Cubana

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Cubana
Cubana logo
Ilyuschin Il-96-300 of the Cubana
IATA code : CU
ICAO code : CUB
Call sign : CUBANA
Founding: 1929
Seat: Havana , CubaCubaCuba 
Turnstile :

Havana-José Martí

Home airport : Havana-José Martí
Company form: State property
IATA prefix code : 136
Management: Arturo Bada Álvarez ( CEO )
Number of employees: 2,400
Fleet size: 16 (+ 2 orders)
Aims: National and international
Website: www.cubana.cu

Cubana de Aviación SA , Cubana for short , is a state-owned Cuban airline based in Havana and based on the Aeropuerto Internacional José Martí .

history

Foundation and first years

Cubana was founded on October 8, 1929 as Compañía Cubana Nacional de Aviación Curtiss and thus showed the connection with the aircraft manufacturer Curtiss . Flight operations began in 1930. When the American airline Pan Am Cubana bought up in 1932 , the addition Curtiss was deleted. In 1944 the name of the airline was changed to Compañía Cubana de Aviación .

In 1945 the greater part of the airline was sold to Cuban investors, Pan Am kept 42%. The first international flight connection to Miami was started in 1946 with Douglas DC-3 aircraft . The route to Miami later became an important part of Cubana's history because of its political and economic importance. In June 1948 the first transatlantic connection from Havana to Madrid went into operation. In 1953 the first scheduled flight to Mexico City was celebrated. In 1954, the airline became completely Cuban owned. Up to 1959, 19 flights a day between Havana and Miami and New York were carried out in cooperation with Pan Am .

Development after the Cuban Revolution

Antonov An-24 of the Cubana

After the Cuban Revolution , the airline was nationalized and the name was changed to Empresa Consolidada Cubana de Aviación . In general, however, it was referred to simply as Cubana from now on . The trade embargo imposed by the US on Cuba suspended all routes to the United States, including Miami. The main passenger volume from US tourists collapsed without replacement. Cubana recorded significant losses in passenger numbers on the international routes. While 155,802 passengers could be counted on flights outside of Cuba in 1959, the number fell in 1962 to the lowest level of 13,555 passengers carried. At the same time, however, the number of passengers on domestic routes rose steadily from 1960 and quadrupled to 405,762 passengers by 1965. Overall, the load factor on flights rose from 50.9 percent before the revolution to over 73 percent in 1964 after it four years earlier it had dropped to a low of only 46.2 percent. The US embargo not only prevented the purchase of North American aircraft, but also made it more difficult to obtain replacement parts for the existing Western aircraft types, so that aircraft had to be procured from the Soviet Union . Political reasons also prevented the purchase of Vickers VC-10 machines from the British Aircraft Corporation in 1964 .

Shortly after the embargo began, Ilyushin Il-14 was occupied, a short time later Antonow An-12 and Antonow An-24 . After the delivery of Ilyushin Il-62 in 1974, Cubana was able to start transatlantic flights to Madrid Barajas.

In May 1975 the airline's domestic route network offered flights to Nueva Gerona , Santa Clara , Camagüey , Santiago de Cuba , Cienfuegos and Holguín . These routes were served several times a day by Antonov An-24 and Ilyushin Il-18 . Internationally in the same year flights to Prague , Madrid, Port of Spain , Mexico City, Georgetown and Kingston were carried out once a week and Berlin-Schönefeld every 14 days with Ilyushin Il-62.

In the 1980s, Cubana, like other airlines, waited for the US embargo to be lifted in order to be able to operate the lucrative Havana - Miami route again. However, this has not happened to this day. In 1983 Cubana was banned from using US airspace for flights to Canada. This was justified with two close overflights of military facilities by Cubana machines on two consecutive days. Only in 1998 were the overflight rights granted again after a bilateral agreement.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union

Economy class of an Ilyushin Il-96-300 of the Cubana

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cubana was able to buy aircraft on the world market, but none that used American-made parts. Equipment for the Airbus A320 was purchased and a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 from the French AOM was leased . This aircraft was destroyed in an accident in Guatemala City on December 21, 1999 . Cubana also acquired a Fokker F-27 to strengthen its fleet. With some of the old Soviet aircraft nearing the end of their life and with spare parts difficult to obtain, a number of fatal accidents occurred in the 1990s.

Modernization since 2000

Cubana check-in counter at the Aeropuerto Internacional José Martí

Since the improvement of the economic situation in Cuba from 2000, the maintenance of the fleet has been improved and three new Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft have been purchased, with one machine being ordered as a cargo version. In addition, two machines of the Russian long-haul aircraft Ilyushin Il-96-300 were acquired in 2005. These aircraft are in regular use on the Havana - Madrid route, among others. A supply contract for two more aircraft of this type had already been signed at this point, also in view of the fact that these aircraft are also regularly used for state events. Since 2002, planes fly of the type ATR-42/72 of Aerocaribbean on feeder flights of Cubana. The first aircraft flew in the colors of the Cubana when it was delivered, as it is used for VIP flights. In the spring of 2006 a Boeing 737 of the Spanish Hola Airlines flew for Cubana and in the late summer a Boeing 757 of the same company. After an A320-200 was leased from TACA in 2006 , another leased Airbus A320-200 was added to the Cubana fleet at the end of September 2007. Other aircraft from various airlines in Central America were loaned for use on domestic routes, for example a Boeing 737-200 Advanced ( aircraft registration V287T ) from Venezolana in 2007 and an aircraft of the same type from the Mexican airline Global Air (aircraft registration XA-UHY ) in the summer of 2009 . Between April and August 2013 three new Antonov An-158 aircraft were put into service for domestic flights. Three more followed in 2014.

