Aerolíneas Peruanas


Aerolíneas Peruanas S.A. was an airline from Peru, serving as flag carrier of the country from 1956 to 1971. Headquartered in Lima, it operated a network of scheduled passenger flights to major places in Latin America, as well as the United States, out of its hub at Lima Airport. In 1967, APSA had around 1,000 employees.

History

Aerolíneas Peruanas was founded by C. W. Shelton in September 1956, with 77 percent of the company's shares spread amongst private Peruvian investors. Flight operations were launched in mid-1957, on the Lima to Santiago and Miami routes. Originally not a member of the International Air Transport Association, APSA could significantly undercut the usual airline fares for flights between South America and the USA. To strengthen its market position, APSA went into a partnership with Transportes Aéreos Nacionales and Compañía Ecuatoriana de Aviación.
The Douglas DC-6 being the aircraft most commonly used with the airline in the early 1960s, Aerolíneas Peruanas joined the jet age on 1 December 1963 with the introduction of the Convair 990 Coronado. During that years, the network had been greatly expanded, which culminated in the launch of transatlantic flights using the Douglas DC-8 by the end of the decade.
In the early 1970s, Aerolíneas Peruanas found itself in a worsening financial situation. Plans for a take-over by the Peruvian government and Spanish national airline Iberia failed, so that the company was forced to cease all flight operations on 2 May 1971.

Route network

APSA offered scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations:
CityStateAirportCommenced
Buenos AiresArgentinaMinistro Pistarini International Airport
ca. 1958
La PazBoliviaEl Alto International Airport
ca. 1970
Rio de JaneiroBrazilGaleão International Airport
1965
São PauloBrazilCongonhas Airport
1966
SantiagoChileSantiago International Airport
1957
BarranquillaColombiaSoledad Airport
1962
BogotáColombiaEl Dorado International Airport
1966
GuayaquilEcuadorJosé Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
ca. 1958
ParisFranceOrly Airport
ca. 1970
TegucigalpaHondurasToncontín International Airport
ca. 1958
AcapulcoMexicoAcapulco International Airport
1966
Mexico CityMexicoMexico City International Airport
1960
Panama CityPanamaTocumen International Airport
1960
LimaPeruLima Airport
1957
TalaraPeruTalara Airport
1960
MadridSpainMadrid–Barajas Airport
ca. 1970
Port of SpainTrinidad and TobagoPiarco International Airport
ca. 1970
LondonUnited KingdomGatwick Airport
ca. 1970
Los AngelesUnited StatesLos Angeles International Airport
1966
MiamiUnited StatesMiami International Airport
1957
CaracasVenezuelaSimón Bolívar International Airport
ca. 1970

Fleet

Over the years, APSA operated the following aircraft types:
AircraftIntroducedRetired
Convair 990 Coronado
1963
1971
Curtiss C-46 Commando
1957
1970
Douglas DC-6
1960
1966
Douglas DC-7
1967
1970
Douglas DC-8
1969
1971

Incidents

On 11 January 1969, an Aerolíneas Peruanas Convair 990 Coronado was hijacked en route a flight from Panama City to Miami and forced to divert to Cuba. At that time, such United States-Cuba hijackings had become common occurrences.