Capitalized at 50 million cruzeiros received as the result of public subscriptions, LAP is formed at Sao Paulo in the fall of 1943. An organizational meeting is held on February 9, 1945, officers are chosen, and the new entrant proceeds to purchase an ex-military Lockheed Model 14.
Operating authority is received from the government in June; however, the remainder of the year is spent lining up a fleet of four exmilitary Douglas C-47s (converted to DC-3 civil standard) for purchase in early 1946. During the summer, the airline initiates flights to several coastal and slightly inland destinations, including Pernambuco, Camp-ina Grande, and Recife.
Shuttle flights are started to Rio de Janeiro in 1947. Service to Maceio is suspended in October 1948 and from that point on the carrier, facing competition from numerous and sometimes larger operators, begins to suffer financial reversals. Fortaleza and Natal become route destinations on the coast in April 1950.
As a way of cutting costs, LAP now joins with TABA (Transportes Aereos Bandeirantes, S. A.) and Loide Aereo Nacional, S. A. in a technical consortium. The inland stops are cut later in the year. By early 1951, all three airlines are losing serious money and thus plans are made for them to join into an operational consortium under the Loide banner. Before this can be accomplished on August 21, LAP loses a DC-3 on July 12 as it is attempting to land at Rio do Sul (33 dead).
World History
