Prinair

De Havilland Prinair Heron 2 de Prinair at Miami Opa Locka Airport in 1973

Prinair is a Puerto Rican airline that has operated since 1966. The English name, Prinair, means Puerto Rico International Airlines (Spanish: Líneas Aéreas Internacionales de Puerto Rico). Originally, the airline was called Aerolíneas de Ponce, since it operated from the city of Ponce, in the south of Puerto Rico; By changing its central operations to the Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the financial decision was made to change the name to Prinair, in order to appeal to the majority of Puerto Ricans and not just the ponceños

At first, the airline operated domestic services with De Havilland aircraft, concentrating on flights between San Juan and Ponce, but also reaching Mayagüez, Fajardo, Vieques and Aguadilla. But in the 1970s, the airline went international, reaching various points in the Caribbean, such as the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and other places like Florida in the United States. However, two fatal accidents in Puerto Rico caused the Puerto Rican public's confidence in the airline to erode.

During the 1980s, Prinair introduced services with Convair aircraft, the largest machine within the Prinair fleet. These planes were used mainly for the routes to the Virgin Islands.

At this time, Prinair averaged one takeoff every 15 minutes or less from the Isla Verde airport. However, entrepreneurs from Puerto Rico and other Caribbean countries, based on the successes of Prinair, created other lines such as Aero Virgin Islands and the local Oceanair and Dorado Wings began to fly, to compete with the main airline of Puerto Rico. Prinair could not with the competition, flying for the last time in November 1984. Returning to the air on March 19, 2019 flying from the Rafael Hernández International Airport with a lower but constant flight frequency on Mondays and Fridays to date.