Welcome to a series of special deliveries. In this space we will start talking about aerolíneas histórich Ecuadorians and we will start with the más representative of all, the missing Ecuadorian Aviación.
Performed by: Historian Aeronáutico Guido Cháonce with informationón personal and other sources.
Photographerías: Guido Ch's personal archiveáturn, thanks to the authors.
Ecuadorian from Aviación
“The Pride of Making Ours Great”
Background
Ecuadorian from Aviación (THERE IT IS: EU, ICAO: EEA), It was founded the 1 February 1957, like a aerolíflag line for Ecuador, in its beginnings with private capital, belonging to the consortium owned by the American Clarense Shelton, in which alsoénot includedían las aerolíTAN lines of Honduras and APSA of Peruú, all missing. Later bought by Ecuadorian businessmen to later be nationalized, by the ruling dictatorship in theñO 1974.
Between 1996 and 2006 operó again as a private company, until its final collapse in 2006 after a series of financial problems and erroneous administrative management.
Ecuadorian during its history was the airlineínea más representative of the país and recognized worldwide for its warmth of service that made it a ícone and example in your élittle.
From Quito and Guayaquil the airínea voló a Miami, The Ádrooling, New York, Chicago, Nassau (Bahamas), City of México, Panamá, Caracas, Bogotaá, Cali, Lima, Santiago and Buenos Aires, which brings it back to the present day in the airíEcuadorian nea that más routes and international presence it has had throughout history, wovenémissing nature újust fly to Europe.
Durante su operationón its focus was international flights and operationsó sun flightsésticos in Ecuador úonly in its beginnings, but yesí it was an aerosolíairline that fed its international flights with the routes of other airlinesílines of the élittle.
The Roman Eraántica del Pistón
Ecuadorian coveríto internal pa routesís and eventually some international connections the initial fleet was composed of two Curtiss C-46A HC-ABQ and F HC-AMD and one Douglas B-23 Dragon modified for passengers in configurationón VIP, known as Papá Víctor by his motherícula HC-APV isé avión even voló like your ancestorsópresidential plane to later operate as an aircraftón executive in the transfer of oil company executives to different destinations within Ecuador.
It's avión aúIt is preserved in the Fuerza A museuméEcuadorian area, being one of the few survivors of this type in the world.
Además fleet of airplanes on runwayón was made up of the everlasting Douglas type DC-4 and DC-6 in variants A and B that began to arrive from 1959.
The first were mainly intended for cargo transportation, especially to the East, and the rest were mainly used for transporting cargo.íFor passengers, it should be noted that by that time Ecuatoriana already coveredíto international routes such as the US, Colombia, autonomy must be consideredíof the airplanes of that time that must haveíto make a stopover in Panamaá. for himño de 1969 An accident occurred on the old runway of the Santa Cecilia military detachment as a result of mishandling the cargo that the DC-4D HC-ANP was transporting., dynamite, what causedó a fire and pétotal loss of the aircraftón luckily without péhuman losses to regret, año más late the 14 April another DC-4D HC-AON crashes with pétotal loss in the takeoff phase from Miami airport due to inadequate management of post-takeoff procedures coupled with reduced visibility due to fog.
In the entire operational life of Ecuatoriana these two were the úonly accidents that the company had.
DETAIL OF THE FLEET OF AIRCRAFT TO RISTÓNOT OPERATED BY THE COMPANY
| PLANE | REGISTRATION |
| Curtiss Wright C-46 A | HC-ABQ |
| Curtiss Wright C-46F | HC-AMD |
| Douglas B-23 Dragon | HC-APV |
| Douglas C-54D | HC-ANP |
| Douglas C-54 | HC-AON |
| Douglas C-54 | HC-ARG |
| Douglas C-54A | HC-ARK |
| Douglas C-54U | HC-ASC |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-ADJ |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-ADU |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-ADJ |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-AIO |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-AIT |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-AMF |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-AMZ |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-ASC |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-ATR |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-AVF |
| Douglas DC-6 | HC-AVR |
At that time it was sunnyíto buy substitute airplanes as a source of spare parts, which is why the great numberúgroup of Douglas aircraft that, although Ecuadorian registered, did not all fly for the company.