On July 9, 2015, plans for a possible merger between Aerocaribbean and Cubana were announced, but this has not yet been confirmed by either side.

Destinations

Cubana serves numerous destinations within Cuba as well as international flight destinations in North and South America, Asia and Europe. Examples are Montreal , the Bahamas , Mexico City , Beijing , San José , Madrid , Paris and Moscow ; at the end of 2016 there were a total of 31 destinations in 14 countries.

After the accident on Flight 972 on May 18, 2018, Cubana reduced the scope of its national flight operations until further notice.

fleet

Tupolev Tu-204-100C of Cubana Cargo
Antonov An-158 of the Cubana

As of March 2020, the Cubana fleet consists of 16 aircraft with an average age of 11.6 years:

Aircraft type number ordered Remarks Seats
( Business / Economy )
Antonov An-158 6th 3 leased from Ilyushin Finance Company , all inactive; Cubana is the only customer of the Antonov An-158 aircraft 100 (- / 100)
ATR 72-500 2 leased from Solenta Aviation 70
ATR 72-600 2
Ilyushin Il-96-300 4th Cubana is the last airline in the world to use the Il-96 as a commercial passenger aircraft,
as well as the only non-Russian operator of this type of aircraft; 2 inactive 		262 (18/244)
Tupolev 204-100 2 leased from Ilyushin Finance Company ; 1 inactive 224 (12/212)
Tupolev 204-100C 2 Cargo planes of Cubana Cargo ; leased from Ilyushin Finance Company ; 1 inactive -
total 16 2

Other planes

Two Embraer Bandeirante flew flights to Cayo Largo for Cubana . As of March 24, 1994, a total of six Fokker F-27s were in service, three of which were available until 2001.

Incidents

  • On December 6, 1952, a Cubana Douglas DC-4 (aircraft registration number CU-T397 ) crashed into the sea a good 4 kilometers after taking off from Kindley Field Airport , Bermuda . The plane had made a stopover for refueling on the way from Madrid to Havana in Bermuda. 37 of the 41 people on board died. Only three passengers and one crew member survived the accident.
  • On November 1, 1958, a Vickers Viscount of Cubana was kidnapped by Cuban rebels on the route from Miami via Varadero to Havana. The kidnappers wanted to land in the Sierra Cristal in eastern Cuba to deliver weapons to rebels commanded by Raúl Castro . When night fell, the plane ran out of fuel and the pilots attempted an emergency landing near the Preston sugar factory. However, the machine landed in the sea and broke apart. 13 of the 16 passengers and all 4 crew members were killed.
  • On October 6, 1976, a Barbados- launched Douglas DC-8 -43 (aircraft registration number CU-T1201 ) on Cubana Flight 455 was destroyed by a terrorist attack en route to Cuba. Two bombs had been brought on board by members of a CIA- affiliated terrorist organization run by the Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles . The ignition was done in such a way that the machine fell into the sea eight kilometers west of the take-off airport. All 73 inmates, 48 ​​passengers and 25 crew members were killed, including 24 members of the Cuban fencing team , which had just won all gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean championships. Posada Carriles died in 2018 at the age of 90 in the United States, without ever being charged with the crime.
  • On September 3, 1989, an Ilyushin Il-62 M crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off from Havana. All 126 inmates and 24 people on the ground died. At the time of the accident there was heavy rain and wind speeds of up to 40 km / h (see also Cubana flight 9646 ) .
  • On September 14, 1991, a Tupolev Tu-154 shot over the runway on Cubana Flight 454 while landing at Mexico City Airport . The aircraft hit signal systems, the left wing was torn off and the aircraft went up in flames. All 112 occupants (12 crew members, 100 passengers) were able to save themselves via the emergency exits.
  • On July 11, 1997, an Antonov An-24 crashed on Cubana Flight 787 in the Caribbean Sea off the southeastern coast of Cuba, killing all 44 occupants.
  • On August 29, 1998, a Tupolev Tu-154 crashed on Cubana Flight 389 during take-off shortly after take-off in Quito and went up in flames. The pilots had already abandoned two take-off attempts beforehand. 70 of the 91 inmates and 10 people on the ground were killed.
  • On December 21, 1999, one of two Cubana McDonnell Douglas DC-10s (aircraft registration number F-GTDI ) on Flight 1216 when landing in Guatemala City in wet weather over the runway and fell down a slope. Of the 314 people on board, 16 died (see also Cubana flight 1216 ) .
  • On March 31, 2003, a hijacker armed with two hand grenades forced a Cubana Antonov An-24 to fly to Key West , Florida . During a stopover to refuel in Havana, 26 passengers were released. In the incident no one was injured. The FBI was waiting for the plane in Key West.
  • On April 20, 2008, an Il-62 (aircraft registration number CU-T1283 ) had to return to Havana on Cubana flight 201 from Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic to the departure airport and make an emergency landing there. After about 40 nautical miles of flight, the pilots of the four-engine aircraft reported the failure of engines 1 and 2 and a fire in engine 2. All 117 passengers and crew were uninjured, and irreparable damage to the fuselage, wings and tail unit of the aircraft occurred.
  • On May 18, 2018 crashed Boeing 737-200 Advanced (air vehicle registration number XA UHC ) of the Mexican airline Global Air (Aerolíneas Damojh, SA de CV), which had been rented by the Cubana, shortly after taking off at the international airport of Havana on a field and went up in flames. On board the domestic flight CU972 from Havana to Holguín there were 107 passengers and 6 crew members. 112 people were killed in the accident. Three female passengers survived seriously injured, two of them died days later from their injuries.

