Línea Aérea Amaszonas S.A.[note 1] operating as Amas Bolivia (legally as Compañía de Servicios de Transporte Aéreo Amaszonas S.A.) was a regional airline based in Bolivia, headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra with its administrative center in La Paz.[2] It operated scheduled and chartered short-haul passenger flights throughout the northern and northeastern regions of the country as well as to neighboring Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile and Paraguay, with its network's hub that was located at El Alto International Airport. It was acquired by NELLA Airlines Group (a Brazilian-US holding company) in August 2021[3] and sold to businessman Luiz Divino in September 2023.[4]
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | October 1, 1998 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 2000 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | August 8, 2023 | ||||||
| AOC # | 791F491F | ||||||
| Hubs | El Alto International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Viru Viru International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | AmasMiles | ||||||
| Subsidiaries |
| ||||||
| Fleet size | 3 | ||||||
| Destinations | 6 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia | ||||||
| Key people | Luis Divino (Owner)[1] Mauricio Souza (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
editThe company was founded on October 1, 1998, but flight services were only commenced in 2000.[5] Initially, Amaszonas operated chartered flights using a small fleet of turboprop airliners of the types Cessna 208 Caravan and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner.[6] In 2012, following the demise of AeroSur, five Bombardier CRJ200 were acquired from Avmax Aircraft Leasing Inc. to launch scheduled passenger services.[7] The first one of these 50-seat jet aircraft was put in service in late August on the La Paz-Santa Cruz de la Sierra route.[7][8]
In late 2014, Amaszonas announced it would lease 9 CRJ200 aircraft to expand its regional network and intended to fly to up to 40 destinations by 2017.[9]
In 2015, Amaszonas purchased the Uruguayan airline BQB Líneas Aéreas, 5 days after the company shut down its operations due to a crisis that began in 2014. From May 4, the airline took over the routes operated by BQB before the closure of operations, which were Aeroparque Jorge Newbery and Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.[10]
In August 2021, Nella Linhas Aéreas, a Brazilian-based company registered in the U.S., acquired 100% control over Amaszonas. Nella announced a strategic partnership with Boeing on July 29, 2021, expecting the delivery of a Boeing 737-500 in August, but it never happened.[11][12]
On August 8, 2023, Amaszonas temporarily suspended its operations after a dispute with its aircraft's lessor and the Bolivian government. By the following month, Nella ended up selling the airline to businessman Luis Divino.[1]
On November 19, 2023, the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics announced that Amaszonas' air operator's certificate was suspended.
Destinations
editBy August 2023, Amaszonas offers scheduled flights to the following destinations:[13]
Interline agreements
editAs of April 2014, Amaszonas had interline agreement with the following airlines:[14]
By January 2022, only Air Europa maintained an E-Ticket interlineal agreement which allowed the airlines to use the KIU System (Amadeus) to generate reservations in the domestic destination served by Amaszonas.[15]
Fleet
edit
The airline's fleet previously operated the following aircraft:[16][17]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier CRJ-100LR | 1 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Bombardier CRJ-200LR | 8 | 2012 | 2022 | |
| Cessna 208B Grand Caravan | 3 | 2000 | 2008 | |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-200 | 2 | 2017 | 2023 | |
| Embraer 190 | 6 | 2019 | 2023 | |
| Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | 3 | 2004 | 2018 |
Incidents
edit- On July 10, 2001, at 16:47 local time, the two pilots of an Amaszonas Cessna 208 Caravan (registered CP-2395) carrying eleven passengers had to execute an emergency landing on a hill near Viacha, six minutes into a flight from La Paz to Rurrenabaque, due to an engine problem. When hitting the ground, the aircraft turned over and was destroyed, but all persons on board survived.[18]
- On January 25, 2005, at around 10:00 local time, another Amaszonas Caravan (registered CP-2412) crash-landed, this time near Colquiri. The aircraft with two pilots and ten passengers on board had been on a chartered flight from La Paz to Sucre, when it encountered atmospheric icing conditions, thus being unable to maintain height. There were no fatalities, but as a consequence, Amaszonas was stripped of the allowance to operate Caravans on passenger flights.[19]
- On February 27, 2011, at 15:10 local time, an Amaszonas Fairchild Metro 23 (registered CP-2473) [20] was substantially damaged when the left landing gear collapsed upon landing at El Alto International Airport. The aircraft carrying six passengers and two crew members had been on a scheduled flight from San Borja to Rurrenabaque when problems with the undercarriage occurred, leading the pilots to divert to La Paz. All persons on board survived the ensuing crash landing.[21]
- On March 29, 2018, at 09:20 local time, an Amaszonas Fairchild Metro 23 (registered CP-2459) carrying 12 passengers and 2 crew suffered a bird strike on the right engine during takeoff at Riberalta Airport, causing the crew to abort takeoff resulting in a runway excursion. The flight was bound for Trinidad, Bolivia.[22][23] There were no fatalities and only minor injuries.[24] At the time, the executive director of Bolivia's Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics stated that Amaszonas had previously reported 11 incidents in their history.[24]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ The name "Amaszonas" is a pun on the Spanish term "A más zonas", which means "to more zones". The pronunciation is nearly identical to "Amazonas", Spanish for the Amazon River, whose drainage basin covers northeastern Bolivia.
References
edit- ^ a b "Sale of Amaszonas is almost complete, says Bolivian government". Airdatanews.com. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ Home page. Amaszonas. Retrieved on 12 August 2021. "Calle 12, Esquina Sánchez Bustamante, Edificio Gogo N°799, Calacoto, La Paz, Bolivia"
- ^ "Brazilian airline Nella announces purchase of Bolivian Amaszonas". SWI swissinfo.ch. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ "Amaszonas has new owner, made official by Nella Airlines Group". El Deber. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-10-15.}
- ^ "Profile for: Amaszonas". Aero Transport Data Bank. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ "Information about Amaszonas". rzjets.net. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Bolivia gets new scheduled carrier". volaspheric. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ "Amaszonas Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ Airliner World: 15. January 2015.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Amaszonas confirmó adquisición de BQB. Comenzará a operar el 4 de mayo". 2015-04-18. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "NELLA Airlines, Regional/Commuter". 2021-07-29. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Bolivia's Amaszonas sold to US-based NELLA Airlines Inc". 2021-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Mapa de Rutas". Amaszonas. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ "Amaszonas". www.amaszonas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^ "Air Europa Routes and Destinations" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 5.
- ^ "Amaszonas Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ "Amaszonas 2001 crash landing at the Aviation Safety Network". Aviation-safety.net. 2001-07-10. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ "Amaszonas 2005 crash landing at the Aviation Safety Network". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ "Accident Description Aviation Safety Network". Aviation-safety.net. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ "Amaszonas 2011 crash landing at the Aviation Safety Network". Aviation-safety.net. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ "Avión de Amaszonas sufre percance en Riberalta" [Amaszonas plane suffers accident in Riberalta]. El Deber (in Spanish). 2024-03-29. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
- ^ Hradecky, Simon (29 March 2018). "Incident: Amaszonas SW4 at Riberalta on Mar 29th 2018, runway excursion on rejected takeoff due to bird strike". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
- ^ a b López Camacho, Enid (29 March 2018). "Incidente aéreo de Amaszonas en Riberalta deja un herido" [Amaszonas air incident in Riberalta leaves one injured]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Línea Aérea Amaszonas at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (in English)
- Official website (in Spanish)