Air Flamenco is a

commuter airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

operated by Air Charter, Inc., based in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

History

Air Flamenco traces its history to Flamenco Airways, which was founded in 1976 by Mr. Rubén Torres. The first aircraft used was the

Piper Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

6 with flights between the islands of Culebra and

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

. Six months after initial operation they acquired their first twin engine

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

with a capacity of 9 passengers. With this new aircraft their service expanded with more passenger routes and US postal service between the two islands of Vieques and Culebra and the main island of Puerto Rico. Within the following five years, the airline increased its fleet to 6 aircraft expanding its services and charter flights throughout the Caribbean Islands including US and British Virgin Islands.In 2009 the airline acquired 2 other Britten Norman Islanders for cargo flights. The airline is based at 4 locations:

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport , also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is an airport in Isla Grande, a district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and is adjacent to the Puer ...

better known as the Isla Grande Airport, San Juan;

José Aponte de la Torre Airport José Aponte de la Torre Airport is a public use airport owned by Puerto Rico Ports Authority and located from Ceiba, a coastal town in Puerto Rico. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which ca ...

Ceiba, Puerto Rico Ceiba () is both a small town and a municipality in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located in the north-east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, south of Fajardo, north of Naguabo and sout ...

;

Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport is a public use airport on the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico. The airport is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, whic ...

, Culebra; and

Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is a public airport on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico. Because a large amount of Vieques's yearly revenue comes from the tourism industry, this airport plays an important part in the Vieques economy. For ...

, Vieques. Current destinations are cities in Puerto Rico, the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

, and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Air Flamenco is currently the largest Britten-Norman Islander operator. Air Flamenco flew under an

air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a airline ticket, ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad h ...

license until 2011. The FAA ordered the carrier to cease and desist exceeding the requirements of an air charter company as they were in actuality operating a commuter air service without license. They were fined $30,000. They have since obtained a license to fly as a commuter air service air carrier. The air carrier is a VFR-only approved carrier.

Fleet

Britten-Norman Trislander The Britten-Norman Trislander (more formally designated the BN-2A Mk III Trislander) is an 18-seat three-engined piston-powered civilian utility aircraft produced in the 1970s and early 1980s by Britten-Norman of Britain. These STOL capable a ...

*4 Short 360-300F Besides being operated in passenger service, versions of all three of types are flown in all-cargo configuration by Flamenco Cargo, a division of Air Flamenco.http://www.airliners.net, photos of Air Flamenco Cargo aircraft

Accidents

*Aircraft N902GD, Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-27 Islander en route from Mayagüez to Isla Grande Airport, San Juan crashed. The airplane, transporting a bank's financial documents, departed Mayagüez at 18:30 on 29 September 2004. En route the airplane approached and penetrated a level 4-5 rain shower. Control was lost and the plane crashed into the sea. There was one fatality. *Aircraft N909GD, Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-27 Islander en route from Ceiba, PR to the island of Culebra crashed on October 6, 2013 near Luis Peña while flying newspapers from the main island. No passengers were on board, however, the pilot did not survive.

References

External links

*
Air Charter DirectoryFlight Stats LinkAviation Safety Net
{{Airlines of the United States 1976 establishments in Puerto Rico Companies based in San Juan, Puerto Rico Airlines of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican brands Airlines established in 1976