At the beginning of the 70 the company suffers the first kidnapping attempt, due to the communist fever of thoseños when a teacher from the Mirror school tries to hijack a DC-6B, frustrated attempt by the ráask for actionón of the crewón and prompt interventionón of the FAE commandos who unfortunately shot down the kidnapper única vílatest of this incident.
The Turbo H eraélice
From 1967 and due to the need to be competitive and given the obsolescence of the Douglas, the renovation began.ófleet number, seven aircraft are acquired Lockheed L-188A Electra that operated until 1972. Avión designñSuitable for short and medium routes, With these new aircraft it is evidently betteró service and flight times, served both within national territory on the Sequ – A mixture – Sequ and internationally to destinations such as Cali, Bogotaá, Panamá and Miami. In that élittle, Ecuadorian had its own hangar for its operations in Miami.
DETAIL OF THE FLEET OF TURBO PROPELLER AIRCRAFT
| PLANE | REGISTRATION |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | HC-AMS |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | HC-ANQ |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | HC-AQF |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | HC-AVX |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | HC-AYL |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | HC-AZJ |
| Lockheed L-188A Electra | N-738C |
Two remaining Electras were sold to the companyñíto state TAME when Ecuador renewsó its fleet and incomeó to the jet age as a result of nationalizationócompany number.
Second kidnapping in 1969
The 19 from January toñthe indicated, the Electra registered HC-AMS, was kidnapped by an armed commando 10 kidnappers, that led to 77 passengers and 8 crew bound for Cuba. the grandfatherón, that comesífrom Quito, made a stopover in Guayaquil, was kidnapped in this úlast airport, taken to Barranquilla to refuel and continue the flight to Havana, where it landedó in the afternoon. Advantageously, vítimes to regret, Details of the nationality and fate of the kidnappers are not known, what can beíWhat to say is that they must have lived very happily in their “foríso” communist of that time.
Nationalizationón y Los Boeing
Through a supreme decree of the 31 July 1974, Ecuadorian was declared «Aerolíflag line» from Ecuador and became part of Force AéEcuadorian area as a result of this the entire fleet of aircraft hasídouble queeníboth civil and military.
Ecuadorian enters the jet age. Four aircraft are purchased in the United States Boeing 720 ex Pan Am, all these planes wore a scheme úunique since they were painted under the inspirationón by maestro Bolivar Mena Franco and Osvaldo Guayasamín, They represented the 4 regions of Ecuador Coast, Sierra, east and island, where the master plasmó y representó the landscape of each regionóThe planes were baptized with the names of the following provinces Imbabura, Galápayments and Napo. Spaghettién other planes carried art and inspirationón by the Ecuadorian master painter Eduardo Kingman.
other boeing 707 especial, it was the Ecuadorian Jet Cargo, what did it look likeó a úunique and special golden painting adorned with representative colors of Ecuador, being one of the few planes 100% freighters that have had an aerolíEquatorian snow.
Later they added four Boeing aircraft 707. Given the cost of maintenance of the paint, it was optedó for a change in their image transformedágoing in the rainbow scheme, wearing these colors for manyños, It is in this stage of nationalizationón where the company was able to increase its passenger service to other destinations such as Chicago, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Miami, México, Panamá, Colombia, Perú, Chile, Argentina and connections.
One of the 720 “Napa” nicknamed the lettuce for his outline, had the configurationón being a grandfatherón cargo and/or passengers which gave it a lot of versatility, later acquiredó a 707 intended exclusively as a freighter.
During the conflict with Peruú in the AñO 1981, known as the Paquisha War. The planes performed log missionsítours from Quito to Guayaquil depending on your conditionón to have a double matríbutt.
