Aeroperlas

Aeroperlas

IATA WL ICAO APP Callsign AEROPERLAS
Founded	1970
Ceased operations	February 29, 2012 (2012-02-29) (Operations suspended indefinitely)
Hubs	Marcos A. Gelabert Regional Airport Enrique Malek Int'l Airport
Fleet size	4
Destinations	12
Company slogan	You are in good hands.
Parent company	APAIR
Headquarters	Panama City, Panama
Website	http://www.aeroperlas.com/

Aeroperlas (Aerolíneas Islas de Las Perlas) was an airline based in Panama City, Panama. It was the third largest airline of the country, only surpassed by Air Panama and Copa Airlines. It was a regional airline operating over 50 daily flights to 15 domestic destinations, as well as charter and courier flights. It operated services as part of the Grupo TACA Regional Airlines system. Its main base was Marcos A. Gelabert Regional Airport, Panama City, with a hub at Enrique Malek International Airport, David.^[1] It was the first Panamanian airline to neutralize their CO2 emission by an agreement with nature conservation organization ANCON and conservate trees in grow process at a private reserve in Darien. On February 29, 2012, Aeroperlas announced that it would cease operations indefinitely due to particular market conditions and the business model of the airline.

History

The airline was established and started operations in June 1970 as Aerolíneas Islas de las Perlas. It was government run from 1976 until 1987 when it was sold to private owners. In 1996 it began international operations, launching services to Costa Rica. It was owned by Apair (80%) and AMR American Eagle Airlines. According to Dan Garton in the late 1990s, AMR took a stake in Aeroperlas to find a way of streamlining American Eagles fleet and placing Shorts 360 aircraft with another airline. It is unclear if AMR remains a shareholder in Aeroperlas in 2009. (20%).^[1] In 1996, Aeroperlas begun international flights with Costa Rica as its first destination. In 2004, the airline become an affiliate of Grupo TACA and made a big jump of progress by improving the security of their aircraft and passengers. On October 2007, Aeroperlas become the first domestic airline in Panama to be certified into the strict regulations of the Panama's Civil Aeronautic Authority (AAC).

The beginning of the end for Aeroperlas came after 2010, when the passenger volume declined by a 69% and as a consecuence, all DHC-6 Twin Otters of the company were retired from service and sold to other companies, leaving the fleet number in 4. Also, their rival airline, Air Panama, bought two jet-powered Fokker 70 that reduced the time of each trip from 50 to 35 minutes. The situation was worsened by the closing of the Panamericana road by the Ngobe-Bugle tribe from February 3 to 10 of the 2012, when the regional flight tickets were suspended by the decretation of a air bridge for the stranded tourists for free. Because of that, on February 29, 2012, Aeroperlas ceased operations and left without work a total of 150 employees.^[2] The airline routes were passed to Air Panama, stranded passengers were indenmized and the affected employees are being capacitated by both Air Panama and Copa Airlines in order to be hired and continue with their careers.

Destinations

Aeroperlas operated services to the following scheduled regional destinations:

Panama

• Achutupo (ACU)
• Bahia Piña (BFQ) – Piña "Bahía Piña - Darién" Airport
• Bocas del Toro (BOC) – Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport
• Changuinola (CHX) – Changuinola "Capitan Manuel Niño" International Airport
• David (DAV) – David "Enrique Malek" International Airport
• Isla Contadora (OTD) – Contadora Airport
• Jaqué (JQE) – Jaqué Airport
• Mamitupu (MPI)
• Ogobsucum
• Panama City (PTY) – Tocumen International Airport
• Pedasi
• Playón Chico (PYC) – Playón Chico Airport
• Puerto Obaldia (PUE) – Puerto Obaldia Airport
• Tubualá (TUW)

