Nuevo Continente

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Nuevo Continente
IATA
N6		 ICAO
ACQ		 Callsign
Nuevo Continente
Founded 1992
Ceased operations 2005
Hubs Jorge Chavez International Airport
Fleet size Unknown
Destinations 14 (at shutdown)
Headquarters Lima, Peru
Key people Fernando Zevallos (Founder)

Nuevo Continente was an airline based in Lima, Peru. It operated scheduled and charter domestic and international services. It was originally named Aero Continente in 1992 and short after it became Peru's Leading airline, controlling up to 90% of the market at one point.

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[edit] History

The airline was established as Aero Continente on 4 January 1992 and started operations on 25 May 1992. It was formed in Tarapoto to take advantage of tax incentives for investments in outlying regions. Initial operations focused on charter work in support of oil exploration, but commercial flights were added on 20 July 1993.

During the company's early stages, it faced major competition from Peru's flag carrier, Aeroperu. But Aeroperu faced economic problems and Aero Continente began to gain ground on its main rival. After the demise of Aeroperu in 1999, Aero Continente became Peru's largest international air carrier.

Aero Continente joined forces with a Chilean investment group in late 1999 to launch Aero Continente Chile. However, the Chilean government accused the airline's personnel of using their airplanes for trafficking drugs and subsequently grounded Aero Continente Chile in June 2002 and seized their assets. The airline declared itself bankrupt the following month and accused the Chilean government of working to undermine Aero Continente Chile in order to benefit LAN Chile.

In January 2004 Aero Continente aircraft were banned from entering United States airspace due to safety concerns of the US government. On June 1, 2004, the United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control added the airline to its Listing of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, making it illegal for Americans to trade with the company in any way. The same day, Fernando Zevallos was included on the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the "Kingpin Act") by United States President George W. Bush.

The addition of the airline to the Listing of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons devastated Aero Continente. Because Global Aerospace, Aero Continente's insurer, is partially owned by Americans, Global Aerospace suspended all business with Aero Continente. Peruvian law requires that airlines operating in Peru have insurance, and so Aero Continente was forced to suspend all flights from 12 July 2004.

After being grounded for ten days, in an effort to save the company and its three thousand employees, the airline restarted operations under a new ownership structure and a new brand called Nuevo Continente. The airline was wholly owned by its employees. The United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control added Nuevo Continente to its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. As of 2005, Nuevo Continente does not exist.

[edit] Services

Nuevo Continente Boeing 767-200
Nuevo Continente Boeing 767-200

Nuevo Continente operated services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (as of January 2005): Arequipa, Cajamarca, Chiclayo, Cuzco, Iquitos, Juliaca, Lima, Piura, Pucallpa, Puerto Maldonado, Tacna, Tarapoto, Trujillo and Tumbes.

but at a time the arline had flights to: Quito, Guayaquil, Bogotá, Caracas, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Miami, New York, Madrid, La Paz, Santa Cruz and Sao Paulo

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[edit] Fleet Details

[edit] External links

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