PLUNA

PLUNA – Líneas Aéreas Uruguayas S.A. is the flag carrier of Uruguay, headquartered in Carrasco, Montevideo.^[3][4] It operates scheduled services within South America, as well as unscheduled cargo and charter services, with its main hub being Carrasco International Airport near Montevideo.^[5]

History

Foundation

The airline was established in September 1936 and started operations soon afterwards, on 19 November 1936.^[6] It was set up by Jorge and Alberto Márquez Vaesa, two brothers who had obtained the necessary financial and technical support through the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Uruguay at the time, Sir Eugen Millington-Drake. This gentleman writes in his memoirs that he suggested the airline be named using a memorable acronym, taking SABENA as an example. It was then decided on "PLUNA", an acronym for Primeras Líneas Uruguayas de Navegación Aérea (English: First Uruguayan Air Navigation Lines). Millington-Drake knew De Havilland's representative in Buenos Aires at the time, which helped in the acquisition of the airline's first aircraft. The airline flew two five-seater de Havilland Dragonflys from Montevideo to Salto and Paysandú.^[7] The two planes were baptised Churrinche and San Alberto, the latter in honor of the brothers' father. PLUNA flew 2,600 passengers in their first fiscal year, a huge success for that era. It also flew 20,000 pieces of mail and 70,000 newspapers.

The carrier saw the incorporation of both the Potez 62 and the Douglas DC-2 into its fleet in the early early 1940s, the latter one acquired from the US Government.^[6] Following the outbreak of World War II, PLUNA was forced to cease operations temporarily between 1942 and 1944 due to the lack of spare parts.^[6] The delicate position PLUNA was into at this time led the Uruguayan Government to aid the company by boosting its stake to 85% on 16 October 1944.^[6] The first Douglas DC-3 entered PLUNA's fleet in February 1946.^[6] The airline launched regular services to Porto Alegre, Brazil, in May 1948.^[6] The carrier later added to its network the cities of Santa Cruz in Bolivia, as well as Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba, in Argentina.

Nationalisation

The airline became a wholly government-owned company on 12 November 1951.^[6] After World War II, PLUNA's fleet included two DC-2s acquired from Panair do Brasil which were operated on the Montevideo–Paysandú–Salto route until they were retired by 1951. In the same year, a DC-3 and four de Havilland Herons were added to the fleet. The Herons only stayed in PLUNA's fleet for a short time and by 1957 they had been sold. The DC-3s remained in service much longer, and in 1971 the last four of them were sold to the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya.

São Paulo was added to the route network in January 1954.^[6] On 24 June 1958 the carrier entered the turbine era with the delivery of its first of three Vickers Viscount four-engined turboprops purchased new from Vickers; it later acquired two Viscount 700s from Alitalia and three Viscount 800s from VASP.

PLUNA's growth slowed considerably for the next three decades, but it entered the jet age soon after jets were introduced to the world, and added John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, and Miami to its destinations, using Boeing 707 and Boeing 737 aircraft.

In the 1980s PLUNA began flying to Madrid, Asunción, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile, but services to JFK and Miami were suspended. In the meantime, as the city of Punta del Este flourished as a major tourist destination, PLUNA benefited from that. During this time, an office was also opened in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Privatisation

The 1990s saw financial trouble loom for PLUNA, and in 1995 the government sold a 49% stake to a Varig-led consortium. Nevertheless, PLUNA remained active with over 40 weekly flights from Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport utilizing Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 equipment.

Until June 2005 the airline was owned by the Government of Uruguay (48%), Varig (49%), Victor Mesa (2%) and PLUNA's employees (1%). When Varig entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 17 June 2005, it sought a bidder for its 49% stake in PLUNA. For almost a year, it looked as if it might go to Venezuela's state-run Conviasa,^[8] but the deal officially fell through in July 2006. In September 2006, the Uruguayan Government bought 98% of PLUNA, reducing Varig's share to just 2%. On 4 January 2007, the Government of Uruguay started negotiations to sell 75% of it shares to a private consortium of investors from Germany, United States, Uruguay and Argentina called Leadgate Investment, that invested US$ 177 million in the company.^[9][10]

On 30 October 2007, PLUNA presented its new corporate image, developed by Australian design company Cato Partners. This new image is based on the interpretation of the name "Uruguay" as meaning "river of the painted birds" or "river of the colorful birds" (Spanish: "río de los pájaros pintados").^[11] Among other things, this change was motivated by the company's intention to distance itself from Varig's corporate image and to project a new, more youthful, warmer and sympathetic personality.

