Aero Continente
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| Founded | 1992 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2005 | ||||||
| Hubs | Jorge Chavez International Airport | ||||||
| Company slogan |
La linea aérea del Perú Uniendo el continente (former) |
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| Headquarters | Lima, Peru | ||||||
| Key people | Fernando Zevallos (founder) | ||||||
Nuevo Continente was a passenger airline based in Lima, Peru, operating scheduled domestic and international flights out of Jorge Chavez International Airport.
The airline was founded by Fernando Zevallos in 1992 as Aero Continente. Flight operations were launched on 25 May of that year, initially on regional chartered routes on behalf of Occidental Petroleum, a US-based oil and gas company. Scheduled domestic passenger services commenced on 20 July 1993, using a fleet of just two aircraft: a Boeing 727-100 and a Boeing 737-200. At that time, the Peruvian airline market was dominated by Faucett and Aeroperú. Aero Continente competed with these airlines by offering extremely low ticket fares.
When Faucett and Aéroperu both went bankrupt in 1999 due to financial difficulties, Aero Continente acquired a monopoly position as the only airline operating on domestic routes in the country. By that time, the fleet size had been increased to approximately 30 aircraft, mainly of the 737 type, though larger aircraft like the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar were also used. During that period, international routes were launched, the first ones connecting Lima with Panama City and Santiago de Chile. This coincided with the foundation of Aero Continente Chile, a wholly owned subsidiary aiming at the Chilean domestic market using a fleet of five Boeing 737-200 aircraft handed down from its parent.
In late 1999, Aero Continente was granted approval to operate on the prestigious Lima to Miami route. For this purpose, a Boeing 757-200 had been leased from Air 2000. After half a year, the leasing contract was terminated. The Miami route was henceforth offered by Aero Continente Chile from Santiago with a stopover at Lima with a Boeing 767-200 aircraft. By 2001, the combined international network of the Lima and Santiago based companies had grown to include Buenos Aires, Bogotá, La Paz, Caracas, Guayaquil and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
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