PLUNA
| PLUNA | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| IATA code : | PU |
| ICAO code : | PUA |
| Call sign : | PLUNA |
| Founding: | 1936 |
| Operation stopped: | 2012 |
| Seat: |
Montevideo , Uruguay
|
| Turnstile : | |
| Home airport : | Montevideo airport |
| Company form: | Corporation |
| Management: | Matías Campiani |
| Number of employees: | 500 |
| Frequent Flyer Program : | FlyClub |
| Fleet size: | 13 |
| Aims: | National and international |
| PLUNA ceased operations in 2012. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
PLUNA (short for Primera Línea Uruguaya de Navegación Aérea ) was an airline based in Montevideo , Uruguay and based at Montevideo Airport .
history
.jpg)
The airline was founded in September 1936 by the brothers Jorge Márquez Vaesa and Alberto Márquez Vaesa, with financial and technical support from the British Ambassador at the time, Sir Eugene Millington-Drake. The airline flew two De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly machines that could carry five passengers. The planes were named Churrinche and San Alberto in honor of the founder's father. One flew from Montevideo to Salto and Paysandú . In the first accounting year, Pluna flew 2,600 passengers, a great success for that time. They also transported 20,000 letters and 70,000 newspapers.
In the 1940s, PLUNA expanded and from 1947 onwards , with Porto Alegre in Brazil , it also flew to international destinations. Shortly thereafter, São Paulo and Santa Cruz in Brazil, and Buenos Aires , Rosario and Córdoba in Argentina were added. In 1951 the airline was nationalized.
Over the next three decades, the company's growth slowed. With the takeover of a total of three used Boeing 727-30C from Lufthansa , the use of jet aircraft began in 1978. PLUNA also flew to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Miami , Florida in the late 1970s . In the 1980s one also began to fly to the cities of Madrid , Asunción , Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile , but no longer flew to New York and Miami. During this time, Punta del Este flourished as a center of tourism, from which PLUNA benefited. A separate office was also opened in Tel Aviv , as Argentina and Uruguay have large Jewish communities.
The airline ran into significant financial difficulties in the 1990s and in 1994 the government sold 49% of Varig . In 2012, PLUNA performed 200 flights a week and used brand new Bombardier CRJ900s . The Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 used previously were retired by the end of 2008 and replaced by new CRJ900s.
Until June 11, 2005, PLUNA was 48% owned by the Uruguayan state, 49% belonged to VARIG, 2% belonged to Victor Mesa and 1% belongs to the airline's employees. When Varig went bankrupt, the state took back these shares and held 98%. The company was still in the red. In January 2007, Pluna began to be privatized. LeadGate , a consortium from Germany, the USA, Argentina and Uruguay, took over the airline. The Boeing 757 , Boeing 737-200 , Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 767-300ER aircraft previously held for Hajj flights between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia as well as for flights to Madrid were sold and completely converted to Bombardier aircraft .
In 2007 a new livery was introduced, with which the Bombardier CRJ900 were already delivered from the factory.
On July 5, 2012, the Uruguayan government decided to liquidate the financially troubled PLUNA - it ceased operations on the same day.
On November 7, 2013, the Uruguayan Supreme Court ruled that the law approving the liquidation of the airline was unconstitutional, leaving the future of the successor, Alas U, in the dark.
Destinations
PLUNA connected Montevideo and Punta del Este and also flew internationally to Buenos Aires , Córdoba , São Paulo , Rio de Janeiro , Florianópolis , Porto Alegre , Asunción and Santiago de Chile .
fleet
As of March 2012, the PLUNA fleet consisted of 13 aircraft:
In addition, PLUNA u. a. the following aircraft types:
- Boeing 727 (from 1978, former Lufthansa machines)
- Boeing 737
- Boeing 767
- De Havilland DH.114 Heron
- Douglas DC-2
- Douglas DC-3 / C-47
- Fairchild F-27
- Fokker F-27 Friendship
- Vickers Viscount
Incidents
At PLUNA there were two total losses in which 10 people were killed.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.aerosecure.de: Security profile of PLUNA January 22, 2010
- ↑ rzjets, AIRLINE (English), accessed on March 20, 2017.
- ↑ See Aero No. 5/2008, p. 44 ff.
- ↑ ar.reuters.com - Uruguay liquidará aerolínea Pluna, suspende vuelos: fuente Gobierno (Spanish) July 5, 2012
- ↑ SCJ declara inconstitucional ley de liquidación de Pluna - Las alas del deseo (Spanish) on www.montevideo.com.uy of November 7, 2013, accessed on November 7, 2013
- ↑ ch-aviation.ch - PLUNA fleet ( Memento of the original from August 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) accessed on March 6, 2012
- ^ Davies, REG, Airlines of Latin America since 1919, London 1984, pp. 653–654.
- ↑ PLUNA accident statistics , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 20, 2017.