In the 90, Ecuador begins to suffer the shocks resulting from inadequate financial management due to the excesses and abuses of an administrative and bureaucratic apparatus.ágiant penthouse almost unmanageable and caótico, breaches of obligations combined with the apathy of the state resulted in the bankruptcy of our líflag line, for this and más the airplanes 707 They were sold as cargo ships in Ecuador to the companyñíto AECA and to companies in the United States that bought them as a source of spare parts and parts. All were finally boned in Latacunga, Guayaquil and USA.
The Ecuadorian Boeing
| PLANE | REGISTRATION |
| Boeing 720-023B | HC-AZP |
| Boeing 720-023B | HC-AZQ |
| Boeing 707-321B | HC-BCT |
| Boeing 720-023BF | HC-BDP |
| Boeing 707-321B | HC-BFC |
| Boeing 707-321C | HC-BGP |
| Boeing 707-321B | HC-BHY |
Wide cabin in Ecuadorian
Due to the need to increase its operational capacity and with a view to starting operations a Europa, I bought Ecuadorianó from Swissair a reviewón McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, which operatedó hasta la su segunda privatizationóin this beautiful avión terminó southíace in Quito, being decommissioned and dismantled. In foríhigh demand items the company leasesó aircraft of the type Lockheed L-1011 TriStar from the airíJordanian nea Alia.
Later, I acquiredó, new of fábrica, two planes Airbus A310 in the early 90.
| PLANE | REGISTRATION |
| Mc Donald Douglas DC-10-30 | HC-BKO |
| Airbus A-310-324 | HC-BRA |
| Airbus A-310-324 | HC-BRB |
| Lockheed L1011-500 | JY-AGC |
| Lockheed L1011-500 | JY-AGH |
Nueva privatizationón and end of operations
In the AñO 1993 the for Rehabilitation is dictatedón from Ecuador, que propendía la privatizationón and sale to private investors as a way out of the crisis. At the same time, the airíflag line ceases operations.
On 1995, was capitalized and 51% of its shares passed into the possession of the VASP group, that máIt's late tooén bankrupt disappearing into the añO 2001, after its absorptionón on the part of Lan Chile.
La operationóIt was not framedó in the «reductionósize nñor the company» which includedó reductionón of staff and office closures and the búpartner search, what in the práctica was a failure. The operations of the new Ecuadorian properly began in 1996.
product of this change, two Boeings are incorporated 727-200 with marriageíEcuadorian cula and a 727-100 with marriageícula boliviana más the use of aircraft that were already in the fleet, such as the DC-10-30 and the Airbus A310.
Once again, the scheme change occurs in the aircraft, sporting a scheme similar to that of Vasp.
In seasons of high demand, Ecuadorian rentó three other planes: a 737-200, an Airbus A310 and another 727-200.
It should be remembered that a grandfatherón of the alsoén missing LAB – Loyd AéBolivian prisoner carriedó painted the image of Ecuadorian.
In the práEcuadorian aviation policyón has disappeared as such. From the 2005 There have been numerous rumors about the possibility of resurrecting Aerolínea, but to date nothing has been finalized.
Other Boeing in Ecuador
| PLANE | REGISTRATION |
| Boeing 727-200 | HC-BVM |
| Boeing 727-200 | HC-BVT |
Despite his bad economic luckómica, The company had an excellent résafety cord, Well, I didn't suffer.ó a single fatal accident during its entire operationóinternational in the jet age.
Thank you very much Mr.. Larenas, perhaps our young people through media such as yours can know and keep alive the truth of our injustices!
