Faucett Perú
Compañía de Aviación Faucett, colloquially known simply as Faucett Perú or Faucett, was a Peruvian airline.
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Founded | 15 September 1928 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | 27 September 1928 | ||||||
Ceased operations | December 3, 1997 | ||||||
Hubs | |||||||
Destinations | 17 (at the time of closure) | ||||||
Headquarters | Jorge Chávez International Airport Lima, Lima Province, Perú | ||||||
Key people | Elmer J. Faucett |
It was headquartered on the grounds of Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima.[1]
History
Elmer J. Faucett had been sent to Peru as a representative of the Curtiss Export Company, arriving in the country from the United States in 1920.[2]:470 In 1928, he and a group of Peruvian business men joined together to found the first commercial airline in Peru, and one of the first in Latin America. With an initial investment of £2,500,[2]:471 the company was formed on 15 September 1928, and started operations on 27 September that year.[3] In 1937, the airline absorbed Cia de Aviacion Peruanas SA from Panagra.[4] At April 1938 , the route network was flown with seven planes manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Company, and included Chiclayo, Ica, Lima, Sabados and Talara.[5]
Postwar operations
Having their initial investment increased to £200,000 by 1943, Elmer Faucett bought a large number of aircraft from the United States in 1945.[2]:471
By May 1952 , the airline flew a route network that was 3,000 miles (4,800 km) long.[6] Faucett carried 136,456 passengers in 1955, and at year end the company had 307 employees.[7]
By March 1960 , the airline had a fleet of eight DC-3s, four DC-4s and four Faucett Stinson F-19s to serve a route network that was 6,368 miles (10,248 km) long.[8] A second-hand Douglas DC-6B acquired from Panagra was incorporated into the fleet in the early 1960s.[4][9] Another DC-6B was acquired in late 1964 and was converted to DC-6B(F) standard with a large rear freight door.[10] This was operated on cargo services to Miami, Florida.
In 1973, Faucett was owned by Peruvian interests (46%), the Fundación Faucett (35%) and Braniff International Airways (19%).[11] The cargo-only airline Aeronaves del Peru became Faucett's biggest shareholder in 1982.[12]
At March 1990 the airline had 1,300 employees and a fleet of ten aircraft that consisted of two Boeing 727-200s, one Boeing 737-100, four Boeing 737-200s and three McDonnell Douglas DC-8-50s.[13]
The 1990s economic liberalization under Alberto Fujimori, after years of economic and political chaos (as well as a violent Maoist insurgency), brought a series of measures aimed at the privatization and deregulation of the airline market. A series of short-lived airlines sprung up during this decade (in the style of Russian Babyflots), stated-owned Aeroperú was partly sold to Mexican investors and the rise of low-fare Aero Continente as the biggest domestic airline, contributed to the slow decline of Faucett. A series of high-profile accidents, especially Faucett's crash in Arequipa and Aeroperú Flight 603 (both in 1996) affected the safety reputation of the Peruvian airline industry, with even the US Embassy in Lima banning their employees from flying on Aero Continente and, more broadly, advising caution to US citizens flying on Peru's airlines.[14]
In the end, problems with the economic-financial structure of the airline (with debts even with CORPAC for airport services), forced it to cease operations on December 3, 1997. Despite claiming that the 45-day closure would be temporary until government approval, all 1,250 employees were dismissed. Faucett incurred over US$1 million in debt.[15] By 1998, the former directors and employees were engaged in legal battles over labor and management issues, as well as accusations over bankrupting the company.[16] The airline was liquidated in 1999.[17][18]
Destinations
Faucett Perú served the following destinations:
† | Hub |
‡ | Focus city |
# | Destination served at the time of closure |
Fleet
Faucett Perú operated the following equipment all through its history:[23]
- Airbus A300B4[24]
- Airbus A300-600
- BAC One-Eleven 475
- BAC One-Eleven 500
- Boeing 707-320
- Boeing 707-320B
- Boeing 707-320C
- Boeing 720
- Boeing 727-100
- Boeing 727-100C
- Boeing 737-100
- Boeing 737-200
- Douglas DC-3
- Douglas DC-3A
- Douglas DC-4
- Douglas C-47A
- Douglas C-47B
- Douglas C-53
- Douglas C-54
- Douglas DC-6B
- Douglas DC-8-30
- Douglas DC-8-40
- Douglas DC-8-50
- Douglas DC-8-60
- Faucett Stinson F-19[8]
- Lockheed L-1011-1
- Stinson[25]:675
