardings increase by 4.2% to 833,488, while freight soars 29% to 50.59 million FTKs.
At the beginning of 1998, LACSA flies the longest A320 route currently operated in regularly scheduled service; the service is the 2,500nm. nonstop segment from Guayaquil to Rio de Janeiro. Another long-haul A320 route is the 2,200-nm. route from Guatemala to San Francisco, with a flight time in excess of 6 hours.
On January 10, Flight 691, an A320-233 with 122 passengers, veers off the runway at San Francisco at full speed during takeoff in heavy rain at 1 a. m. on a flight to Guadalajara. The aircraft blows an engine and comes to rest in a field of mud; no one is injured and the passengers are taken to a nearby hotel to spend the night while a replacement aircraft is dispatched. Meanwhile, the airport’s longest runway is closed for several hours.
On behalf of the TACA Group, LACSA, on April 1, inaugurates thrice-weekly B-737-200 roundtrips between Santo Domingo and Havana, Cuba.
Airbus Industrie achieves a historic victory over its Boeing competitors in April when it signs a gigantic South American consortium purchase agreement. Under its terms, TACA Group, including TACA International Airlines, S. A., SAHSA (Servicio Aereo de Honduras, S. A.), NICA (Nicaraguenses de Aviacion, S. A.), LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, S. A.), and Aviateca (Aerolineas de Guatemala, S. A.) promises to take 32 firm A320 family planes, plus 32 options.
Other participants are TAM (Transportes Aereos Regionais, S. A.), on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries, which agrees to acquire 38 firm A320 family aircraft, with 37 options and LanChile Airlines, S. A., which will take 20 A320 family aircraft, with 20 options.
Arriving in bad weather at Havana on May 5 after a service from San Jose, Costa Rica, Flight 622, a B-737-200 with 6 crew and 63 passengers, departs the runway during its landing roll; although the aircraft is badly damaged, no injuries are reported.
During the year’s second half, the company’s operations are largely undertaken under the banner of TACA Group, which continues to be led by TACA International Airlines, S. A.
Customer bookings accelerate 12% to 743,000, while cargo traffic increases 75.6% to 38.79 million.
Airline employment at the beginning of 1999 stands at 1,100. En-planements total 923,000 and 77.15 million FTKs are operated.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 1,364, a 24% increase over the previous 12 months.
Service from San Jose to Orlando is cancelled on January 21; although the carrier advises officials at the Florida airport that service will be resumed by February 3, it is not.
Due to safety concerns and its inability to measure up to ICAO standards, the FAA downgrades El Salvador to Category 2 status during June. Grupo TACA’s core airline TACA International Airlines, S. A. now faces a freeze on its U. S. operations, including its alliance with American Airlines, forcing the Group to shift much of its international operational emphasis to its partners COPA (Compania Panamena de
Aviacion, S. A,) and LACSA. LACSA is now able to shoulder more of the load because, in July, Costa Rica is upgraded to Category 1.
LADE (LINEAS AEREAS DEL ESTADO): Peru 714, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Phone 54 (1) 361-7071; Fax 54 (1) 362-4899; Http://www. alde. com. ar; Code LD; Year Founded 1940. Following a series of proving Buenos Aires-Esquel flights, the Fuerza Aerea Argentina (the nation’s air force) consolidates the pattern into a regular route and forms a special commercial air transport arm on June 19, 1940 to provide service from the capital to the southern Argentine mountain resort community. Employing a single Junkers Ju-52/3m, LASO (Linea Aerea Suroeste), the military unit designated to fly the route, begins operations on September 4, flying weekly via Santa Rosa, Neuquen, and Bariloche. The frequency is soon there after advanced to twice weekly.
Following an exploratory flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls, it is decided that this remote, but economically desirable area, also be opened to air service. Regularly scheduled operations commence on September 20, 1943 and prove so successful that another division of the air force transport arm is created in honor of the route, LANE (Linea Aerea Nor-Este), on January 6, 1944. This division is subdivided on December 15, when a special small plane mail and express route is developed, SADE (Servicio Aeropostales del Estado). Another subdivision occurs the same day when thrice-daily flights are initiated from the capital to Mar del Plata by Servicio a Mar del Plata. Additional Ju-52/3ms are acquired.
