Aerolíneas Peruanas S.A. (also known as APSA or the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
translation Peruvian Airlines)
was an airline from
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, serving as
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hist ...
of the country from 1956 to 1971.
Headquartered in
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 t ...
, it operated a network of scheduled passenger flights to major places in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
, as well as the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, out of its hub at
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 Mira ...
.
History
APSA was founded by C. W. Shelton on September 16, 1956,
with 77 percent of the company's shares spread amongst private Peruvian investors.
Flight operations were launched on September 17, 1957, on the Lima to
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, who ...
and
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 th ...
routes.
Originally not a member of the
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tar ...
(IATA was only joined in 1966), APSA could significantly undercut the usual airline fares for flights between South America and the USA.
To strengthen its market position, APSA went into a partnership with
Transportes Aéreos Nacionales
Transportes Aéreos Nacionales SA, also known as TAN Airlines, was a Honduran airline, headquartered at the Edificio TAN in Tegucigalpa. The carrier was set up in 1947 and merged into SAHSA, another Honduran airline, in .
History
The airline w ...
and
Compañía Ecuatoriana de Aviación.
The
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...
being the aircraft most commonly used with the airline in the early 1960s,
Aerolíneas Peruanas joined the
jet age
The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about.
Jet airliners were able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older pis ...
on December 1, 1963 with the introduction of the
Convair 990 Coronado
The Convair 990 Coronado is an American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between 1961 and 1963 by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair 880 produced in respons ...
.
During those years, the network was greatly expanded,
which culminated in the launch of transatlantic flights using the
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company.
After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
by the end of the decade.
In the early 1970s, APSA found itself in a worsening financial situation. Plans for a take-over by the Peruvian government and Spanish national airline
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a la ...
failed, so the company was forced to cease all flight operations on May 2, 1971.
Destinations
APSA offered scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations:
Fleet

Over the years, APSA operated the following aircraft types:
Accidents and incidents
*On January 11, 1969, a
Convair 990 Coronado
The Convair 990 Coronado is an American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between 1961 and 1963 by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair 880 produced in respons ...
was
hijacked en route a flight from
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 ...
to
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 th ...
and forced to divert 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 ...
.
At that time, such
United States-Cuba hijackings had become common occurrences.
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of Peru
This is a list of defunct airlines of Peru.
See also
*List of airlines of Peru
* List of airports in Peru
References
{{Airlines of the Americas
*
Airlines, defunct
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apsa - Aerolineas Peruanas S.A.
Defunct airlines of Peru
Airlines established in 1956
Airlines disestablished in 1971