The story made by Mr. Nicolás Larenas, It's appropriate, you have to thank him in terms of dates, However, does not mention names, the works, successful or unsuccessful ventures, they always have people behind great ideas. What's more, the causes of the success as well as the disaster and bankruptcy of Ecuatoriana de Aviación are not explained. So I want to add the following:
The history of Ecuatoriana de Aviación has two stages, clearly defined, the first of its start thanks to an idea, an undertaking of who was Dr.. Marco Tulio Gonzalez Cabrera, Ecuadorian lawyer, who had worked as a lawyer for Panagra, which was the branch of Panamerican Airlines for flights to Latin America at the time of its creation 1957. Having found Mr.. Shelton, (WWII pilot, Businessman) of American nationality was a success, the company had at its beginning a small capital of Ecuadorian shareholders, with a 51%. And Americans with Mr. Shelton, to the head. This relationship was always very well carried, maintaining very good relations. The company, as Mr.. Larenas, in the beginning, but always with a single route, a single plane at its start, like milkman, Leaving Miami around 1 am, flying to panama, from there to Cali and then to Quito. He immediately turned around and returned to Miami by the same route, all in less than 24 hours, so that the remaining hours of the day the maintenance of the plane is carried out at the beginning and after others that followed when prospering. The control of the sale, of spending was very rigorous throughout his private history, but not in its history after the nationalization made by the government of the dictator Rodríguez Lara. So much so that IATA honored the president of the company around 1970 with the award of being the best managed airline globally among the airlines that were part of this group of international lines. Award received by Dr.. Marco Tulio Gonzalez Cabrera in Tehran, Iran.
The company's success was undeniable., but it also provoked envy, especially among members of the Ecuadorian Air Force at that time who expressed intentions to internationalize the TAME Company Transporte aéreas Militares Ecuatorianos) that flew domestically managed by the Air Force. The air force wanted to have a company to have greater access to the outside, you buy especially from the United States. The opportunity arose when nationalization winds blew, it was more convenient to take advantage of the good name of a company with a history like CEA than to start from scratch with TAME.
shortly before 1973 that this bad given and arbitrary fact of its nationalization happened, the company had to necessarily change its equipment, which at that time included among other planes, of turboprop DC6 electras, but according to american regulations (USA) these were above the noise levels, therefore the company had to make an effort and buy jets and they did so, the airplanes, they were purchased painted in the company's colors (blue and white not multicolor) but at the same time came the fact that the military overthrew President José María Velasco Ibarra and assumed power. When requesting the private Ecuadorian Aviation company, help in signing an endorsement or endorsement from the government to finalize the negotiation of the new team, this was denied, and as a response came the nationalization of the company by decree published in the official registry by the dictator Rodríguez Lara. Ending this ill-intentioned action one of the best as successful national ventures recognized internationally.
From then on, every government took advantage of the company, flying for free was a matter of who you knew, what lever, or who was related. The abuse reached extremes such as creating routes to destinations where there were no passengers, One of the worst examples was the one in which the executives bought an apartment in Punta del Este, for your benefit, creating a route to get there at no cost. Few were the destinations that the Ecuadorian state, where I don't arrive.
There is a chapter that mentions Mr. Larenas, in which he refers to the hijacking of one of his planes. It wasn't just one, there were unfortunately more than one attempt, who were thwarted by the private security group the company had to maintain, being an additional expense. Nevertheless, and, a group hijacked a flight, that I arrive in Havana, the kidnappers treated like kings by the supposedly communist government of Cuba, the passengers like kings in the best hotels, gasoline to return to exorbitant prices, and leave only when paying the inflated bill of the Cubans, that they had a round business. Fostering airline hijacking, promoting, encouraging these acts. reprehensible situation, that ended when they attacked flights from the USA that responded firmly.
The history of Ecuatoriana de Aviación is a history of prejudice, of injustice to the Ecuadorian private company, its shareholders never received any compensation for its nationalization. Ecuador is a country of abuses and total lack of justice.
The story that I have narrated I witnessed because it is the story of my father, Marco Tulio Gonzalez goat, it made me give up creating a life in ecuador, my country of birth, family, education, etc. Well, in Ecuador there is no support for investment or the government, nor judicial by justice. Nevertheless, For Marco Tulio Gonzalez it was not his only venture, he was one of the first flower exporting companies (Florexport from Ecuador) he was the first president of the national association of flower exporters, founder of the Ecuadorian Venezuelan bank, President of the Chamber of Agriculture of the first zone through which and on his initiative the Plaza de Toros Quito was built, starting the Bullfighting festival. He was minister of state three times, two with dr.. Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, and one in the government of Clement Yerovi Indaburu of grateful national recall.
carefully.
