Aeronica

Aeronica
IATA ICAO Callsign
RL [1] ANI AERONICA
Founded 1981
Commenced operations 1981
Ceased operations 1992
Hubs Augusto C. Sandino International Airport
Company slogan The Rainbow Airline[2]
Headquarters Managua, Nicaragua

Aerolíneas Nicaragüenses S.A., operating as Aeronica, was an airline from Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within Central America, as well as to Mexico City and the United States out of its hub at the city's Augusto C. Sandino International Airport.[1]

History

Aeronica was founded in 1981,[1] as a consequence of the demise of LANICA in 1979. Between 1985 and 1990, when the United States embargo against Nicaragua was in force, the airline was prevented from serving the important United States market. Also, Soviet-built Tupolev TU-154M were introduced into the Aeronica fleet, because spare parts for US-made ones could not be acquired.[3] In the early 1990s, Aeronica came under economical pressure. In 1992, TACA acquired a 49 percent stake in the company, but without any effect: In the same year, the airline license of Aeronica was revoked and the airline shut down.[1]

In 1994 Grupo Taca reestablished the airline as Nica Airlines, with new colors and fleet, ten years after Taca again shutdown the airlines, due to marketing strategies in order to improve TACA Airlines branding in the region.

Destinations

During the 1980s, Aeronica offered scheduled international passenger flights to the following destinations:[2]

Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
United States

Fleet

Over the years of its existence, Aeronica operated the following aircraft types:[1]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Aircraft Introduced Retired
Antonov An-26
Antonov An-32
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 720
Boeing 727-200
CASA C-212 Aviocar
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando
Boeing 737-700
Douglas DC-6
Fokker F27 Friendship
Tupolev Tu-154M

Accidents and incidents

References

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