Linea Aeropostal Venezolana
| Aeropostal - Alas de Venezuela | |
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| IATA code : | VH |
| ICAO code : | ALV |
| Call sign : | AEROPOSTAL |
| Founding: | 1929 |
| Operation stopped: | 2017 |
| Seat: |
Caracas , Venezuela
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| Turnstile : | |
| Home airport : | Caracas airport |
| Management: | Eduardo Legaspi Zuazua ( President ) |
| Fleet size: | 7th |
| Aims: | national |
| Website: | aeropostal.com |
| Aeropostal - Alas de Venezuela ceased operations in 2017. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
Aeropostal - Alas de Venezuela ( Aeropostal for short ) was a Venezuelan airline based in Caracas and based at Caracas Airport .
history
The airline was founded in 1929 by the Frenchman Marcel Bouilloux-Dafont under the name "Aéropostale". The aim of the company was to connect the city of Maracay with the ore-rich areas in the south and the oil region around Maracaibo , where the French had prospecting and drilling rights. The first aircraft were the Latécoère 26 and Latécoère 28 .
On December 31, 1933, the Venezuelan government took over part of the company after France stopped subsidizing the airline. The company was named "Linea Aeropostal Venezolana". In 1935, the company first passed to a Venezuelan, Francisco Leonardi, and on May 21, 1937, the company was wholly owned by the Venezuelan government. The French machines were then also replaced by Fairchild 71 and later by Lockheed Model 10 .
In 1939, the base was moved to Maiquetía Airport (Caracas / Simón Bolívar) due to its proximity to the growing capital Caracas . In that year the first Douglas DC-3s were added to the fleet. In 1943, the first strong competitor was founded with AVENSA . This private company founded by Pan Am was to become Aeropostal's "archenemy" until AVENSA ceased operations in 2002. After the war, the Electras left the fleet, and the Martin 202 and Douglas DC-4 were added. The first international connections to Brazil and the Netherlands Antilles were established with these aircraft . In 1947 Lockheed Constellations were introduced for routes into the United States . The further development of the Lockheed L-1049 "Super Constellation" made it possible to take up flights to Europe in the 1950s. Aeropostal was also one of the first airlines to order a jet with the De Havilland DH.106 Comet . However, after the series of accidents involving the Comet 1 in the mid-1950s, the order was canceled.
In 1959 it was decided to give the international routes to a new flag carrier, from which the VIASA emerged. When VIASA started operating in 1961, Aeropostal stopped its international routes and became a purely domestic airline. 1968 saw the arrival of the Douglas DC-9, the company's first jets, which gradually replaced the propeller-driven models. In the 1970s, some routes to neighboring countries and to some Caribbean islands could be resumed. In the early 1980s a new chapter was heralded with the order for three brand new McDonnell Douglas MD-83s . The route network was expanded again significantly, especially in the Caribbean and the USA ( Atlanta and Orlando ). At the beginning of the 1990s three rented McDonnell Douglas MD-83s joined the fleet, two machines from the then failed German Wings from Germany with pure business class seating and one from Midway Airlines from the USA. All three machines were returned to the lessor after just two years.
In 1994 the company had to cease flight operations after long financial difficulties. The fleet was 'mothballed' in Maiquetía (Caracas airport). The three own MD-83 were sold so that maintenance operations could continue.
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In 1996 the rest of the company was sold to private owners, including some British businessmen and former chairman Nelson Ramíz, for the relatively low price of just under US $ 30 million. The new owners introduced the additional title "Alas de Venezuela". Flight operations were resumed on January 7, 1997 with a DC-9 , and by the summer the DC-9 fleet again reached a size of nine machines. Aeropostal had plans, the fleet on long-term Airbus machines of type A320 for short and medium range and A310 for the newly acquired route rights to Frankfurt and Zurich convert, and even by modern Airbus A330-200 was talk. However, the expansion plans were scaled back after the projects proved to be too big. The Airbus A310 and A320 that had already been rented went back to their owners after they were only used for a short time on the North and South America routes. The European routes were never included.
Due to the new US laws, which classify Venezuela as unsafe in the area of air traffic, the company had to rent aircraft from Falcon Air Express for US routes . It was a Boeing 727-200 , which was replaced by McDonnell Douglas MD-80 in 2005 . In 2004 MD-80s were added to the fleet again. They replaced the Boeing 727 on the South American routes.
Aeropostal had acquired a stake in the Honduran airline Sol Air. The name was then changed to Aerohonduras . Two Boeing 737-300s were used by this airline. However, this airline stopped operating again in 2005.
