Members of the Pevcevic family, including father Andres and sons Domingo Andres and Alexander, desiring air service into Puntas Arenas, form Aerovias DAP on November 1, 1980; the DAP initials stand for principal shareholder Domingo Andres, although his father and younger brother are shareholders. When Brymon Airways, Ltd. of the U. K.
Elects not to take delivery of a de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300, it is sold to the Pevcevics and is employed to begin scheduled service a week later, still in Brymon colors, to Puerto Williams.
Frequencies in 1981-1983 are three per week during the October to March summer season and weekly during winter; on November 8, twice-daily flights are offered across the Magellan Straits to Porvenir. In addition to the scheduled frequencies, charters are undertaken to the oil drilling centers of Cerro Sombrero, Punta Catalina, and Posesion on behalf of the Chilean national oil corporation ENAP (Empresa Nacional de Petroles).
An international service is inaugurated to Rio Gallegos in October 1984 and a Piper PA-31-310 Navajo is purchased from the Chilean Navy in September 1985. Because of an exorbitant insurance rate, the Rio Gallegos route is suspended in February 1986. The fleet is upgraded during the year to include 1 DHC-6-300, 2 Cessna 402Cs, and 2 Beech King Air 90s.
Scheduled third-level passenger, cargo and mail service to the region surrounding the base at Punta Arenas is maintained in 1987, along with passenger and cargo charters and contract services flights. A total of 22,074 passengers are transported in this the first year in which traffic figures are reported. Customer bookings decline by 33% in 1988 to 16,597. Passenger boardings recover somewhat in 1989, increasing by 2.5% to 17,010.
Traffic resumes its downward journey in 1990, falling 12.5% to 14,870 passengers flown. Statistics are only reported for the first eight months of 1991, but these show customer bookings up 14.5% to 11,089 while cargo rises 50% to 12,000 FTKs.
The fleet in 1992 includes 1 each Beech King Air 90, King Air 100, and DHC-6-300. Passenger boardings increase by 14.7% to 20,252 while freight figures are not shared. During the first nine months of 1993 , customer bookings decline by 9% to 14,056.
Airline employment is increased by 25% in 1994 to 40 as passenger traffic improves. Again, through September, bookings rise 14.8% to 20,147.
Timed to begin with the southern hemisphere summer season, starting in October 1995, DAP runs services on the busy route between Punta Arenas and Santiago, the Chilean capital with a single B-727-23 leased from CS Aviation in New York.
Toward year’s end, an agreement is signed with British Airways, Ltd. (2) that provides that passengers and cargo moving between the UK and the Falkland Islands can travel with BA from London to Santiago, and connect there for the twice-weekly DAP flight to Fort William via Punta Arenas
The carrier’s eight aircraft transport a total of 27,670 passengers — a dramatic 21.1% increase.
Problems begin in April 1996 when DAP starts to encounter difficulties in matching revenues with monthly operating lease costs. This situation is not helped by the relatively high fuel costs associated with flying the 727 on the three-hour journey between Punta Arenas and Santiago. In addition, the other airlines flying between Santiago and Punta Arenas begin a price war, although they will eventually have to pay antidumping fines after DAP successfully takes them to court.
Still, overall customer bookings skyrocket this year, climbing 76.7% to 48,878.
The fleet of President Domingo Andres Pivcevic in 1997 includes 2 leased Boeing 727-23s, plus an owned fleet of 1 each DHC-6-300s, Beech King Air 100, and Beech King Air 90, plus 3 Eurocopter AS-355F Ecureuil Ils.
The B-727-23 leasing contract comes up and there are two op-tions—to renew for a couple of years or exercise the termination clause. At the beginning of the low season at the end of March, the Boeings are returned.
DAP pulls out of the Santiago to Punta Arenas market on April 1; however, the two Boeings will be chartered again and the carrier will return when the new high season begins in October.
Passenger boardings fall 5.5% to 46,212.
Partial year enplanements are reported in 1999. At the beginning of 2000 there are 40 employees.
World History
