AeroPeru
AeroPerú officially Empresa de Transporte Aéreo del Perú S.A., was the state airline of Peru. It sailed the skies of Peru and America between 1973 and 1999. The inaugural flight of the new airline was made on October 3, 1973 from Lima to the city of Cuzco. It began operations with three Fokker F-28 aircraft.
It declared bankruptcy in 1999, three years after the accident of Aeroperú Flight 603 due to not being able to pay the compensation and the economic mismanagement that the company was going through, being one of the many companies privatized during the government of Alberto Fujimori.
History
After the bankruptcy of APSA (Aerolíneas Peruanas Sociedad Anónima) in 1971, Peru was left without a representative international airline, so the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, headed by General Juan Velasco Alvarado decided to create a State flag carrier based on the existing Servicio Aéreo de Transporte Comercial (SATCO) owned by the Peruvian Air Force. The new national airline of Peru was created in 1973 and initially began its services nationwide with three Fokker F28 belonging to SATCO.
On July 28 (the anniversary of the independence of Peru), 1974, the first international flights were inaugurated with the Lima-Santiago-Buenos Aires and Lima-Guayaquil routes. In September of that year the routes were extended to Miami. A year later, the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Mexico City and Los Angeles were included in the program and finally, in 1978, New York, Caracas and Bogotá were included. These international routes were flown by Douglas DC-8 aircraft.
During the 1970s the fleet began to grow with a Boeing 727-100 purchased from Eastern Airlines for international flights in South America. For domestic services a Fokker F-27 was chartered from the Danish company Maersk, while awaiting delivery of the two new Fokker F-27s ordered in 1975. International routes were flown by three Douglas DC-8-50s chartered from KLM., Air Jamaica and Viasa. In 1978 a second 727-30C was donated by Lufthansa, followed by two additional 727-022s from Cruzeiro in 1983. Aero Peru also attempted the wide-body operation by chartering two Lockheed L-1011 Tristars from Pacific Southwest Airlines between 1978 and 1982., aircraft that were finally returned and the order made to Lockheed canceled to return to the operation of narrow-body aircraft on international routes with two DC-8-62s purchased from SAS and Alitalia.
AeroPerú changed very little during the 1980s. The F-27s were sold and despite the economic crisis in Peru, the growth of the company was constant. In the early 1990s, a Britannia 767-200 was chartered for a very short time. Shortly after, an attempt was made to operate an L-1011 Tristar in a Joint Venture with the Faucett Aviation Company without the expected success. During this time, and as part of the privatization plan of the current government, it was decided to put AeroPerú up for sale, without realizing that this was one of the few state companies that was still solvent.
In 1993, the Peruvian government ceded a part of AeroPerú to the Mexican consortium Cintra, which managed the companies Aeroméxico and Mexicana. The first step in this phase was the renewal of the airline's corporate image, adopting a logo similar to that of Aeroméxico, along with the incorporation of four McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15 aircraft and some Boeing 727s to replace the obsolete Fokkers. F-28. Later, the DC-10s would be replaced by modern Boeing 757-200s. In the mid-nineties, AeroPerú managed to consolidate its international position with services to the most important cities in America. However. Ultimately, plans to replace the Boeing 727-100 fleet with Boeing 737-200s and add a factory Boeing 767 for long-haul routes were not completed, with only three second-hand Boeing 737-200s received.
On October 2, 1996, AeroPerú flight 603 that was going from the Jorge Chávez International Airport to the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, in Santiago de Chile, crashed into the Peruvian sea, killing 70 people on the spot who were on board. The fatal outcome was due to both technical failures and the company's maintenance personnel.
At the beginning of 1999, Continental Airlines, which was interested in taking control of AeroPerú, withdrew a purchase proposal marking the end of this Peruvian airline.
On March 10, 1999, financial difficulties resulting from economic mismanagement forced the airline to declare closure. On August 18 of that year, the company's creditors decided to liquidate it. The debts left by AeroPerú were large. The company did not want to comment on the matter and in an easier way they decided to conclude that the dismissal was due to the mismanagement of Aeroméxico, later learning the true reasons for the bankruptcy of what was the flag carrier of Peru at the time that the staff would receive a part of their compensation through Top Consulting Management, a company that took charge of the debt settlements.
In 2001, after the bankruptcy of AeroPerú, some attempts were made by former employees to restart air activities using a 737-200 and a 727-100, to no avail.
In August of the same year, the Congress of the Republic presented an Investigative Commission on Economic and Financial Crimes committed between 1990-2001 (CIDEF), chaired by Javier Diez Canseco. In it, it was verified that, in 1993, 72.1% of the shares of AeroPerú were sold to Aerovías México S.A., Serminco S.A. and Dora Amelia Zapata López Aliaga de Papini, for a price of 23 million dollars, when the company had a value between 45 and 55 million dollars.