In order to strengthen the position in Latin America, Aeropostal wanted to set up another airline in Costa Rica. A Douglas DC-9-20 was already parked in the full colors of Aeropostal Costa Rica.
With the establishment of the national airline Conviasa , which competed with Aeropostal on some routes from spring or summer 2005, the line had to face new challenges. Even if Aeropostal and Santa Barbara Airlines had very good starting positions, the long-term survival of the private airlines in Venezuela was not assured.
On August 22, 2017, the company lost insurance coverage for the last operated MD-82. As a result, flight operations were suspended in September.
Destinations
Aeropostal served from Caracas from Porlamar , Maracaibo , Valencia , Barquisimeto , Puerto Ordaz , Maturín , Cumaná and Las Piedras.
fleet
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Fleet in July 2015
As of July 2015, the Aeropostal fleet consisted of seven aircraft:
| Aircraft type | number | ordered | Remarks | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas DC-9-50 | 1 | 135 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 6th | 1 inactive | 164 | |
| total | 7th | - |
Previously deployed aircraft
The following aircraft types were in use for the Aeropostal:
- Airbus A310
- Airbus A320
- Boeing 727-200
- Bristol 170
- Curtiss C-46
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- Douglas DC-3
- Douglas DC-4
- Douglas DC-9-15
- Douglas DC-9-20
- Douglas DC-9-30
- Hawker-Siddeley HS 748
- Lockheed 10 Electra
- Lockheed Lodestar
- Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed Super Constellation
- Martin 202
- McDonnell Douglas MD-83
- Vickers Viscount
Incidents
- On July 20, 1956 (local time) (according to another source on June 20) a Lockheed Super Constellation L-1049E of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) ( aircraft registration number YV-C-AMS ) launched from New York-Idlewild Airport crashed as a result of a wing fire during a rapid fuel dump about 65 km southeast of the departure airport into the Atlantic. All 74 inmates were killed.
- On October 14, 1958 from was Panama launched L-1049G Super Constellation of Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela (LAV) (YV-C-ANC) flown into the mountain Alto del Cedro Mountain in the Sierra Perijá, 89 kilometers before the destination airport Maracaibo . In this CFIT ( Controlled flight into terrain ) all 23 occupants, 6 crew members and 17 passengers, were killed.
- On January 25, 1971, a Vickers Viscount 749 of the Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) (YV-C-AMV) was flown into trees at Paramo Los Conejos seven minutes after take-off from Merida (Venezuela) and crash-landed in a wooded mountain slope. 13 of the 47 occupants, 1 crew member and 12 passengers, were killed.
- On November 1, 1971, a Vickers Viscount 749 of the Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) (YV-C-AMZ) crashed shortly after taking off from Maracaibo Airport , possibly due to problems with the control. All 4 crew members, the only occupants, were killed.
- On August 14, 1974, another Vickers Viscount 749 of the Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) (YV-C-AMX) was flown in the approach to Porlamar airport ( Venezuela ) in the Cerro Piache hill 5 kilometers away. In this CFIT ( Controlled Flight into Terrain ), all 48 occupants, 4 crew members and 44 passengers, were killed.
- On March 5, 1991, a Douglas DC-9-32 of the Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) (YV-23C) crashed into a mountain near La Valesa, Venezuela on its flight from Maracaibo to Santa Barbara. All 43 occupants died (see also Aeropostal flight 109 ) .
See also
Web links
- Aeropostal website (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ These airlines disappeared in 2017 , accessed on January 5, 2018
- ↑ aeropostal.com - Destinos (Spanish) accessed on January 12, 2015
- ↑ ch-aviation - Aeropostal (English) accessed on July 25, 2015
- ↑ aeropostal.com - Nuestra Flota (Spanish) accessed on January 12, 2015
- ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international . Zurich Airport 1971–2007.
- ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international . Sutton, UK, 2008-2013.
- ↑ ICAO Circular 56-AN / 51
- ↑ accident report L-1049E YV-C-AMS , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 19 August 2017th
- ↑ ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest 10, Circular 59-AN / 54, Montreal 1961 (English), pp. 212-214.
- ^ Accident report L-1049G YV-C-ANC , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 22, 2019.
- ↑ Accident report Viscount 749 YV-C-AMV , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 14, 2020.
- ↑ Accident report Viscount 749 YV-C-AMZ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 14, 2020.
- ↑ Accident report Viscount 749 YV-C-AMX , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 14, 2020.
- ^ Accident report DC-9-32 YV-23C , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on October 24, 2019.