Aerosur

AeroSur S.A., formally called Compañía Boliviana de Transporte Aéreo Privado Aerosur, S.A (IATA: 5L, ICAO: RSU, and Callsign: Aerosur) was a Bolivian airline headquartered in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and with its main connection center at the Viru Viru International Airport. It operated national routes within Bolivia and scheduled international flights and charters to South America, the Caribbean, the United States and Spain. AeroSur was one of the two main airlines of Bolivia along with Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano. It was founded in April 1992 as a result of the deregulation of Bolivian air transport and began flying on August 24 of that year between Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Potosí.

In May 2012, AeroSur filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations after two decades of continuous operation.

History

Boeing 727-100 from AeroSur with the original booklet photographed in1998.

Company beginnings

AeroSur was founded in April 1992 and its operations began on August 24, 1992 as a regional airline. It was created after the deregulation of local air transport in Bolivia by a merger of existing charter companies taking advantage of this event. Its first flight was made from Santa Cruz de la Sierra to Potosí.

The regular growth of AeroSur made it the second airline in Bolivia after Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, now covering several national cities and offering international flights to cities such as Buenos Aires (Argentina), Madrid (Spain), Miami (United States), São Paulo (Brazil) and others.

After the cessation of air operations of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB) in 2007, AeroSur became the most important airline in Bolivia and thus managed to improve its economic situation and expand its operations. The airline also has two subsidiaries: AeroSur Cargo and Aerosur Paraguay.

In 2002 it was proclaimed the flag airline of Bolivia. It was also the first in Bolivia to introduce Executive or business class and First class on domestic flights.

It also had a frequent flyer program called Club AeroSur, which offers certain facilities to travelers such as award or credit tickets. AeroSur also offers tour packages on all its routes.

The most important airline in Bolivia

When Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano ceased operations, AeroSur became the largest airline in the country. It was the only Bolivian airline to fly to international destinations until Boliviana de Aviación was created in 2007.

In 2004, AeroSur had begun to operate nostalgic flights with a Douglas DC-3 to tourist destinations such as the Salar de Uyuni and Rurrenabaque, both internationally recognized.

In 2008, a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers recognized AeroSur as the most prosperous airline in Bolivia.

Boeing 737-200 of the subsidiary AeroSur Paraguay.

Flagship airline of Paraguay

In 2007, Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte granted his endorsement and license to AeroSur to operate as that country's flag carrier airline. The announcement was made during an audience granted by the President of Paraguay to the President of AeroSur Humberto Roca Leigue and In 2008, the subsidiary Aerosur Paraguay was created with investments from AeroSur and Paraguayan capital.

The subsidiary began flights between Asunción and Santa Cruz de la Sierra with daily scheduled flights between the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport and its main hub at the Viru Viru International Airport. AeroSur maintained commercial relations with Aerosur Paraguay by maintaining a majority stake in the shares of the Paraguayan subsidiary. In addition to AeroSur, TAM Airlines, Gol Linhas Aéreas, Aerolíneas Argentinas, TACA Airlines, Pluna, Copa Airlines and the new Paraguayan airline SOL Del Paraguay operated in Paraguay.

In 2012, AeroSur Paraguay notified the National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics of Paraguay of the indefinite suspension of its regular operations in the country as a result of AeroSur's financial crisis and debts with the Bolivian government. At the time of the closure of its operations, the airline reported losses of 150 million guaraníes added to monthly expenses of around 50 million guaraníes in salary payments and rents.

Boeing 767-200ER of the airline with the "Sharko" booklet stationed at Miami International Airport.

Progress and expansion

Boeing 747-400 from AeroSur with the "Super Storm" booklet landing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

The airline made an agreement in 2007 with Central American TACA, expanding its connections to cities such as Bogotá (Colombia), Caracas (Venezuela), Quito, (Ecuador), San Salvador (El Salvador) and San José (Costa Rica).