On May 15, 1945, LANE is requested to extend its route first to Clorinda on the Paraguay River and then to offer service westward to Posadas and hence to Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena via Resistencia. Late in the year, the LASO and LANE units are combined into a single air force-run commercial air transport division, LADE (Lineas Aereas del Estado); SADE and Servicio a Mar del Plata are retained as subsidiary-equivalents and several former Air France Dewoitine D-338s join the fleet.
Following the 1946 creation of several government-backed joint-stock companies designed to assert local control over the nation’s commercial air industry, the government, by a January 21, 1947, transfers LADE’s routes to the new entrants. Between 1940 and 1947, the various lines of the special Argentine military air transport unit have carried a combined total of 31,071 passengers.
By the same edict that has transferred its routes, LADE is now directed to provide essential air service to small areas not served by the commercial carriers and to develop, by experimental flights, new routes that might be developed for exploitation by the civilian carriers.
Over the next quarter century, as commercial operators come to provide coverage to most major cities and towns, LADE’s service area moves gradually south of the capital. There are occasional operational failures. For example, a Vickers Viking Mk. 1B with 17 aboard fails its takeoff from Buenos Aires on January 11, 1957; there are no survivors aboard the aircraft and one person is killed on the ground. Only five months later, on May 13, a second Viking with 16 aboard crashes near Bariloche and again no one walks away.
Several thin Aerolineas Argentinas, S. A. routes are acquired during the spring of 1966, together with that major’s last remaining Douglas DC-3s.
The Fuerza Aerea Argentina takes delivery of seven de Havilland Canada DHC-6-200 Twin Otters in 1968-1969 and painted in full air force livery and titles, is assigned to the domestic service. The first Fokker F.27-400M is delivered in June of the latter year.
An F.27-400M with eight passengers crashes into a 4,500-m.-high mountain near Huaricanga, Peru, on June 10, 1970 (five dead). Flights continue without incident in 1971.
In 1972, with British permission, services are started from Comodoro Rivadavia to Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Two fatal accidents are suffered in mid-decade.
The premier F.27-400M with 52 passengers, crashes near San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, on March 16, 1975; there are no survivors.
While climbing away from El Bolson on August 7, 1977, a DHC-6-200 with four crew and two passengers, crashes into a mountain; there are no survivors.
Late in the decade, President Oscar Araque Angulo’s 1,700-employee unit, headquartered at El Palomar Air Base at Buenos Aires, is serving 31 destinations in the Pategonian region, primarily in the states of Neuquen, Rio Negro, Santa Cruz, Chubut, and Tierra del Fuego.
By 1978, the fleet comprises 5 Fokker F.28-1000C jetliners, 7 DHC-6-200 Twin Otters, 10 Fokker F.27-400M turboprops, and 3 Douglas DC-6Bs. Services continue without change in 1979-1981, primarily from the Comodoro Rivadavia area in the Patagonian region.
The Comodoro Rivadavia-Stanley service is abruptly ended on April 2, 1982 upon the outbreak of war between Argentina and the U. K. Orders are placed for five Fokker F.28-1000C jetliners, the first of which enters service in 1985. Operations continue apace on the mainland through 1988; however, the size of President D. Aly Luis Ipres Corbat’s unit drops to only 450 personnel.
In 1989, the fleet includes 9 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-200 Twin Otters, 7 F.27-400Ms, 3 F.27-600s, 5 F.28-1000C Fellowships, and 1 Lockheed L-382G Hercules freighter.
An F.28-1000C, with 6 crew and 59 passengers fails its takeoff from the snow-covered runway at San Carlos de Bariloche on August 16, strikes an ILS aerial, bounces across a ditch, and comes to rest against a dyke; although the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
Another Fellowship is withdrawn in 1990, followed by an F.27-400M in 1991. Director Corbat’s fleet in 1992 receives two more DHC-6-200s as one F.27-400M is retired.
Operations from El Palomar AFB continue in 1993 to the same 31 Pategonian destinations visited 20 years earlier.
