When it comes to the commercial aviation scene in Perú today, LATAM Airlines (specifically its Peruvian subsidiary) is the dominant force. However, going back a few years, another Lima-based carrier operated a reasonably extensive network out of Perú’s capital, namely Peruvian Airlines. Let’s take a closer look at this carrier’s operational history.
A new domestic carrier
Peruvian Airlines was a product of the 2000s, having been founded in 2007. An interesting group of investors was behind the new carrier. According to ATDB.aero, these included the owner of fellow Peruvian operator Cielos Andinos, and former rally driver Ernesto Jochamowitz. The new airline eventually gained its AOC in December 2008.
Following the granting of its Air Operator’s Certificate, Peruvian Airlines should have begun operations in March 2009. However, legal investigations forced the carrier to postpone this start date to October 2009. It managed to commenced operations as planned at the end of this month, having obtained a fresh AOC following the investigations.
Peruvian Airlines functioned almost exclusively as a domestic carrier. It operated out of Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), from which it served various internal routes. One exception was the international corridor to the Bolivian capital of La Paz.
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An all-jet fleet
Peruvian Airlines provided speed and capacity on its primarily internal network by utilizing an all-jet fleet. According to data from ch-aviation.com, the most common types at the carrier were the Boeing 737-300 and -200, with eight and seven examples respectively.
Less numerous designs at the carrier included the 737-300QC (two), 737-400 (one), and the 737-500 (five). ATDB.aero adds that a 1968-built Douglas DC-8-73CF even briefly served Peruvian Airlines, in a spell that spanned from August 2013 to October 2014.
At the time of Peruvian Airlines’ collapse, the carrier had orders for two Russian designs in the book. These amounted to 10 aircraft apiece for the Irkut MC-21 and the Sukhoi Superjet. It may have been planning to use these for a future subsidiary called Aero Perù.
Ten turbulent years
During Peruvian Airlines’ 10 years of operations, the carrier came up against several challenges. For example, in August 2011, it had its AOC suspended for eight days due to safety issues. Even when operations were able to restart, they could only initially do so in a limited capacity. Solely its Boeing 737-300s could fly in the immediate aftermath.
The airline made the news again in 2018, when one of its 737-500s (aged 28 years old) crashed in La Paz. While the incident didn’t result in any injuries, it was the end of the line for the aircraft. Registered as OB-2041-P, its wreckage reportedly remains in La Paz today.
A landing gear collapse caused the crash, and, a year later, Peruvian Airlines experienced a collapse on a wider scale. In October 2019, it was forced to cease operating after Peruvian authorities seized its bank accounts over unpaid debts pertaining to fuel bills. This brought an end to a turbulent decade of operational history at Peruvian Airlines.
What are your memories of Peruvian Airlines? Did you ever fly with the Lima-based carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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