In 2008, AeroSur began to operate a direct route Santa Cruz - Miami - Santa Cruz using its new Boeing 767-200ER that replaced the old Boeing 727-200 that due to its medium range had to make stops in Panama City or in Cali (Colombia) making the trip an uncomfortable trip. AeroSur also began to make charter flights using the 727 to Havana, Miami and New York (Via HAV). That same year, AeroSur inaugurated 2 new destinations: Tucumán (Argentina) and Cuiabá (Brazil).

On March 13, 2009, AeroSur received the IOSA (IATA OPERATIONAL SAFETY AUDIT) certification from IATA, which lists the airlines with the highest level of quality and safety operational in the world.

On November 19, 2009, AeroSur presented its new acquisition to the public: A Boeing 747-400 called Super Torísimo that replaced the well-known Torísimo, a Boeing 747- 300. The aircraft is used on the VVI-MAD route.

On the other hand, the airline contracted North American Airlines, Astraeus Airlines and Iberworld to cover its services on its VVI-MIA route since the Boeing 767-200ER (CP-2438) suffered a serious accident in one of its engines. The aircraft is being serviced and stored at Miami International Airport. However, the airline managed to replace this aircraft with another Boeing 767-200ER (CP-2659) covering the same routes.

On June 1, 2009, AeroSur and Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano signed an agreement whereby LAB, formerly AeroSur's main competitor, leased one of their aircraft, a Boeing 727-200 with a mixed LAB command crew and AeroSur cabin crew., which would be in charge of covering the routes of the trunk axis La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, this with the purpose of counteracting the operations of the recently created state airline BoA. At the end of a month, a resolution of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics DGAC terminated this commercial agreement, in which AeroSur accuses the DGAC of not having valid arguments for this resolution.

On June 6, 2009, in the city of Cusco, AeroSur received The BIZZ Awards 2009 merit award for Inspiring Company from the World Confederation of Businesses. Said award considered outstanding aspects of AeroSur such as business leadership, management system, service quality, creativity and business innovation, as well as the social support provided by the company, which is awarded by the World Confederation of Businesses (WORLDCOB).

In May 2010, at the headquarters of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (CAINCO), Aerosur received the 2010 Bolivian Company of the Year Award for its commitment to Total Quality. The Award was presented by Dr. Daniel Maximilian Da Costa, President of the Latin American Quality Institute, a leading organization in the development of Quality standards and standards with headquarters in Panama and operations in 19 countries in the region..

In 2010, AeroSur added five aircraft to its fleet: three Boeing 737-300s, one of them called Sicurí, a Boeing 737-400 called El Puma and the last, a Boeing 767-200 named Sharko, in addition to the incorporation of a Boeing 747-400, leased by Virgin Atlantic Airways.

AeroSur demonstrated great progress, in 2010, the airline began services to the city of Washington D.C. (Washington-Dulles International Airport). And he had several plans to expand routes to the cities of Antofagasta, Iquique, Santiago, Foz do Iguaçu, Bogotá, México, D. F., Guayaquil, Caracas, Arequipa, Milan, Munich, and Barcelona, but they could never be carried out due to lack of resources. and fleet.

AeroSur dismantled aircraft after the company's bankruptcy in 2012.

Suspension of operations and bankruptcy

The bad financial situation, as a result of tax debts, salary and provisional debts with its employees, and the breach of its obligations with suppliers, led AeroSur to be forced to cease its regular operations in 2012. The manager of AeroSur, Humberto Roca, denounced the Bolivian government for hindering private airlines in the country and monopolizing the national air market through Boliviana de Aviación (BoA), a new state airline founded by the government in 2007. In 2010, AeroSur accused BoA of unfair competition and of affecting the aeronautical market by cutting its air ticket rates in half to promote its recently opened route to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The state company argued that the offers were a regular activity, a position that was supported by the Transportation and Telecommunications Authority (ATT).