Dr. Raul Gonzalez Tobar
Dear Raul, Thank you very much for such a valuable and extensive contribution..
very interesting information, but if I should locate that are data obtained from Wikipedia.
Hi Luis, the author did his research work focused on the different planes for the different periods of the airline's history. Unfortunately there is no additional bibliographical source from which to consult, let's say a library where they talk about the history of Ecuadorian aviation in general.
At that time, Ecuador had the best civil and military aviation in South America.
Thank you, Mr. Larena, your reports are excellent, keep going.
Thank you very much.
Good initiative!
to contribute, we must not forget that in its second privatization the US flew to Brazil (Sao Paulo and Manaus) and in Mexico it also operated Cancun.
Thank you Alberto for your collaboration.
Excellent work of the Ecuadorian aviation of Guido Chávez, a great friend passionate about aviation from a very young age, I send you a big hug ?
How nice to find this story of the best Aviation Company that Ecuador had, work on the 80/90 as Dispatcher/Loadmaster and I am part of your story.
Regards Dennis!
AND THE OTHER AIRLINES LIKE SAN SAETA, ETC.
They will come in future deliveries, in the meantime, you can read the story of SEDTA: https://www.nlarenas.com/2018/10/aerolineas-historicas-sedta-la-subsidiaria-de-lufthansa/
Nicolas, the only thing here is that no name is given to those who with effort and merit
They formed the businesswoman themselves and made her grow and managed her correctly until they sterilized her . It is good to know and understand who my father was among them, who with his vision along with others 3, they formed this company. There are times when you have to give credit to what is due, but I am grateful that it is finally said that all this fell through due to its mismanagement and the abuse of being operated as a state company..
good reports, precise and technical, I was ATC for two years in Quito in the seventies and I was able to see the number of daily operations from Quito to Lago Agrio with DC4, DC6, B23, all I met and their excellent crews. Then I became a helicopter pilot and there are great memories as well.. Greetings Nicolas.
Hello Oswaldo, Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and memories.! Greetings.
Nice report Nicholas., I know it takes time and effort, but a great story remains , thank you for writing about the airline to which many of us belong and love it
Thank you Charlie for commenting and sharing! A hug!
Memories of the unforgettable flag carrier, Nicholas was missing something, Politicians finished Ecuadorian; my best work experience, 14 years I dedicated to this wonderful company
Hello Patricio, thanks for comment. I focus on aeronautics 😉
I flew once with Ecuatoriana when I was already with Vasp from Buenos Aires to Miami via Guayaquil. Excellent flight both outward and return. On the way back the layover was long and they took us to a hotel 5 stars with all payment. I think that also contributed to not giving the numbers. excellent post.
Thank you for commenting on your experience Alberto.! How interesting about the hotel, definitely, that highlighted Ecuadorian, although it did not help her in her finances.
The Ecuadorian planes were not painted by Guayasamin, the first two el.imbabura and Galápagos were painted by bolivar Mena franco and with respect to los.lookeed they were never actually leased since there were no resources to do so, usually leases in the 90s were made with lacsa.
Thank you Maurizio for the information..
With great detail and precision, thanks Nicolás for this historical analysis of Ecuadorian. And as Adrian says, We will be attentive to read the stories of SAN, Hour, Tao, Saereo, etc…
Kind regards,
Carlos Fernandez.
A pleasure to contribute Carlos!
Excellent!!! I love these kind of stories…go ahead please!! it's my favorite post!!! The photos are also very good.!!
Thanks Diego!
Ecuadorian our tradition through the skies of America
So said part of an airline commercial.
There are some imprecisions but very good initiative I hope one day I will return Ecuadorian.
Thank you Mauricio, If you help us with these impressions, I would appreciate it.. Greetings
a cordial greeting. Excellent report on the history of the representative company of our nation, Ecuadorian. Memories that come to mind when you see them fly. I hope they can publish the history of SAN S.A.
Thanks Adrian, Sure, little by little we will write about the other historical airlines.
There is some arrow?
Not yet.