While en route from Maceio on January 31, a B-707-387B with 12 crew and 156 passengers suffers a hydraulics failure and is diverted to Recife; the crew lowers the landing gear manually, but they do not lock in place and collapse as the plane lands. Although the Stratoliner is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
Just as the previous year had provided traffic joy, this one is a disaster. Customer bookings plunge 38.2% to 469,989 and cargo drops 47% to 15 million FTKs. The workforce is reduced to 450; however, operations are suspended at year’s end.
Flights resume in 1994 and traffic continues its nosedive. Passenger boardings fall all the way down to 15,537.
Airline employment is decreased by 3.3% in 1995 to 353.
While landing at Jeremie Airport in Haiti on June 16, a chartered F.27-400M with 4 crew and 31 passengers, suffers the collapse of the left main landing gear; the turboprop runs off the runway and collides with the airport terminal building. There are no fatalities.
On November 9, while en route from Comodoro Rivadavia to Cordoba via Villa Reynolds in bad weather, an F.27-400M with 5 crew and 48 passengers collides with an 8,000-ft. mountain near Villa Dolores; there are no survivors.
Despite the accidents, the company’s fortunes seem to recover along with the return of prosperity to the world’s airline industry. Enplane-ments jump 19.5% to 19,300 and cargo increases by 38.1% to 25,000 FTKs.
The workforce swells 27.5% to 450 in 1996. Traffic figures are only provided for the first quarter, but are promising. Customer bookings are up 16.6% to 6,443.
Passenger boardings for 1997 are reported for the year’s first half. These show a significant 26.9% increase over the same period in 1996, up to 13,393.
Service is maintained in 1998-1999. Enplanements for the latter year total 20,000.
LADECA (LINEAS AEREAS DEL CARIBE, LTDA.): Costa Rica (1967-1971). The San Jose-based air taxi Expreso Aereo Costarri-censes, S. A. is reformed in 1967 and is reborn as this larger all-cargo carrier. A Douglas DC-3 is acquired and services commence to the Colombian free port island of San Andres.
Later in the year, the new concern trades its Douglas to LACSA (Lin-eas Aereas Costarricenses, S. A.) for a larger Curtiss C-46 Commando and also leases a DC-6 from Pan American World Airways (1). The latter is employed to feed passengers to the American major at Panama City. The company is history by 1971.
LADECO CHILEAN AIRLINES (LINEA AEREA DEL COBRE, S. A.): Chile (1958-2001). Nicknamed “The Copper Airline,” LADECO is formed at Santiago de Chile on September 3, 1958 to serve Calama and El Salvador, in the copper-mining region of northern Chile, from a base at Santiago. Owned by the U. S. concern Anaconda, the world’s largest open pit copper mine at Chuquicamata, near Calama, generates sufficient traffic to guarantee success to any entrant.
Major shareholders are the Costabal family (48.78%), Fondo de Asistencia Social LADECO (14.73%), Tierras Amarillas (15.77%), and Agustin Edwards (15.77%). Equipped with two ex-United Air Lines Douglas DC-3s, the new entrant inaugurates revenue services on November 1 over a route to Calama, with stops at Potrerillos and Antofagasta. In December, the domestic route of CINTA (Compania Nacional de Turismo Aereo, S. A.), which had merged with ALA (Sociedad de Transportes Aereos, S. A.) the previous December, is acquired.
Within two years, the carrier acquires two more DC-3s and two Curtiss C-46s and has opened a route south of Santiago to Puerto Montt.
A C-47 with 20 passengers fails its initial climb away from San Jose on June 25, 1960; one person is killed in the subsequent forced landing.
A C-46A with two crew strikes a tree while landing at Palma Sur on November 8 and smashes into the ground; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
A DC-3 freighter with two crew crashes at Cerro del Aernal, C. R. on September 6, 1961; both flyers are killed.
In 1962-1963, Arica, El Salvador, and Iquiqueto are added to the domestic network. Airline employment in 1964 is 1,108. The company joins IATA as an associate member on October 1 and enplanements for the year total 19,000.