Trivia

See also

Web links

Commons : Cubana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ aerosecure.de - Cubana airline profile , accessed on March 2, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b c Kneifel, Dr. Dr. JI: Airlines and air transport systems of the socialist states USSR, Poland, CSSR, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Cuba, Yugoslavia and the PR China . Published by Verlag F. Steinmeier, Nördlingen, 1980
  3. ^ Airliners.net
  4. ↑ airfleets.net - Cubana Fleet of A320 (active) (English) accessed on October 22, 2010
  5. ↑ Cubadebate - Entregan a Cuba tercer avión An-158, August 29, 2013 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ Prensa Latina / Radio Angulo - Cuba Purchases New Planes for Domestic Flights, 16. February 2013  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 29, 2013@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.radioangulo.cu  
  7. ↑ ch-aviation - Aerocaribbean merges with Cubana, July 9, 2015 (English) accessed on July 15, 2015
  8. ↑ cubana.cu - Destinations (English) accessed on July 6, 2015
  9. ^ When Fidel Castro nationalized Cubana , aerotelegraph, November 26, 2016
  10. ↑ Susana Antón: Investigation of the causes of the plane crash continues. In: Granma. June 13, 2018, accessed June 14, 2018 .
  11. ^ Cubana de Aviación suspende vuelos nacionales hasta septiembre 'como mínimo'. In: El Nuevo Herald . June 1, 2018, accessed June 2, 2018 (Spanish).
  12. ^ Cubana Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  13. ↑ cubana.cu - Aircrafts (English) accessed on July 6, 2015
  14. ↑ Cubana gets two new ATRs. In: planespotters.net. July 5, 2019, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  15. ↑ https://www.planespotters.net/operators/Ilyushin/Il-96
  16. ↑ Hidden (Spotter) Paradise Cayo Largo
  17. ↑ La aviación civil cubana y sus nuevas rutas de los noventa
  18. ↑ Fokker F27 production list , rzjets.net
  19. ^ Accident report DC-4 CU-T188 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 15, 2018.
  20. ^ Accident report DC-4 CU-T397 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 21, 2017.
  21. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report CU-T603 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  22. ↑ Description of the crashed aircraft in the Vickers Viscount Network
  23. ↑ Description of the Vickers Viscount on cubacollectibles.com
  24. ^ Accident report DC-8-43 CU-T1201 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 21, 2017.
  25. ↑ Flight accident data and report of Cubana flight 9646 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  26. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report of Cubana flight 2886 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  27. ↑ Flight accident data and report for Cubana flight 464 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  28. ↑ Flight accident data and report for Cubana flight 787 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  29. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report of Cubana flight 389 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  30. ↑ Flight accident data and report for Cubana flight 1216 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  31. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report of the hijacking in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  32. ↑ Flight accident data and report of Cubana flight 201 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  33. ↑ Flight CU972: Boeing 737 crashed at Havana Airport - more than 100 dead. In: aero.de aviation news. Aviation Media & IT GmbH, May 18, 2018, accessed on May 19, 2018 .
  34. ↑ Simon Hradecky: Crash: Global Damojh B732 at Havana on May 18th 2018, lost height shortly after takeoff. In: The Aviation Herald. NOMIS SOFT data processing company with limited liability, May 18, 2018, accessed on May 19, 2018 (English).
  35. ↑ Cuba's transport minister confirms 110 deaths in plane crash. In: Handelsblatt. May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018 .
  36. ↑ Plane crash in Cuba: the death toll rises to 111 . In: Spiegel Online . May 22, 2018 ( online [accessed May 22, 2018]).
  37. ↑ Muere Emiley Sánchez, una de las sobrevivientes del accidente aéreo en Cuba. In: Cibercuba. May 25, 2018, Retrieved May 25, 2018 (Spanish).