Austral Líneas Aéreas

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Not to be confused with Air Austral.
Austral Líneas Aéreas
250px
IATA ICAO Callsign
AU AUT AUSTRAL
Founded 1957 (as Compañía Austral de Transportes Aéreos)
Commenced operations January 1958 (1958-01)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer program Aerolíneas Plus
Airport lounge VIP Lounge
Alliance SkyTeam (Affiliate)
Subsidiaries Inter Austral (currently defunct)
Fleet size 22
Destinations 22
Parent company Aerolíneas Argentinas (100%)
Headquarters Buenos Aires, Argentina
Key people
Website www.austral.com.ar

Cielos del Sur S.A., operating as Austral Líneas Aéreas, more commonly known by its shortened name Austral, is a domestic airline of Argentina, the sister company of Aerolíneas Argentinas.[3][4] It is the second largest domestic scheduled airline in the country, after Aerolíneas Argentinas itself. As a subsidiary of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the company shares its headquarters with that airline, which is located in the Torre Bouchard, San Nicolás, Buenos Aires. Its main base of operations is Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires.

Austral is currently fully integrated into Aerolíneas Argentinas; however, some differences arise, especially those relying upon the Unions the staff of both companies are affiliated to, which lead to constant conflicts.[5][6][7]

As of April 2013, the airline operates an all-Embraer 190 fleet.

History

The origins of the carrier trace back to 1957,[8] when Compañía Austral de Transportes Aéreos SACI (CATASACI) was founded, starting scheduled services in January 1958 (1958-01).[9] CATASACI focused its services on southwestern Argentina, but it also operated international flights to Montevideo, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas.[9] Aerotransportes Litoral Argentino (ALA) was a Rosario–based company that was founded in 1957 to operate flights between this city and Buenos Aires using Aero Commander equipment and operated flights within northern Argentina.[10][11] In 1965, Pan Am acquired a 22% stake in ALA in return for supplying the company with DC-3s.[12] A year later, CATASACI acquired a 30% holding in ALA and the services of both companies were integrated.[9]

File:Douglas DC-6 LV-IOR Austral AEP 26.04.72 edited-2.jpg
Douglas DC-6 of Austral at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in 1972. This aircraft served the airline from 1965.

At May 1971 (1971-05), the ALA fleet consisted of two C-46s, five DC-3s, two DC-6Bs and five YS-11A-300s that served a domestic network including Buenos Aires, Corrientes, Formosa, Goya, Paraná, Paso de los Libres, Posadas, Resistencia, Rosario, Salta, Santa Fe and Tucumán, plus regional services to Antofagasta and Asunción,[13] whereas CATASACI had a fleet that included seven BAC One-Elevens —four 400s and three 500s—, one C-46, one DC-6 and three YS-11s.[14] Austral Líneas Aéreas was formally established in June that year from the merger of CATASACI and ALA.[8] In practice, operations of the latter airline were absorbed by CATASACI, which was rebranded as Austral Líneas Aéreas S.A. after merging. Austral inherited both companies' fleet, consisting of turboprops NAMC YS-11 and jetliners BAC One-Eleven.

File:NAMC YS-11A-309 LV-JIJ Austral AEP 26.04.72 edited-2.jpg
NAMC YS-11A of Austral at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in 1972
File:Austral Líneas Aéreas MD-83 LV-WGN USH 2004-2-2.png
An Austral MD-83 in one of the former liveries, on the apron at Malvinas Argentinas International Airport. (2004)

Austral became a government-owned company in 1980. After poor economic performances, there were two failed attempts to re-privatise Austral in 1981 and 1983. All that time Austral and Aerolíneas Argentinas were competitors on a number of domestic routes. Realizing that such a situation could not persist much longer, the government decided again to privatise Austral. This was much resisted by the Aerolíneas Argentinas' personnel, and more specifically its pilots, who claimed their salaries were lower than those of Austral's counterparts. Aerolíneas Argentinas' pilots union understood the government effort was not to solve their affiliates salary conflict, but to focus on privatising a loss-making carrier as Austral was instead. The consequence of this discrepance was the announcement that Aerolíneas Argentinas flights were to be indefinitely suspended effective 1 July 1986.[15] The strike affected both Aerolineas Argentinas' domestic and international operations. Argentine as well as foreign carriers were benefited from this strike. Ironically, Austral was included among that carriers, gaining the domestic market share Aerolíneas Argentinas lost.[16]

Austral became once again a privately owned firm when it was acquired by the holding company Cielos del Sur S.A. in late 1987.[8] The acquisition generated some controversy on the Argentine aviation sector at that time, as it was raised that the new owner had little or no experience in managing an airline. On April 1988, the carrier became an IATA member. Shortly afterwards, the company faced a major accident during its new private era on 12 June 1988, when a McDonnell Douglas MD-81 hit a tree on a low visibility approach into Posadas and crashed. Apart from the 22 fatalities involved in the accident, it also spread concerns on the aviation sector over the airline's poor rate of occupation on some routes, of just 10.32% for this particular flight.[citation needed]

Cielos del Sur S.A. and Iberia formed a consortium to acquire an 85% stake in Aerolíneas Argentinas in 1990, within the framework of that flag carrier privatisation.[17][18] Soon afterwards, Cielos del Sur S.A. sold Austral to Iberia. The destiny of both Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral became aligned thereafter. By July 1998, the company was 10% owned by its erstwhile competitor Aerolíneas Argentinas.[19]