The scheduled route network in 1965 includes three southern cities and seven northern mining communities. In addition, many flights are offered on a charter basis. Airline employment totals 65 and the fleet comprises 1 Beech 18, 2 DC-3s, and 2 C-47s.
In 1966, 6 Douglas DC-6Bs are purchased and 1 is leased, allowing operations to begin to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Enplanements total 29,000.
LADECO becomes a full IATA member on December 1, 1967. Airline employment is now 1,201 and bookings are up to 46,312.
Thirty-seven new workers are hired in 1968. Two new domestic routes are granted and construction is started on new facilities at Pu-dahuel International Airport.
While on an April 8 domestic flight, a DC-3 with 3 crew and 33 passengers crashes near Coihaique; there are no survivors.
Enplanements advance to 50,373 and freight is up by 63.6%.
The two new domestic routes are inaugurated in February 1969. Cargo operations are expanded in April, following the delivery of a DC-6A. Enplanements total 56,728.
The Pudahuel facilities are occupied in 1970. Airline employment declines 0.6% to 163. The fleet now comprises 3 DC-6s, 2 DC-3s, and 1 each Beech 65 and 95. Marxist Salvador Allende becomes president on November 4.
Although freight traffic is flat, passenger boardings jump 18.5% to 69,690.
Domestic and Argentine flights continue in 1971.
En route from El Plumerilo to Los Cerrillos on October 19, a DC-6B freighter with three crew, crashes into Mt. Santa Elena, Argentina; there are no survivors.
In 1972, enplanements total 68,289.
The workforce in 1973 is 223. The third and fourth quarters are plagued by political difficulty in the country (culminating in Allende’s September 11 assassination) and as a result, traffic drops sharply.
Customer bookings are down 33.9% to 51,000 and freight is off by 11.5%.
National recovery and national stabilization begins under President Gen. Augusto Pinochet in 1974, during which year the carrier operates 6 DC-6Bs and 1 DC-3. An order is placed for a Boeing jetliner.
Passenger boardings increase a scant 2% to 52,000.
In 1975, a Boeing 727-100 is acquired and an orderly retirement of the DC-6Bs is planned. Domestic routes are extended to Arica and Punta Arenas, allowing LADECO to cover the extremes of the country. Authorization is granted by the free market-oriented Pinochet regime for scheduled twice weekly all-cargo flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the company begins later in the year following receipt of a second B-727-100.
Late in the year, authority is granted for the operation of new non-scheduled cargo flights to a variety of destinations throughout the hemisphere.
Customer bookings accelerate 11.8% to 62,000 and freight traffic is up a healthy 16.7% to 10.67 million FTKs.
Operations continue apace in 1976.
En route from Arica to Santiago on July 5, 1977, a B-727-100 with 60 passengers is hijacked to Lima, Peru. Seeking political asylum, the four perpetrators are allowed to take passage to Cuba.
Enplanements for the year total 93,353.
Employment at President Julio Bouchon’s airline totals 196 in 1978 and another B-727-100 is ordered. Patricio Reich is named executive vice president. Scheduled frequencies are launched to Asuncion, Paraguay, and Sao Paulo, Punta Arenas, and Puerto Montt, Brazil. Passenger boardings zoom upward by 15.7% to 110,738 while freight is up by 28.5% to 8.5 million FTKs.
With another Boeing jetliner on hand by summer 1979, the final DC-6B can be withdrawn. International service is opened to the Argentine cities of Mendoza and Rio de Janeiro via Asuncion and Sao Paulo.
A total of 145,188 customers are transported.
The workforce is increased by 23% in 1980 to 428. A third B-727-100 is placed in service and flights commence to the Chilean towns of Iquique and Balmaceda.
Passenger boardings soar 49.7% to 288,644 while freight traffic advances by 36.9% to 6.2 million FTKs. Revenues accelerate 50% to $43.9 million and net gain registers $1 million.
Three B-737-2E3s are ordered during 1981, with the first entering service by October; feasibility studies for new routes and equipment are conducted.
Enplanements total 436,700, a 51.3% boost, while cargo jumps 28.1% to 7.9 million FTKs. Revenues advance 33.1% to $59.5 million and expenses, though up by 25%, are held to just $54.8 million. Profits generated total $ 4.7 million (operating) and $1.2 million (net).