That same year, the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) suspended two AeroSur Boeing 727-200 aircraft due to numerous technical failures, compromising the safety of the traveling public. Subsequently, the National Tax Service (SIN) initiated a criminal process against the shareholders and executives of AeroSur, in order to recover the tax debt that reached 1,338 million Bolivians for the 2004, 2006 and 2007 administrations. AeroSur carried out negotiations with the Bolivian regulatory entities and the National Tax Service, to put the airline under judicial administration, however, IATA revoked AeroSur's membership by suspending most of its operations, formalizing the closure of its operations in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Former Destinations

AeroSur's network of destinations was organized around the Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, from where it offered services to various cities in South America, as well as direct flights to Miami (United States) and Madrid (Spain).).

National AeroSouth destinations

Destinations	Airports	Notes
Cover, Pando	Captain Aníbal Arab Airport
Cochabamba, Cochabamba	International Airport Jorge Wilstermann
La Paz, La Paz	El Alto International Airport
Puerto Suárez, Santa Cruz	Puerto Suárez Airport
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santa Cruz	Viru Viru International Airport	HUB
	Airport El Trompillo
Sucre, Chuquisaca	Juana Azurduy Airport of Padilla
Tarija, Tarija	Airport Captain Oriel Lea Plaza

International AeroSouth destinations

Countries	Destinations	Airports	From
North America
United States	Miami	Miami International Airport	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
	Washington D.C.	Washington-Dulles International Airport
Central America and the Caribbean
Panama Panama	Panama City	International Airport of Tocumen	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Dominican RepublicDominican Republic	Punta Cana	International Airport of Punta Cana
South America
Argentina	Buenos Aires	International Airport Minister Pistarini	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
	Balance	Salta International Airport - Martín Miguel de Güemes
	Tucumán	International Airport Lieutenant Benjamin Matienzo
BrazilBrazil	São Paulo	São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport
Paraguay Paraguay	Assumption	Silvio Pettirossi International Airport
Peru Peru	Cuzco	Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport	El Alto International Airport, La Paz
Europe
SpainSpain	Madrid	Madrid Barajas Airport	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Planned international AeroSouth destinations, but never executed

Countries	Destinations	Airports	From
North America
Mexico	Mexico City	International Airport of Mexico City	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
South America
ChileChile	Antofagasta	International Airport Andrés Sabella	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
	Iquique	Diego Aracena International Airport
	Santiago de Chile	Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
BrazilBrazil	Foz do Iguaçu	International Airport of Foz do Iguaçu
ColombiaColombia	Bogotá	El Dorado International Airport
EcuadorEcuador	Guayaquil	José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
Peru Peru	Arequipa	Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón International Airport
Venezuela Venezuela	Caracas	International Airport of Maiquetía Simón Bolívar
Europe
GermanyGermany	Munich	Munich International Airport	Viru Viru International Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
SpainSpain	Barcelona	Airport Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat
ItalyItaly	Milan	Enrico Forlanini International Airport

Subsidiaries

The airline owned two subsidiaries:

• AeroSur Cargo: a national cargo transport service in La Paz, Cochabamba, Sucre, Tarija, Cobija, Puerto Suárez and Santa Cruz and international to Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Asunción, Madrid and Miami.

• Aerosur Paraguay: it was a brand that would consolidate into a future airline but never materialized. One of the airplanes of the Aerosur fleet was called Aerosur Paraguay and operated the route Santa Cruz de la Sierra - Asunción and it was hoped that more aircraft would eventually arrive to the fleet, in order to compose a true subsidiary airline. Finally the company stopped this project.

Old Fleet

AeroSur Un Boeing 727-200 Landing at Juana Azurduy Airport in Padilla. (2005)

The AeroSur fleet underwent several changes and renovations during its operation, the average age of the fleet was 21.6 years, all its aircraft were leased and have already been returned.

A AeroSur Boeing 747 (Retired) in Madrid. (2009)