Costa Rica

• San José (SJO) – Juan Santamaria International Airport

Incidents and accidents

^{[citation needed]}

During its early years of operation, Aeroperlas had a less than admirable safety record (as detailed below). However, since its commercial affiliation with TACA International Airlines (El Salvador)in 2004, great strides have been made to improve operational procedures and upgrade safety technology on aircraft. The installation of a new, safety-focused management team in late 2005 improved Aeroperlas' safety record. In 2006, according to official numbers published by the Panamanian Civil Aviation Authority, Aeroperlas suffered just one minor incident - the same safety record as Panama's COPA airlines achieved in the same period. To date (May 15) in 2007, Aeroperlas had a clean safety record and begun pointing to its safety strength in commercial activities (e.g.; its "Fly Safely, Fly Aeroperlas" campaign).

• On 18 April 1990 a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Registration N187SA had the no. 2 engine fail and the aircraft entered a descending turn which continued until impact with the sea. On board were 22 occupants (3 crew and 19 passengers). There were 20 fatalities, including the crew members.
• On 5 July 1990, De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter was hijacked. The hijacker(s) demanded to be taken to Colombia. Duration of the hijacking: less than 1 day. The Twin Otter was stolen by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on July 5, 1990 on a flight from Colón. The aircraft was destroyed in August 1990.
• On 17 March 2000 a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, registration HP-1267APP with 2 crew and 8 passengers on board crashed. The AeroPerlas Twin Otter departed Aeropuerto Marcos A. Gelabert at 08:46 for a flight of about 55 minutes to Puerto Obaldia. The aircraft disappeared some 20 minutes prior to the ETA. En route altitude was 7,500 feet (2,300 m) and weather conditions allowed VFR. At first the aircraft was thought to have been hijacked to Colombia. On March 22 however a search party aboard HP-1355 found the wreckage on a mountainside 12.5 nm from Puerto Obaldia at 11:35. The wreckage was found at the 2,500 feet (760 m) level of a 2,790 feet (850 m) high mountain. All onboard were killed.
• On 9 September 2000 a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, registration HP-1276APP with 2 crew and 19 passengers on board, was damaged when it overran the runway on landing and collided with a tree. The same aircraft, flown by the same pilot, had to make a precautionary landing at Enrique Jiménez airport because of engine problems on June 12, 2000. There were no fatalities.
• On 16 August 2004 a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, registration HP-1397APP with 2 crew and 5 passengers on board suffered substantial damage when An emergency landing was carried out on a small active road in the Arrajian district after an apparent engine failure. The airplane struck a tree. All on board survived.
• On 16 May 2009 a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, with 2 crew and approximately 15 passengers on board suffered damage shortly after landing at Carti airport in Kuna Yala when the airplane veered off the runway. The right main landing wheel stuck into the grass/mud and the plane turned 90 degrees to the runway before nosediving into the grass. The nose cone flew off on impact with visible damage to the fuselage and both wingtips. All on board survived.

Fleet

At the time of the shutdown, the Aeroperlas fleet included the following aircraft (as of 3 September 2010 (2010 -09-03)^[update]) ^[1] :

External links

• Aeroperlas
• Aviation Safety Net

References

v t e Airlines of Panama Current Air Panama Copa Airlines DHL Aero Expreso Defunct Aeroperlas (Operations suspended) Air Panamá Internacional Alas Chiricanas Air Services Cargo Panavia

v t e AviancaTaca Holding S.A. Subsidiaries Brazil Avianca Brazil OceanAir Táxi Aéreo Senior Táxi Aéreo Target TurbServ VarigLog Central America Aeroman Lacsa TACA TACA Regional Aeroperlas Aviateca Isleña La Costeña Nicaragüense de Aviación Sansa Colombia Avianca Avianca Services Helicol PAS Tampa Cargo Ecuador AeroGal VIP Peru TACA Peru History ACES Alianza Summa Capital Airlines SACO SAM SCADTA Wayraperú Key people Germán Efromovich Parent company AviancaTaca Holding S.A. Synergy Group + Kingsland Holding Ltd. List of airline holding companies