The world economic situation and rising costs (led by increased fuel costs) impact both profits and traffic in 1982. Passenger boardings decline to 420,000. Highlight of the troubled year is delivery of two B-737-200s in July. The low point is the carrier’s placement into receivership.
Scheduled multistop flights to Miami commence on July 9, 1983 via Guayaquil, Ecuador, and Bogota, Colombia. Bookings decline again, down to 330,500.
The third B-737-2E3 is received in 1984-1985 and as a result, domestic frequencies are increased along the 13-stop network.
Enplanements pick up during the middle 1980s, reaching 373,844 in 1986, during which year the company is reformed into a public corporation.
In mid-October 1987, LADECO, in cooperation with the Chilean Air Force, operates a unique charter service. Three B-727-100s fly adventurous tourists from Santiago de Chile to Punta Arenas, the nation’s southernmost town; there, the visitors board a CAF Lockheed C-130 Hercules for a roundtrip visit to the Marsh Martin Base in Antarctica.
Passenger boardings for the year accelerate 15.2% to 440,853.
The workforce is increased by a huge 31.4% in 1988 to 670 and the fleet now includes 5 owned and 1 leased B-727-100s, 3 B-737-2E3s, and 2 chartered Fokker F.27-500s. Super Class business service is introduced on May 1 with 12 seats so designated on each B-727-100 flight.
In August, an agreement is signed with Ansett Worldwide Services, under which the Chilean carrier will sell 25% of its equity to the Australians in exchange for several cargo jets. The first of two hush-kitted B-707-320C or “Super Q” is delivered in November.
Passenger boardings swell 15.1% to 507,355 and freight skyrockets 142.6% to 32.31 million FTKs. Revenues for the year total $72.6 million and a net gain of $1.6 million is reported.
Company employment rockets ahead by 49.3% in 1989 to 1,000. In January, a second B-707-320B is acquired for General Manager Ernesto Silva’s fleet via the Ansett arrangement. Following the signing of a very liberal U. S.-Chile bilateral air service agreement, which will lead to difficulties for the nation’s airlines later on, new service is added from New York (JFK) to Iquique, Chile, Asuncion, Paraguay, and Santiago de Chile.
The company now visits Bogota, Guayaquil, Mendoza, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro as well as local destinations. A new marketing campaign is undertaken in which the carrier identifies itself as “The First-Classy Airline” and an in-flight magazine, LADECO America, is introduced in March.
In April, a hush-kitted Stratoliner introduces thrice-weekly nonstop roundtrips from Miami to Santiago de Chile. In June, thrice-weekly direct flights begin from New York to Santiago. Following the privatization of LanChile Airlines, S. A. in September by a group led by LADECO Vice President Guillermo Carey and backed by SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System), Carey becomes CEO of LanChile Airlines, S. A. and that carrier’s ousted president, Patricio Supulveda moves over to briefly head up LADECO.
Customer bookings swell 5.8% to 536,782. Cargo rises a huge 40.4% to 45.36 million FTKs. Revenues total $84.2 million; the operating profit is $1.1 million and net gain is $6.4 million.
The workforce is increased another 20% in 1990 to 1,200 and scheduled flights to Buenos Aires commence in January. With 56% of all boarding passengers, the airline is now the leading air transport concern in the Chilean domestic market; in the international arena, LADECO flies 24% of Chilean capacity to the U. S. and 27% to other South American markets. In competition with LanChile Airlines, S. A., LADECO, now under the direction of Gaston Cummins, formerly executive vice president, now offers promotional night fares 40% lower than regular ticket prices.
In June, frequencies to Miami are doubled from two to four per week. The carrier’s extensive scheduled domestic network comes to reach every major city in Chile while Cancun, Mexico City, Havana, Montevideo, and San Jose join the international system. During July, the company acquires a pair of BAC 1-11-207AJs; these replace the F.27-500s.
