Establishment and early operations
AeroSur was established in April 1992, following the deregulation of the Bolivian airline market, which had been previously controlled by the then state-owned airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), Bolivia's flag carrier, which had been in service since 1925, making it South America's second oldest airline.[11]
On August 24, 1992, AeroSur commenced its operations with an inaugural flight between Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Potosí using a Let L-410 Turbojet short-range aircraft.[7] During the first year of its operations, the airline had carried around 400,000 passengers.[3] Regular revenue flights on regional routes soon followed as the airline then acquired several Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner and British Aerospace 146 aircraft. Over the following years, AeroSur acquired larger Boeing 727-200 airliners, which allowed the airline to expand its network of operations by adding international flights and helped the airline increase the number of passengers transported.
Expansion
During the 2000s AeroSur renewed and expanded its fleet, introducing larger aircraft of the types Boeing 747 and Boeing 757, which made the inauguration of long-haul flights possible. In 2002, President Hugo Banzer declared the airline the flag carrier of the Republic of Bolivia (línea aérea bandera); in that same year AeroSur became the first airline in Bolivia to offer business and first class flights. In 2004, AeroSur started to operate nostalgic flights with a Douglas C-117 to tourist destinations such as the Salar de Uyuni and Rurrenabaque, both of which are internationally recognized.
When Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano went bankrupt in 2007, AeroSur became the largest airline of Bolivia and the only one with intercontinental flights (to Central and North America as well as to Europe). In 2009, the domestic fleet of aging Boeing 727s was replaced by second-hand, though more modern, Boeing 737 Classic airliners, and looked to start a Peruvian subsidiary, however that project was suspended indefinitely.
The subsidiary dubbed AeroSur Paraguay was planned to operate two Boeing 737-200 aircraft of mainline AeroSur. The further development of the project was postponed in mid-2009 pending Paraguayan governmental approval, and later deferred indefinitely.[7] In 2010, AeroSur added five new aircraft to its fleet: three Boeing 737-300s, one Boeing 737-400 and a Boeing 767-200ER.
Bankruptcy
On March 31, 2012, the airline suspended operations because of unpaid taxes, but resumed all flights on April 6, except for its Madrid route. AeroSur had used a 747 leased from Virgin Atlantic on that route but had returned it to the lessor. The airline planned to resume that route with an ex-Aerolíneas Argentinas 747-400.[12][13] Ultimately, AeroSur struggled to keep its operations running smoothly and returned its 767 aircraft to the lessor.[12]
On May 17, 2012 AeroSur suspended all its flights again, and other airlines such as state-owned Boliviana de Aviación began to fill the void left by AeroSur. The airline was in talks with potential US investor William Petty who signed a memorandum of understanding to invest up to US$15 million in the Bolivian carrier. AeroSur's air operator's certificate was revoked on July 20, 2012. A group of former employees, as well as William Petty, planned to create a new airline called TU Aerolínea,[12]
