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| Founded | 1992 | |||
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| Hubs | Viru Viru International Airport | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Club AeroSur[1] | |||
| Fleet size | 11 | |||
| Destinations | 20 | |||
| Company slogan | La aerolínea de los Bolivianos (The Bolivians' airline) |
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| Headquarters | Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia | |||
| Key people | Humberto Roca (CEO) |
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| Website | Official Website (English) | |||
Compañía Boliviana de Transporte Aéreo Privado Aerosur, S.A.,[2] usually shortened and styled AeroSur is a privately-owned airline from Bolivia, which serves as the country's flag carrier since 1998,[3] along with state-owned Boliviana de Aviación. Headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra,[4] it operates a network of domestic and international scheduled passenger flights with its hub at the city's Viru Viru International Airport.[5] As of 2010, the airline had 1200 employees.[6]
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AeroSur was established in April 1992, following the deregulation of the Bolivian airline market, which previously had been controlled by state-owned Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano. Revenue flights on regional routes were commenced on 24 August of that year,[3] using an initial fleet of Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner and British Aerospace 146 aircraft. Over the following years, larger Boeing 727 airliners were acquired, allowing for a growth of network size and passenger numbers.
During the 2000s, AeroSur renewed and expanded its fleet, introducing larger aircraft of the types Boeing 747, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767,[7] which made the inauguration of long-haul flights possible. When Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano went bankrupt in 2007, AeroSur became the largest airline of Bolivia and the only one with intercontinental flights (to Central and North America as well as to Europe). Since 2009, the domestic fleet of ageing 727s is replaced by more modern, though second-hand purchased Boeing 737 Classic airliners.[7]
In October 2008, then President of Paraguay Nicanor Duarte announced that AeroSur had been chosen to create the new flag carrier airline of his country, to be based at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Asunción. The subsidiary dubbed AeroSur Paraguay was planned to operate two Boeing 737-200 aircraft of mainline AeroSur. The further development of the project was postponed in mid-2009 pending Paraguayan governmental approval, and later deferred indefinitely.[3]
As of November 2011, the commercial AeroSur fleet consists of the following aircraft:[8][9][10]:
| Aircraft | In Service | Passengers | Routes | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | C | Y | Total | ||||
| Boeing 727-200 |
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0 | 12 | 138 | 150 | Domestic | To be retired in 2011 |
| Boeing 737-200 |
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0 | 12 | 96 | 109 | Domestic, South American | To be retired in 2011 |
| Boeing 737-300 |
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0 | 12 | 114 | 126 | Domestic, American | |
| Boeing 737-400 |
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0 | 8 | 142 | 150 | Domestic, South American | |
| Boeing 747-400 |
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14 | 58 | 379 | 451 | Madrid | leased from Virgin Atlantic Airways Denominated Súper Torísimo |
| Boeing 767-200ER |
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— | 18 24 |
157 175 |
175 199 |
American | one aircraft stored Sharko-livery |
| Total | 11 | ||||||
AeroSur does not operate any dedicated cargo aircraft, but uses the cargo holds of its passenger airliners for network-wide freight transport. Additionally, tourist sightseeing flights are offered on a single Douglas DC-3.[3]
Over the years, AeroSur operated the following aircraft types:[3][7]
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| BAe 146-100/200 |
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| Boeing 727-100/200 | ||
| Boeing 737-200 |
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| Boeing 737-300 |
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| Boeing 737-400 |
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| Boeing 747-300 |
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| Boeing 747-400 |
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| Boeing 757-200 |
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| Boeing 767-200 |
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| Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner |
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| Yakovlev Yak-40 |
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