Destinations
Nationals
Peru
Peru
- Andahuaylas / Andahuaylas Airport
- Arequipa / International Airport Rodríguez Ballón
- Chiclayo / International Airport Captain FAP José A. Quiñones
- Ayacucho / Coronel FAP Alfredo Mendivil Duarte
- Cusco / Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport
- Huaraz / Airport Commander FAP German Arias Graziani
- Iquitos / International Airport Colonel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta
- Juanjuí / Juanjui Airport
- Juliaca / International Airport Inca Manco Cápac
- Lima-Callao / Jorge Chávez International Airport (HUB)
- Rioja / Juan Simons Vela Airport (MBB)
- Piura / International Airport Captain FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico
- Pucallpa / International Airport Captain FAP David Abensur Rengifo
- Puerto Maldonado / Puerto Maldonado International Airport
- Tacna / International Airport Colonel FAP Carlos Ciriani Santa Rosa
- Talara / International Airport Captain FAP Victor Montes Arias
- Tarapoto / Airport Commander FAP Guillermo del Castillo Paredes
- Trujillo / International Airport Captain FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos
- Tumbes / Airport Captain FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez
International
South America
Argentina
- Buenos Aires / Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport Minister Pistarini
Bolivia
Bolivia
- La Paz / El Alto International Airport
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra / Viru Viru International Airport
Brazil
Brazil
- São Paulo / Guarulhos International Airport
- Rio de Janeiro / Galeão International Airport
Colombia
Colombia
- Bogotá El Dorado International Airport
Chile
Chile
- Santiago de Chile / Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Ecuador
Ecuador
- Quito / Former Mariscal Sucre International Airport
- Guayaquil Simón Bolívar International Airport (Guayaquil) (after renamed José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport)
Paraguay
Paraguay
- Assumption / Silvio Pettirossi International Airport
Venezuela
Venezuela
- Caracas / International Airport of Maiquetía Simón Bolívar
Central America and the Caribbean
Costa Rica
Costa Rica
- San José / Juan Santamaría International Airport
Cuba
Cuba
- Varadero / Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport
Panama
Panama
- Panama / International Airport Tocumen
Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
- Punta Cana / International Airport of Punta Cana
North America
United States
- Los Angeles / Los Angeles International Airport
- Miami / Miami International Airport
- New York / John F. Kennedy International Airport
Mexico
Mexico
- Mexico City / International Airport of Mexico City
- Cancun / Cancun International Airport
Fleet
Throughout its almost three decades of service in Peru, the AeroPerú Company used various types of aircraft that provided important services to the development of the country, especially in the Amazon region, which despite being linked by road with the rest of the region and the republic, saved a lot of time on travel; This is how the plane and the rivers continued to be the fastest means of communication towards the end of the 20th century. The highlands of Peru also received the benefits of air communication, supplying the Andean cities with industrial products at lower prices and bringing a number of tourists to its attractions.
Fokker F-27
For a short period, AeroPerú operated with this type of aircraft on short flights within the country. They were high-wing aircraft powered by two Rolls Royce Dart propeller engines. The Peruvian Navy also operated this type of aircraft on reconnaissance missions. The technical specifications of this aircraft were:
- Motors: two Rolls Royce Dart Mk.536 of 2300 HP.
- Maximum speed: 480 km/h.
- Scope: 1950 km.
- Maximum ceiling: 9,000 m.
- Triple: 2.
- Passengers: 48.
- Scope: 29,00 m.
- Length: 23,56 m.
- Maximum weight: 20,410 kilos.
Fokker F-28 MK.1000 Fellowship
When the AeroPerú company was created in 1973, it had three of these units for its itinerary flights within the country. They were versatile planes that needed little runway for their takeoff run, ideal for the runways of the airports in the interior of Peru. The technical specifications of the Fokker F-28 MK.100 Fellowship were:
- Motors: two Rolls Royce RB-183-2 Mk 555 of 4,467 kg push.
- Maximum speed: 843 km/h.
- Maximum range: 2,743 km.
- Maximum ceiling: 10,670 m.
- Triple: 4.
- Passengers: 65.
- Scope: 25,07 m.
- Length: 27,40 m.
- Maximum weight: 33.110 kg.
Boeing 757-200
AeroPeru had six of these aircraft in its fleet.
The Boeing 757-200 was a ship equipped with the highest technology of the time. The technical specifications were:
- Motors: two Pratt & Whitney PW 2037 of 17.300 kg push.
- Maximum speed: 950 km/h.
- Maximum range: 7,400 km.
- Maximum ceiling: 11,000 m.
- Triple:
- Length: 47,33 m.
- Maximum weight: 113,500 kg.
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
At the time, it was the most representative aircraft of the AeroPerú Aviation Company and covered medium and long-range international routes. The technical specifications were:
- Motors: 3 Rolls Royce RB-211-524B of 22,680 kg of thrust.
- Maximum speed: 970 km/h
- Autonomy: 9,650 km
- Flight area: 12,800 m
- Triple: 4
- Passengers: 330
- Scope: 47,35 m
- Length: 50,05 m
- Maximum weight: 224
Other aircraft
Throughout its history, the state airline AeroPerú had other types of aircraft that complemented the fleet. They were these:
- Douglas DC-8.
- Mc Donnell Douglas DC-10-15. AeroPeru had 3 of these planes replaced by the Boeing 757-200 sub-released AeroMexico
- Boeing 727-100. Aeroperu had 8 planes in his fleet.
- Boeing 727-200. AeroPeru had up to 8 such aircraft in its fleet.
- Boeing 737-200. In recent years of operations AeroPeru used the Boeing 737 purchased from the British Airways to replace the Boeing 727-100 were 4 of this type of units in its fleet.
- Boeing 767-200ER. It was meant to open the route to Madrid but it was never done because of its bankruptcy.