In July, the company joins with LanChile Airlines, S. A. to go before the Comision Resolutiva Antimonopolios (Chilean Antitrust Commission) to charge American Airlines, which has placed massive capacity and discount fares into the region over the last year, with price dumping. A joint “direct access” agreement is signed with LanChile Airlines, S. A. in August providing use of the System One computerized reservations system. Two B-737-300s are added to the fleet late in the month.
In September, weekly roundtrip Stratoliner flights begin from Washington, D. C. (IAD) to Santiago de Chile via Miami; the frequency is increased to twice weekly in November. During the third quarter and in response to LanChile Airline, S. A.’s 50% discount on international services, LADECO is forced to initiate its own half-price tickets, bringing a fare war to South America’s only deregulated air space.
Passenger boardings rise 6% to 568,743 and freight skyrockets 94.6% to 86.27 million FTKs. Revenues ascend to $115.9 million; however, there are now losses: $11.9 million (operating) and $8.7 million (net).
In 1991, President Jose Luis Ibanez’s workforce totals 1,059 and his upgraded and entirely leased fleet now comprises 2 B-757-2Q8s, 2 B-727-100s, 6 B-737-2E3s, 2 B-737-3E3s, 1 B-707-321B, 1 B-707-327C, 2 BAC 1-11-207AJs, 2 BAC 1-11-301AGs, and 1 Douglas DC-8F.
During the first quarter, a new strategic plan is developed, with emphasis on route expansion into Central America and the Caribbean. The Spanish state carrier Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Es-pana, S. A.), in the year’s most significant company event, purchases 35% minority shareholding—and one board seat—in April for $11 million. Although there is no management contract, there is a comprehensive marketing arrangement also signed between the two and Ernesto Silva becomes president.
A code-sharing agreement is signed with USAir in July that is designed to promote transportation between Chile and those USAir cities served from Baltimore (BWI). Thrice-weekly B-757-2Q8 flights begin from Buenos Aires to Baltimore in September. Later in the fall, flights begin to Montevideo.
The year’s statistics are revealed through August and show customer bookings up a slight 0.2% to 378,047. Cargo, however, is down by 25% to 43.24 million FTKs. Revenues jump to $128.7 million, but the operating loss also rises to $39 million. The net loss “improves” to minus $3.2 million.
The employee population skyrockets 70% in 1992 to 1,800. The company’s two B-727-100s, two B-737-2E3s, and the Douglas freighter are withdrawn and an order for another B-737-3E3 is cancelled.
Passenger boardings jump 29.1% to 760,500 while freight rises 54.4% to 107.02 million FTKs. Revenues total $168.5 million, but expenses are higher, causing an operating loss of $5.9 million. This year, net downturn rises to $8.7 million; net losses since 1990 total $21 million.
The workforce is unchanged in 1993, but a chartered B-737-3Q8 is placed into service and the two BAC 1-11-301AGs are withdrawn. Among the Argentine points now served are Salta, Neuquen, San Carlos de Bariloche, Tecuman, and Ushuaia; elsewhere in the hemisphere, flights are made to Cancun, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, San Jose, Havana, Montego Bay, and Punta Cana. When American Airlines and United Airlines, beginning in April, increase their frequencies, the company, again in partnership with LanChile Airlines, S. A., charges the U. S. majors with capacity dumping; the Comision Resolutiva Antimonopolios grants an injunction against the new services.
During the period of government hearings, LADECO drops service on a number of unprofitable routes, including the route from Bogota to Miami. Discussions are now held with Continental Airlines concerning a possible code-sharing arrangement and the Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Areas de Espana, S. A.) investment reaches $16 million and 37.5% shareholding. During the year, the company begins code-sharing flights with Aerolineas Argentinas over routes from Santiago to Miami via Buenos Aires.
Customer bookings accelerate by 17.6% to 653,208 while cargo climbs 29.1% to 99.77 million FTKs.
Airline employment is cut by 44.4% in 1994 to 1,000 and the fleet now includes 1 each owned BAC 1-11-207AJ, B-727-95 and B-727-116, as well as many leased units: 3 B-737-205As, 2 B-757-2Q8s, and 1 each B-737-3Q8, B-737-219A, B-737-2T5A, B-737-2Q8A, B-737-2M8A, and B-737-2A6.