During 2008, seven brand new CRJ900 have arrived and are now flying for PLUNA. This has led to an expansion of service to new destinations. In late April 2010, regional Air Canada's carrier Jazz Air agreed to invest US$ 15 million in PLUNA,^[12][13] resulting in a 33.33% non-voting interest in Latin American Regional Aviation Holding Corporation (or LARAH for short),^[1] which in turn owns a 75% stake in PLUNA. Following this operation, Jazz Air has a 25% participation in the Uruguayan air carrier. The Government of Uruguay owns the rest of the shares.^[1]

In September and October 2010 three additional new CRJ900 aircraft were delivered from the Bombardier factory. In April 2011 three options were taken up for delivery at the end of 2011 and these were delivered between September and November 2011. With these additions, PLUNA's fleet will consist of 13 airplanes, the highest number in its entire history.

Destinations

It was announced in October 2011 that the carrier will launch services to several Chilean cities effective 2012, yet firm dates were not disclosed.^[14] As of April 2011^[update], PLUNA links Uruguay with two destinations in Argentina, one in Chile, one in Paraguay, and eight in Brazil.^[15]

Codeshare agreements

PLUNA has a codeshare agreement with Iberia, which actually operates the route Montevideo–Madrid–Montevideo.^[16] Under the same codeshare agreement passengers can also connect from Madrid to many destinations within Spain, as well as to Frankfurt.^[16] PLUNA also announced a codeshare agreement with American Airlines, which will place PLUNA's code on American's Miami-Montevideo route, pending government approval.^[17]

Fleet

As of November 2011^[update], the PLUNA fleet consists of 12 Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet aircraft.^[18] Each aircraft is equipped with 90 seats in an all-economy class layout. The list below also includes equipment operated by the carrier throughout its history.^[19]

PLUNA had previously considered the Bombardier Q400 for the expansion into new markets. Nevertheless, on 25 April 2011 the airline announced it had converted some of the outstanding options for 3 new CRJ900 aircraft into firm orders for delivery before the end of 2011.^[2][15] The small possibility of acquiring Bombardier CRJ200s now seems to have vanished. These second-hand aircraft would have been assigned to lower-volume routes, most likely markets in Bolivia, Chile and southern Brazil.^[21]

Accidents and incidents

PLUNA has an excellent safety record, in that there has never been an accident where passengers have lost their lives. As of August 2011^[update], Aviation Safety Network records 3 hull-loss accidents/incidents for the airline, totalling 10 crew fatalities.^[22]

• 8 January 1946: A Douglas DC-2-124, registration CX-AEG, was destroyed during a thunderstorm in Uruguay.^[23]
• 9 October 1962: A Douglas C-47A-1-DK, tail number CX-AGE, crashed during a final test flight. The crash occurred during take-off from Carrasco International Airport, when the right wing grazed the runway, bouncing the aircraft and causing the right tire to burst, then bouncing the aircraft again causing the engine to smash into the ground at almost full throttle, and finally rolling over and coming to rest upside down. A fire broke out shortly afterwards. All 10 crew members died.^[24]
• 11 May 1975: A Vickers 769D Viscount, registration CX-AQO, flying a scheduled Carrasco International Airport–Buenos Aires-Aeroparque service, ran off the end of the runway at the destination airport on landing. The damage wrote off the aircraft. All 57 passengers and crew survived the incident.^[25]

References

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:PLUNA PLUNA] at Wikimedia Commons

• Official site
• Memorias del Tiempo de Vuelo (In Spanish)