Air Caribbean was an airline that served from
Isla Verde International Airport
Isla or ISLA may refer to:
Organizations
* International Securities Lending Association, a trade association
* International School of Los Angeles
* International Bilingual School, later named International School of Los Angeles
People
* Isla (g ...
, in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
. The 1970s and 1980s were decades when several Puerto Rican airlines existed and competed against each other, including
Prinair
Prinair is a Puerto Rican charter operator airline. It was Puerto Rico's domestic and international flag carrier airline for almost two decades from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Despite previously ceasing scheduled commercial operations twice ...
,
Vieques Air Link and
Dorado Wings. Believing a share of the market profits could be gained, Air Caribbean was created in 1975.
There was one thread in common between Puerto Rican airlines of the time: Since at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport they would face tough, jet competition from major airlines (such as
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
,
Air France,
British Caledonian,
Delta,
Eastern,
Iberia,
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
,
Mexicana and
Pan Am, to name a few) shall they try to offer jet services to further away cities, they would have faced economical problems. Most of them (except Prinair, which actually had a service to
Florida for a short period of time), stuck to routes around the Caribbean.
Air Caribbean was not the exception. The airline used
DC-3 aircraft from its beginnings, to nearby Caribbean islands, and to
Rafael Hernández Airport in
Aguadilla. The airline also used leased
Beech 18 airplanes. The airline was prominent for some time among
Puerto Rican travellers and American tourists, as it provided, with Prinair, the only two commercial air services to Aguadilla and easier access to nearby
Quebradillas. The 1970s, as it is widely known, were difficult times for airlines because of the oil crisis (
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
and
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
) and deregulation of the industry in the U.S.
In addition, another competitor,
Aero Virgin Islands
Aero Virgin Islands was an airline based in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
History
Aero Virgin Islands Corp. began operating in the Caribbean during the late 1970s. Operations specifications issued by the Federal Aviation Administration und ...
from the
U.S. Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
, proved an impossible obstacle to overcome for Air Caribbean. In 1979, the airline had its last flight. Aero Virgin Islands also outlasted Prinair; out of the aforementioned Caribbean airlines, the only ones still providing service are Prinair and Vieques Air Link, with Prinair having restarted services during 2019.
Accidents and incidents
*On September 26, 1978, at 18:45 local time, a
Beech 18, leased by Air Caribbean, tried to land at
Isla Verde Airport in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
after a domestic flight,
flight 309, from what was then known as Ramey base airport in Aguadilla when it crashed near
Residencial Las Casas instead, killing all six occupants in the airplane and injuring several occupants of a bar, including local mechanic Luciano Rivera. Wake turbulence from an
Eastern Airlines L-1011
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comme ...
was found to be the cause of this crash,
but the accident nevertheless led to the general public losing some trust on the airline.
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of the United States
References
Defunct airlines of Puerto Rico
Airlines established in 1975
Airlines disestablished in 1979
1975 establishments in Puerto Rico
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