SAETA
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

SAETA Air Ecuador (legally ''Sociedad Anónima Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aéreos S.A.'') was a privately held airline of
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, which was founded in 1966. During its heyday in the 1990s, it flew to numerous destinations in North and South America from its base in
Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...
.


History

SAETA was founded in Quito in 1966, later the company headquarters were relocated to
Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...
. The main owners were the Dunn family. In addition to domestic flights, SAETA operated routes in North, Central and South America. It preferred flights to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Panamá Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
, Caracas, Bogotá,
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
,
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
and
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. In 1990, SAETA took over the Ecuadorian airline SAN, increasing frequencies and fleet for national and international flights. The airline later in 1994 took over LAPSA from Paraguay, operated with an Ecuadorian-Paraguayan Consortium until being sold to TAM Linhas Aereas in 1996. Political instability in the country and currency devaluation led to a decline in passenger numbers. This was followed by the cancellation of flights to the United States of America due to the loss of the approach permit for Category 1 airports. By the mid-1990s, events such as political instability and the devaluation of the currency, damaged SAETA, which caused a reduction in passengers, added to the cancellation of flights to the United States due to the loss of category 1 of the Ecuadorian aeronautical authority since 1993, accelerating its decline. Both SAN and SAETA had serious security breaches, which resulted in the loss of several flights. In February 2000, SAETA ended its flight operations after severe financial problems following the 1998–1999 Ecuador economic crisis.


Destinations

* **
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
( Ministro Pistarini International Airport) * **
Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...
( Jorge Wilstermann International Airport) **
Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River in the eastern Tropical Lowlands of Bolivia ...
( Viru Viru International Airport) * ** Río de Janeiro (
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport Rio de Janeiro/Galeão – Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport , popularly known by its original name Galeão International Airport, is the main airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2019, it was the country's fourth-busiest airpor ...
) * **
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
(
Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport Comodoro is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Amer ...
) * ** Bogota (
El Dorado International Airport El Dorado International Airport is an international airport serving Bogotá, Colombia and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engativá district and ...
) * **
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...
( Las Americas International Airport) * ** Cuenca (
Mariscal Lamar International Airport Mariscal Lamar International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Lamar) is a high elevation airport serving Cuenca, the capital of the Azuay Province in Ecuador. It is named after the Peruvian military leader and politician José de ...
) **
Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...
( José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport) Hub ** Quito (
Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport Mariscal Sucre International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre) was the main international airport serving Quito, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. It was the busiest airport in Ecuador by passenger traffic, by aircraft movement ...
) Hub ** San Cristóbal Island ( San Cristóbal Airport) * **
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
(
Tocumen International Airport Tocumen International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen) is the primary international airport serving Panama City, the capital of Panama. The airport serves as the homebase for Copa Airlines and is a regional hub to and from Th ...
) * **
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
(
Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez) is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, northwest from Lima Center, the nation's capital city and from the district of Miraf ...
) * **
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
( Los Angeles International Airport) **
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
(
Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most c ...
) **
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
(
John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
) * ** Caracas ( Simón Bolívar International Airport)


Fleet

SAETA had operated the following aircraft since it commenced operations:


Accidents and incidents

*On July 3, 1969, a
Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
was hijacked on a domestic flight from Tulcán Airport to
Mariscal Sucre International Airport Mariscal Sucre International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre) is an international airport serving Quito, Ecuador. It is the busiest airport in Ecuador and one of the busiest airports in South America. It is located in t ...
. The hijackers demanded to be taken to
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. *On October 20, 1971, a
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
was hijacked by six people. It landed at
Mariscal Lamar International Airport Mariscal Lamar International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Lamar) is a high elevation airport serving Cuenca, the capital of the Azuay Province in Ecuador. It is named after the Peruvian military leader and politician José de ...
. *On August 15, 1976, SAETA Flight 232, a
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
(registered HC-ARS) crashed into the Chimborazo volcano, killing all 59 people on board. The flight was considered missing until February 2003, after an independent verification of aircraft wreckage that was discovered in October 2002. *On April 23, 1979, a
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
(registered HC-AVP)
crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...
in the
Pastaza Province Pastaza () is a province in the Oriente of Ecuador located in the eastern jungle. The capital is Puyo, founded on May 12, 1899 and which has 36,700 inhabitants. The city is now accessible by paved roads, a recent development; the main road from ...
on a flight between the Quito and Cuenca, killing all 57 people on board. The flight was considered missing until 1984, when the wreckage was discovered. The aircraft was off track. *On January 18, 1986, a Sud Aviation Caravelle (registered HC-BAE), operated by Aerovías, crashed in a jungle area after executing a second missed approach procedure at Flores International Airport. Low lying clouds in the area forced the crew to carry out the missed approaches. All 88 passengers and 6 crew members died in the accident. *On August 22, 1997, a
Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
(registered HC-BVU) landed at San Cristóbal Airport with its undercarriage strucked the raised lip of the runway, causing it to collapse. After sliding for about 700 m before coming to rest on the right side of the runway.


See also

* List of defunct airlines of Ecuador


References


External links


SAETA aircraft
{{Airlines of Ecuador SAETA Defunct airlines of Ecuador Airlines established in 1966 Airlines disestablished in 2000 1960 establishments in Ecuador 2000s disestablishments in Ecuador