Cielos del Sur S.A., operating as Austral Líneas Aéreas, was a domestic airline of Argentina, the sister company of Aerolíneas Argentinas. It was the second-largest domestic scheduled airline in the country, after Aerolíneas Argentinas. As a subsidiary of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the company shared its headquarters with that airline, which is located in the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery of Buenos Aires, the main base of operations of the company.
Austral was fully integrated into Aerolíneas Argentinas; however, some differences arose, especially those relying upon the unions the staff of both companies were affiliated to, which led to constant conflicts. In May 2020, it was announced that Austral would merge with Aerolíneas, saving an estimated 100 million US Dollars and eliminating Austral as a brand. Austral ended operations on 30 November 2020.
, the airline operated an all-Embraer 190 fleet.
History
The origins of the carrier trace back to 1957, The strike affected both Aerolineas Argentinas' domestic and international operations. Argentine as well as foreign carriers were benefited from this strike. Ironically, Austral was included among those carriers, gaining the domestic market share Aerolíneas Argentinas lost.
Austral became once again a privately owned firm when it was acquired by the holding company Cielos del Sur S.A. in late 1987. Soon afterwards, Cielos del Sur S.A. sold Austral to Iberia. The destiny of both Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral became aligned thereafter. By July 1998, the company was 10% owned by its erstwhile competitor Aerolíneas Argentinas.
On 21 July 2008, the Argentine Government took the airline back into state control after acquiring 99.4% of the share capital for an undisclosed price. The remaining 0.6% continues to be owned by the company's employees. In September 2008, Argentina's Senate approved the nationalization of Aerolíneas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral Líneas Aéreas on a 46–21 vote in favor of the takeover.
In , Aerolíneas Argentinas launched a new paint scheme to revamp the airline's image. The new livery resembles the colour blue of Argentina's flag and the colour yellow of the sun. As its subsidiary airline, Austral also adopted the new image. Austral's livery actually differs from the Aerolíneas Argentinas' one by a red cheatline only. In the meantime the airline also announced the incorporation of 20 new Embraer 190 to its fleet, receiving the first two of them in September 2010.
Destinations
The Federal Corridor (), was a two-way route linking the cities of Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Iguazú, Mendoza and Salta. Although the corridor is commercially run by Aerolíneas Argentinas, the route is operated using Austral equipment.
Fleet
thumb|Embraer 190 on the apron of [[Teniente General Benjamín Matienzo International Airport|Benjamín Matienzo International Airport in 2012.]]
Austral Líneas Aéreas underwent a major fleet renewal. In 2009, the company signed a contract with Embraer for the purchase of 20 Embraer 190s, in a deal worth million that was 85% financed by BNDES.
The airline's fleet consisted of the following aircraft ():
|
|-
|Total
|26
|—
| colspan="4" |
|}
Retired
thumb|BAC 1-11 taxiing at Buenos Aires-Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport in 1993.
Austral previously operated the following equipment: <small>(operated for Inter Austral, a former Córdoba-based subsidiary of Austral)</small>
- Curtiss C-46
- Douglas DC-4
- Douglas DC-6
- Douglas DC-6A
- Douglas DC-6B
- Fokker F27-100
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50
- McDonnell Douglas MD-81 The list below includes hull-loss accidents only.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Date
!Location
!Aircraft
!Tail number
!class="unsortable"|Aircraft damage
!Fatalities
!class="unsortable"|Description
!class="unsortable"|Refs
|-
|align=center|
|
|align=center|
|align=center|LV-GED
|align=center|W/O
|align=center|/52
|The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled Buenos Aires–Mar del Plata passenger service as Flight 205. It crashed into the sea off the coast after a missed approach to the airport of destination.
|align=center|
|-
|align=center|
|Buenos Aires
|align=center|C-46 Commando
|align=center|LV-GEB
|align=center|W/O
|align=center|/2
|One of the engines ran out of fuel at climbout after an improper selection of the fuel pump. The pilots managed to land the plane in a nearby sports field. The aircraft was operating a cargo service.
|align=center|
|-
|align=center|
|Bahía Blanca
|align=center|BAC 1–11 500
|align=center|LV-JNR
|align=center|W/O
|align=center|/74
|Experienced a loss of power in an engine immediately after takeoff from Comandante Espora Airport. The pilots made a forced landing using the remaining length of the runway. Arresting cables deployed on it were unable to stop the aircraft, and damaged the fuel tanks as they broke off. Despite sparks igniting the fuel, all occupants managed to escape unharmed from the aircraft.
|align=center|
|-
|align=center|
|Bariloche
|align=center|
|align=center|LV-JGY
|align=center|W/O
|align=center|/79
|The airplane was operating a chartered Buenos Aires–San Carlos de Bariloche passenger service as Flight 9, when it suffered pressurization problems during climbout to . It flew the route despite this, although at a lower flight level. On approach to San Carlos de Bariloche Airport the aircraft collided with the ground, east of the destination city.
|align=center|
|-
|align=center|
|
|align=center|BAC 1–11 500
|align=center|LV-LOX
|align=center|W/O
|align=center|/31
|The aircraft was operating a scheduled domestic Tucumán–Buenos Aires passenger service as Flight 901. Crashed into the Río de la Plata amid stormy weather while on approach to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, east-southeast of the airfield.
|align=center|
|-
|align=center|
|Nuevo Berlín
|align=center|DC-9-32
|align=center|LV-WEG
|align=center|W/O
|align=center|/74
|Crashed while en route from Posadas to Buenos Aires operating Flight 2553 after entering a storm. The likely cause of the accident was the icing of the pitot tubes. It remains the deadliest one experienced by the carrier all through its history.
|align=center|
|}
See also
- Aerolíneas Argentinas accidents and incidents
- List of BAC One-Eleven operators
- List of Embraer 190 operators
- List of NAMC YS-11 operators
- Transport in Argentina
Notes
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External links
- Official website (archived, 29 Mar 2018)
- Unión de Aviadores de Líneas Aéreas (UALA)