This article is about the Paraguayan airline. For the defunct Brazilian airline, see Linhas Aéreas Paulistas – LAP. For the Uruguayan regional airline, see Lapsa.
LAP - Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas (also referred to as LAP and later LAPSA Air Paraguay) was a Paraguayan airline that was founded in November 1962 to be the flag carrier airline of Paraguay. Its main hub was Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, in Asunción. The airline ceased operations in 1996 after being sold to TAM Linhas Aéreas.
LAP was a creation of the Paraguayan Military Aviation on November 17, 1962. It was officially founded by the government through the Decree Nr.337 of March 18, 1963.[1] It began services on August 20, 1963, using three Convair CV-240. Services included flights to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, São Paulo and Curitiba from the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion.
The CV-240s were replaced by three Lockheed L-188C Electra turboprops, which were acquired from Eastern Air Lines in 1969, and were operated for over 20 years.[2] On February 26, 1969, the airline began regular operation, with three weekly frequencies for São Paulo. Once a week, the flight continued to Rio de Janeiro, before returning to Asunción. In 1970, service started to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Resistencia and Salta with a Douglas C-47 transferred from the Military Air Transport of the FAP. In 1972, La Paz, Bolivia was added to LAP's network. In 1973 a route to Lima was inaugurated and in 1978 to Santiago.
The good service offered by the Lockheed Electras made LAP have a presence in Latin America. By March 1977, the number of weekly frequencies for Brazil had already increased. The pure jet age came in 1978 with the purchase of two Boeing 707-320 from Pan Am and with those services to Miami began. In 1979, services started to Madrid and Frankfurt. When another 707 was bought in 1982, service to Brussels started. Due to noise restrictions, a former Air CanadaDC-8-63 was bought in 1984 for the route to Miami. During the 1980s, other routes were tried like Mexico City and Panama City, but just for a few months. In 1988, a former Spantax DC-8-61 was bought. In 1990, it was replaced by a leased DC-8-62 for a few months.
On February 2, 1989, General Andrés Rodríguez of the Paraguayan Army carried out a coup d'état, putting an end to the dictatorial government of General Alfredo Stroessner. A short time later, the changes that took place in the country would reach LAP. Audits revealed that there were other officials and the quality of LAP's services was deteriorating. The president ordered in 1989 that the airline be maintained using its own income. In 1990, LAP received a former United Airlines DC-8-71, followed by another similar aircraft in 1991.
In 1992, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 came into service. Eventually, LAP received two more DC-10s, one former Air France for a few months and a former Varig. Operations to the US and Europe were performed by the DC-10s and regional flights with a 707 and the DC-8. In 1993, and for a few months, a BAe 146-300 was leased and operated on loan from the factory. Since LAP was a government-losing company, attempts to privatize were not fruitful and the money-losing operation was shut down on March 8, 1994.
In October 1994, LAP was privatized and sold to Ecuatorian airline SAETA, forming an Ecuadorian-Paraguayan Consortium, and restarted operations on February 7, 1995, under the new name, LAPSA Air Paraguay with two Boeing 737-200, three Airbus A320-200, and one Airbus A310-300, all operated by SAETA.
On September 1, 1996, Aerolíneas Paraguayas, a Paraguayan regional subsidiary of TAM Linhas Aéreas, purchased 80% of the majority shares of LAPSA, which by then both airlines were merged under the name TAM – Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur. It was then sold to TAM Linhas Aéreas on October 6, which used two Fokker 100s to cover its regional destinations. However, routes to Miami and Europe never restarted afterward. In 2008, TAM Mercosur was renamed as TAM Paraguay, which continues to operate today under the LATAM brand.
Relaunch attempts
On August 3, 2020, the director of the Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil, Félix Kanazawa, announced that the state had reacquired the company and consequently its routes in the Americas, the United States and Europe. Kanazawa also mentioned that a decision has not yet been made on whether the company will be 100% state-owned, but has announced that a possible reactivation of the defunct Paraguayan flag airline is being considered.[3]
In November 2021, Nella Linhas Aéreas announced its strategy of expanding operations in several Latin American countries with the re-launch of LAP. The airline was expected to return to service in March 2022 under the name LAP by Nella, with two Boeing 737-800s.[4][5] As of July 2024, this has not happened yet.
On May 26, 1967, a Convair CV-240 (registered ZP-CDP) was approaching runway 10 of the Ministro Pistarini International Airport. The aircraft suddenly nosed down and crashed its left wing and broke off, the aircraft skidded onto the runway and came to rest upside down.[10] All 24 occupants onboard survived.
On May 8, 1969, a Convair CV-240 (registered ZP-CDN) was destroyed in a collision after a Pilatus PC-6 Porter (registered N356F) was doing a demonstration flight with one pilot on board and three passengers, two of them were high-ranking military officials.[11] Everyone on board the PC-6 were killed, while no one was on board the CV-240.
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