Aero Caribbean

Aero Caribbean (Empresa Aerocaribbean SA) was an airline based in Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba.[1] It merged with Cubana de Aviación in 2015[2]. It operated scheduled domestic passenger services to domestic destinations and international services, and charter flights mainly within the Caribbean and South America. Its main base was at José Martí International Airport, Havana.[3]

Aero Caribbean

IATA ICAO Callsign 7L CRN AEROCARIBBEAN
Founded	1983
Ceased operations	2015 (merged with Cubana De Aviacion)
Hubs	José Martí International Airport
Focus cities	Antonio Maceo Int'l Airport
Fleet size	7
Destinations	17
Parent company	Corporación de la Aviación Civil S.A
Headquarters	Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba
Website	link dead

History

The airline was established in 1982 as Empresa Aero and started operations on 2 December 1982. It was set up by the Cuban government to provide domestic flights and regional charters to supplement national carrier Cubana. It was wholly owned by the government of Cuba.[3][4]

Services

Aero Caribbean operated the following services:[5]

• Domestic scheduled destinations: Cayo Coco, Havana, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, Cayo Largo, Nueva Gerona, Varadero.
• International scheduled destinations: Cayman Islands, Corn Island, Managua, Mérida, San Pedro Sula, Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Guatemala City
• Former scheduled destinations : Monterrey, Tijuana

Fleet

The Aero Caribbean fleet included the following aircraft (as of November 2012):[6]

Aerocaribbean ATR 72 at Holguin airport, Cuba

• 3 × ATR 42-300
• 4 × ATR 72-212

ON 19 September 2008, the average age of the Aero Caribbean fleet was 15.8 years ([7]).

Previously operated

Aerocaribbean had operated the following aircraft in the past:[4]

• 1 Antonov An-24
• 2 Antonov An-26
• 1 Boeing 737-200
• 2 Douglas DC-3 configured for Y28 passengers
• 1 Fokker F-27F Friendship configured for Y44 passengers/freight
• 5 Ilyushin Il-18D/V configured for Y100 passengers/freight (flying Havana-Bahamas and Havana-Caracas)
• 1 Ilyushin Il-14M configured for Y40 passengers
• 6 Yakovlev Yak-40 configured for Y30 passengers/freighter
• 4 Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante
• 2 Bristol Britannia [8]

Accidents and incidents

• On 15 November 1992, an Il-18 on a charter flight from Santo Domingo to Havana crashed into the side of mount Isabel de Torres, near San Felipe de Puerto Plata, while on approach to Gregorio Luperón International Airport for an intermediate stop.[9] The plane was flying in IFR conditions and performed a controlled flight into terrain. All 34 on board perished, including the Dominican chess team.[10] The aircraft lost in the accident was the same plane that was filmed in 1986 Soviet disaster film Razmakh krylyev.[11][12][13]
• On 4 November 2010, Flight 883, operated by an ATR 72-212, crashed at Guasimal, Cuba, while en route from Santiago de Cuba to Havana. All 61 passengers and 7 crew members were killed. The most likely cause was icing on the wing.[14]

References

1. "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. 16–22 March 2004. 47. "Calle 23, No 64 esq. a PVedado, Havana, Cuba"
2. "Aerocaribbean merges with Cubana". ch-aviation. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
3. Flight International 27 March 2007
4. North American Airlines Handbook published by Airways International Inc 1997
5. CubaJet.com. "Flights to Cuba - Flights Schedule". www.cubajet.com. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
6. Endres 2010, p. 8
7. "Fleet". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012. link dead September 2015
8. "Registration Details For CU-T114 (Aero Caribbean) Bristol Britannia-318 - PlaneLogger". www.planelogger.com. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
9. Aviation Safety Network. Accessed 26 August 2008.
10. "Cronologia". Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2008. Cronología Histórica Dominicana. Accessed 26 August 2008.
11. "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
12. EFE (15 November 1992). "Veinte muertos al estrellarse un avión en la República Dominicana". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
13. Heredia, Antonio (15 November 2017). "Hoy se cumplen 25 años del trágico accidente aéreo en la Loma Isabel de Torres en Puerto Plata". El Día (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2020.
14. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.

• Günter Endres, ed. (2010). Flight International World Airlines 2010. Sutton, Surrey, England: Reed Business Information. ISBN 978-1-898779-39-1.

External links

• Official website link dead September 2015