On 21 July 2008 the Argentine Government took the airline back into state control after acquiring 99.4% of the share capital for an undisclosed price. The remaining 0.6% continues to be owned by the company's employees.[20] In September 2008, Argentina's Senate approved the nationalization of Aerolíneas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral Líneas Aéreas on a 46–21 vote in favor of the takeover.[21]

In June 2010 (2010-06) Aerolíneas Argentinas launched a new paint scheme to revamp the airline's image.[22] The new livery resembles the colour blue of Argentina's flag and the colour yellow of the sun. As its subsidiary airline, Austral also adopted the new image. Austral's livery actually differs from the Aerolíneas Argentinas' one by a red cheatline only.[23] In the meantime the airline also announced the incorporation of 20 new Embraer 190 to its fleet, receiving the first two of them in September 2010.

Destinations

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: Austral Líneas Aéreas destinations

The so-called Federal Corridor (Spanish: Corredor Federal), a two-way route linking the cities of Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Iguazú, Mendoza and Salta, is commercially run by Aerolíneas Argentinas, yet the route is actually operated using Austral equipment.[24]

Fleet

File:Austral E-190 LV-CET TUC 2012-11-10.png
An Austral Líneas Aéreas Embraer 190 on the apron at Benjamín Matienzo International Airport in 2012.

Austral Líneas Aéreas underwent a major fleet renewal. In 2009, the company signed a contract with Embraer for the purchase of 20 Embraer 190s,[25][26][27] in a deal worth US$600 million that was 85% financed by BNDES.[28] Two more E-190s were ordered in April 2013 (2013-04);[29][30] the first of these two aircraft was incorporated into the fleet in September 2013 (2013-09).[31]

As of October 2013, the airline's fleet comprised the following equipment:[32]

Austral Líneas Aéreas Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Embraer 190 22 0 8 88 96[33]
Total 22 0

Retired

File:Austral LV-JNT.jpg
An Austral BAC One-Eleven taxiing at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in 1993. This livery was used while the carrier was owned by Cielos del Sur S.A., and persisted for some years after the airline was acquired by Iberia.

Austral previously operated the following equipment:[34]

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

Accidents and incidents

As of December 2011, Aviation Safety Network records 11 accidents/incidents for Austral Líneas Aéreas, totalling 224 deaths.[38] The list below includes hull-loss accidents only.

Date Location Aircraft Tail number Aircraft damage Fatalities Description Refs
16 January 1959 ArgentinaMar del Plata C-46 Commando LV-GED W/O 51/52 The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled Buenos Aires–Mar del Plata passenger service as Flight 205. It crashed into the sea 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) off the coast after a missed approach to the airport of destination. [39]
17 December 1969 ArgentinaBuenos Aires C-46 Commando LV-GEB W/O 0/2 One of the engines ran out of fuel at climbout after an improper selection of the fuel pump. The pilots managed to land the plane in a nearby sports field. The aircraft was operating a cargo service. [40]
4 December 1973 ArgentinaBahía Blanca BAC 1–11 500 LV-JNR W/O 0/74 Experienced a loss of power in an engine immediately after takeoff from Comandante Espora Airport. The pilots made a forced landing using the remaining length of the runway. Arresting cables deployed on it were unable to stop the aircraft, and damaged the fuel tanks as they broke off. Despite sparks igniting the fuel, all occupants managed to escape unharmed from the aircraft. [41]
21 November 1977 ArgentinaBariloche BAC 1–11 400 LV-JGY W/O 46/79 The airplane was operating a chartered Buenos Aires–San Carlos de Bariloche passenger service as Flight 9, when it suffered pressurization problems during climbout to 35,000 feet (11,000 m). It flew the route despite this, although at a lower flight level. On approach to San Carlos de Bariloche Airport the aircraft collided with the ground, 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of the destination city. [42]
7 May 1981 ArgentinaBuenos Aires BAC 1–11 500 LV-LOX W/O 31/31[note 1] The aircraft was operating a scheduled domestic Tucumán–Buenos Aires passenger service as Flight 901. Crashed into the Río de la Plata amid stormy weather while on approach to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east-southeast of the airfield. [43][44]
12 June 1988 ArgentinaPosadas MD-81 N1003G W/O 22/22 Crashed on final approach to Posadas Airport after hitting trees in low visibility. Was operating a scheduled Resistencia–Posadas service as Flight 46. [45][46]
10 October 1997 UruguayNuevo Berlín DC-9-32 LV-WEG W/O 74/74 Crashed while en route from Posadas to Buenos Aires operating Flight 2553 after entering a storm. The likely cause of the accident was the icing of the pitot tubes. It remains the deadliest one experienced by the carrier all through its history. [47][48]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A discrepancy exists regarding the death toll, as it was claimed it rose to 30,[43] or to 31.[44]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑
    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Embraer and Austral Seal Contract for 20 Embraer 190 Jets
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Archived 21 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Accident description for LV-GED at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 December 2011.
  40. ↑ Accident description for LV-GEB at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 December 2011.
  41. ↑ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 December 2011.
  42. ↑ Accident description for LV-JGY at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 December 2011.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Accident description for LV-LOX at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 5 August 2011.
  45. ↑ Accident description for N1003G at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 December 2011.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Accident description for LV-WEG at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 23 December 2011.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Austral_Líneas_Aéreas&oldid=144566"