Incidents and accidents
- On December 8, 1967, a Faucett Douglas DC-4 airliner crashed into a mountain in the Andes at 10,470 feet, killing all 66 passengers and six crew.[26]
- On September 11, 1990, a Faucett Boeing 727-246 went missing some 350 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. After having been leased to Air Malta, the aircraft was being returned to Peru from Europe via Iceland, when the crew reported a low fuel notice and that they were preparing to ditch. There were no survivors among 16 occupants on board.[27]
- On February 29, 1996, Faucett Flight 251, a Boeing 737 leased from American Airlines, crashed in the mountains near Arequipa's airport, killing all 117 passengers and 6 crew aboard.[28]
References
- World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 22–28, 1995. 64 (- 0749.PDF PDF). Retrieved on June 9, 2016. "Compañía de Aviación Faucett[...]Aeropuerto Jorge Chávez, Apartado 1429, Lima, Peru"
-
- Brown, John (12 October 1951). "Over Amazon and Andes (page 470)". Flight. LX (2229). Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
- "Over Amazon and Andes (page 471)". Flight. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
- "World airline survey – Compania de Aviacion "Faucett" SA" (PDF). Flight International: 566. 13 April 1967. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- "The World's airlines – Compañia de Aviacion "Faucett" SA". Flight. 81 (2770): 561. 12 April 1962. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013.
- "Airlines of the World: The Americas – Cia de Aviacion Faucett". Flight. XXXIII (1531): 420. 28 April 1938. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
- "The World's airlines – Compania de Aviación Faucett, S.A." Flight. LXI (2260): 593. 16 May 1952. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012.
- "World airline directory – Compañía de Aviación "Faucett" S.A." Flight. 69 (2465): 467. 20 April 1956. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013.
- "World airline survey – Compania de Aviacion "Faucett" SA". Flight. 77 (2665): 497. 8 April 1960. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
- "World airline survey – Compañia de Aviacion "Faucett" SA". Flight. 79 (2718): 491. 13 April 1961. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013.
- Roach, J.R. and Eastwood A.B. (2007). Piston Engined Airliner Production List. The Aviation Hobby Shop.
- "Compañia de Aviación Faucett SA". 22 March 1973.
- "Aeronaves buys Faucett". 7 March 1982.
- "World Airline Directory – Compania de Aviacion Faucett". Flight International. 137 (4207): 82. 14–20 March 1990. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016.
- Calvin Sims (8 June 1997). "Embassy Ban Rekindles Air-Safety Fears in Peru - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-704157
- in Spanish
- "Angst up in the Andes". Flightglobal. 1 February 1998. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016.
- Learmount, David (7 July 1999). "Fit to survive". Santiago de Chile: Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
- "Timetable (Effective 1 July 1995)" (PDF). Airline Timetable Images. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2013.
- "World airline directory – Compania de Aviacion Faucett (Faucett Peru)" (PDF). Flight International: 61. 19 March 1997 – 25 March 1997. Retrieved 4 March 2012. Check date values in:
|date=
(help) - "Horarios (Segundo semestre 1960)" [Timetables (2nd half 1960)]. Airline Timetable Images (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- "Timetable (Effective 1 February 1983)". Airline Timetable Images. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- "SubFleets for: Faucett Perú". AeroTransport Data Bank. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- "Peruvian A300". Flightglobal. 29 November 1995. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016.
-
- Hyde, D.; Gartshore, I. S.; Melbourne, W. H. (28 October 1960). "Light Aircraft in South America – Peru (page 674)". Flight: 674–676. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- "Light Aircraft in South America – Peru (page 675)". Flight. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- "Light Aircraft in South America – Peru (page 676)". Flight. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- "Aviation Safety Network database". Aviation-safety.net. 8 December 1967. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- Accident description for OB-1303 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 27 January 2016.
- "Timeline: Major air crashes in Latin America since 1993". Reuters. 18 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.