A strategic and commercial alliance is signed with competing Lan-Chile Airlines, S. A. in June and its most important provision allows passengers of either to fly on routes flown by both. During the fall, Lan-Chile Airlines, S. A. approaches the government’s Anti-Monopolies Commission for permission to takeover the carrier altogether, even though all know the major would thus gain control of 80% of Chile’s total air transport market.
The bid is turned down, but LanChile Airlines, S. A. successfully reapplies in December. The final BAC 1-11-207AF service is flown on December 30.
The year’s passenger boardings are up 46.2% to 1,221,937. Freight moves ahead by 3.7% to 134.73 million FTKs.
Despite the LanChile Airlines, S. A. takeover, there is no change in the workforce during 1995. Between January and March, an Airbus A320-232 is leased from LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, S. A.) and is employed to provide international flights to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Also during the first quarter, a codesharing agreement is signed with Carnival Air Lines. Prior to its inauguration, the U. S. carrier employs one of its B-737-225s to provide connecting USA Express service on behalf of the Chilean line between Miami, Washington/Baltimore, and New York. Dual-designator service with Carnival officially begins on April 28 over the route and is provided by a CAL A300B4-203 also painted in USA Express colors.
A $20.4-million, 57.9% stake is purchased by Chilean investor Sebastian Pinera on June 1 from a family holding equity; at the same time, Pinera sells to LAN owner Enrique Cueto, a business colleague, the 21% stake he holds in LanChile Airlines, S. A. The Chilean Comision Resolutiva Antimonopolios approves the arrangement on August 11. There is speculation that LADECO stakeholder Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.) and the nation’s No. 3 carrier National Airlines, S. A. may challenge the decision in court as a monopoly.
When the company seeks a capital increase of $3 million during the last week of October, the plan is blocked by Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.), which indicates that it must first evaluate LADECO’s expansion strategy.
After LanChile Airlines, S. A. pilots go on strike on December 4-5, that carrier is able to continue services over certain routes by renumbering LADECO flights as its own. During the year, a B-737 is seen landing to start the Steve Railsbach action film Pressure Point.
Traffic figures are mixed. Enplanements recover and grow by 4.3% to 1,397,199, but cargo plunges 76% to 33.13 million FTKs.
Eight hundred new workers are hired in 1996 as LanChile Airlines, S. A. begins to negotiate with Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.) for purchase of the European company’s 38% stake in LADECO.
A company jet at New York (JFK) in November requests permission to cross an active runway. ATC requires that he continue to hold short until one more plane has departed. The pilot of the LADECO aircraft, having misunderstood, moves out onto the runway. The controller orders an American Eagle turboprop to abort its takeoff and that plane is able to stop short of a collision.
Customer bookings fall 19.1% to 1,130,346 and 20.81 million FTKs are operated, a 37.2% decline.
The employee population increases by 80% in 1997 to 1,800. Chile’s Anti-Monopoly Commission tentatively rules, in February, that the company’s assets may not be acquired by LanChile Airlines, S. A. when the Liquidation Commission places them on the open market.
LanChile appeals the ruling to the Supreme Court and wins a reversal in June. International services to Asuncion, Bogota, Guayaquil, Mendoza, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, and Washington, D. C. are withdrawn as the company concentrates on domestic operations.
Passenger boardings, consequently, fall 15.7% to 953,205 while freight plunges 46.2% to 11.2 million FTKs.
During the remainder of the year and into 1998, eight new aircraft are received and services are increased to the Chilean markets of Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, La Serena, and Temuco. In July, LADECO and Lan-Chile agree that the former should absorb Fast Air Chile, S. A. during early 1999. In fact, LADECO takes over Fast Air in October.
A contract is signed with Atlas Air of the U. S. on February 24, 1999, which provides for the placement of a B-747-245F with LADECO under a standard aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) contract.
Enplanements for the year total 608,000 and 11.07 million FTKs are operated.
Service is maintained without incident or headline during 2000. At the end of the year, the carrier signs a new $1.3-million, four-year contract with its pilot’s union. The pact gives company flyers a pay raise and restructured earning incentives.
LADECO will be shut down on September 1,2001.
World History
