Cancun
The New Eastern Airlines. The Wings of Man
MIAMI, Florida–In 2009, a professional group of airline managers acquired the intellectual property of Eastern Airlines to develop a new business plan and financing plan to re-launch the airline. The team put together a plan to re-launch Eastern to be based at Miami International Airport. It quickly established working relationships with strategic partners including the Miami Airport Authority, Amadeus and Airbus. Eastern’s relationship with Amadeus dates back to Eastern’s reservation system, called System One. This system was eventually sold by Eastern Airlines and later became the core of the Amadeus system. Eastern Airlines also has a special and unique relationship with Airbus dating to 1972, when Eastern Airlines became the launch airline customer for the Airbus A-300. The team developed a multi-level business and financing plan that is being used to raise the capital required for Eastern Airlines to certify under FAA Regulation Part 121. That work has commenced, led by one of the industry’s leading certification consultants, Locked On. Today, the new Eastern Airlines is working with various industry-leading aircraft leasing companies to assemble a fleet of A-319s and A-320s aircraft. In addition, Eastern Airlines has moved into its headquarters office space at Building 5A at Miami International Airport, which was the former “Eastern Operations Center”, a four story building at the corner of Le Jeune Road and 36th Street, and which once housed all of Eastern’s system control and maintenance control centers, and other operating units. The new Eastern Airlines is expected to operate flights from Miami International Airport to the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Central American Airline Cemetery
SAN JOSE,Costa Rica–The airline cemetery in Central America is quite full now. The airline industry has changed dramatically since it was born in the 1930s in the Isthmus. Guatemala used to have airlines like AeroQuetzal, TikalJets and flag carrier Aerolineas de Guatemala (AVIATECA). The latter was absorbed by TACA International Airlines. Honduras had several carriers, Transportes Aereos Nacionales (TAN), Servicio Aereo de Honduras (SAHSA) and SOL Air. Nicaragua had Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua (LANICA) that folded its wings in 1980. The Sandinista regime created Aerolineas Nicaraguenses S.A. (AERONICA) that also closed in the 1990s. TACA International created Nicaraguense de Aviacion (NICA) that was also absorbed into GRUPO TACA in 1998. Costa Rica has been the Central American nation with the most airlines; Empresa Nacional de Transporte Aereo (ENTA), Lineas Aereas Costarricenses (LACSA), RANSA, SANSA, Vuelos Especiales Liberianos (VEL), Aero Costa Rica S.A. (ACORISA) and Aeropostal Alas de Centro America. ACORISA operated for five years and folded its wings in September 1997. LACSA and SANSA were fully absorbed by GRUPO TACA in 1998. Panama has had several airlines too; PAISA, Air Panama International, Aeroperlas and Compañia Panameña de Aviacion (COPA). Aeroperlas was purchased by GRUPO TACA and suspended operations in 2012. Air Panama International also folded its wings after Noriega was deposed, but a new domestic airline was formed using the same name. Finally El Salvador has had only one international airline; Transportes Aereos Centro Americanos (TACA International Airlines). The airline originally was founded in Honduras in 1931 but became the Salvadorian flag carrier. In the 1990s TACA bought the flag carriers of Central America and in 2009 it was merged into Colombian airline AVIANCA. The disappearance of all these airlines and flag carriers has created the need of new start-ups. For 2014 two new airlines will appear in Central America: LCC Salvadorian airline Vuelos Economicos Centro Americanos (VECA) and Costa Rican flag carrier TICOS AIR.
Adios Cancun…
CANCUN, Mexico. — The Spanish airline AIR EUROPA has announced that it will suspend effective April 2013 its flights between Madrid and Cancun. After IBERIA decided to cancel their operations to Uruguay and Cuba, AIR EUROPA increased operations to Havana and Montevideo, plus a new service to La Paz, Bolivia. Pullmantour will be the only carrier offering the non-stop service between Madrid and the Mexican Riviera. In 2012 up to 200,000 Spaniards visited the Mexican Caribbean and it is expected that for 2013 that number can go down to 170,000.
Latin American Airlines & Industry News 