Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano: История боливийской авиакомпании

Former flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia

the defunct Brazilian airline

Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano S. A. M. (abbreviated LAB and internationally known as LAB Airlines), was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. Before its demise it was headquartered in Cochabamba and had its main hubs at Jorge Wilstermann International Airport and Viru Viru International Airport. Founded in September 1925, it was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca and one of the oldest airlines in the world.

Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB) was founded by German immigrants in August 1925. In July 1930, Lloyd Aéreo began to serve international routes, with scheduled flights between La Paz, where it was based then, and Corumbá, Brazil. On the grounds of a co operation agreement with Syndicato Condor, an airline catering for the German minority in Brazil, LAB passengers could connect in Corumbá on a flight to Rio de Janeiro, and vice versa. Over the following years, more destinations in Brazil were added, so that Lloyd Aéreo became the second largest airline in South America at that time, only surpassed by Avianca from Colombia. In 1932, the Bolivian government seized all of LAB's planes and staff, so that they could be dispatched for military use during the Chaco War with Paraguay.

In May 1941, LAB was taken over by the government of Bolivia as the country's national airline and Panagra was granted a contract to administer it. In March 1960, Panagra held a 20% interest in LAB and the government of Bolivia was the major shareholder. At this time, Edmundo Gonzalez was the president of the airline and the fleet consisted of seven DC 3s, one DC 4 and six Boeing B 17s. LAB was in the position to offer non stop international flights. A further improvement in comfort and travel times was achieved when Lloyd Aéreo acquired its first jet aircraft (of the Boeing 727 type) in 1970, allowing for the inauguration of flights to Central America and the United States. At March 1990, the airline had 1,700 employees and was 99.98% owned by the government. By this time the network, which consisted of 21 domestic destinations and 15 international ones (Arica, Asunción, Belo Horizonte, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Cuzco, Lima, Manaus, Miami, Montevideo, Panama, Rio de Janeiro, Salta, Santiago and São Paulo), was served with two Boeing 707 320C, three Boeing 727 200s, two Boeing 727 100s, one Fokker F27 600 and one Fokker F27 200.

From 1994 onwards, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano was encountering rising financial difficulties. As a consequence, the Bolivian government prepared the privatization of the airline and began to negotiate with potential buyers. On 19 October 1995, Brazilian airline VASP acquired 50 percent of the LAB shares. In an effort to cut costs, VASP aimed at a full merger of the two airlines, with a similar livery and a joint frequent flyer program as initial steps. , 49% and 48.3% of the shares were held by VASP and the Bolivian government, respectively.

On 21 August 1944, an LAB Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar (registered CB 25) was destroyed in a fire at La Paz Airport. On 29 May 1947, an LAB Douglas C 47 Skytrain (registered CB 32) crashed near Trinidad. On 10 August 1949, an LAB Curtiss Wright C 46 Commando (registered CB 37) crashed near Rurrenabaque. In September of the same year, a Lodestar (registered CB 26) was damaged beyond repair in a shooting during the Bolivian National Revolution. In 1950, two LAB C 46s crashed: CB 51 near Cochabamba on 24 April, and its sister aircraft CB 38 on 2 October near La Laguna Lake. On 1 January 1951, an LAB C 47 (registered CB 31) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at La Paz Airport. On 3 November 1953, a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Douglas DC 3 (registered CP 600) crashed into a mountain near Potosí, killing the 25 passengers and 3 crew members on board. The aircraft had been on a scheduled domestic flight from Camiri to Sucre. On 5 September 1955, two LAB aircraft collided mid air over Cochabamba: A DC 3 (registered CP 572) on a scheduled passenger flight, and a Boeing B 17G (CP 597) on a cargo flight. The Boeing crashed, killing all three crew members. The DC 3 managed to perform an emergency landing. On 25 August 1956, a cargo configured Lloyd Aéreo DC 3 (registered CP 506) crash landed at La Paz Airport, killing two out of the three people on board. On 26 September 1956, the first hijacking of a commercial flight with political purposes was of the Lloyd Aereo Boliviano on 26 September 1956. The airplane (DC 4), carried 47 prisoners. They were being transported from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to the town of El Alto, in La Paz. There, a political group was waiting to take them to a concentration camp located in Carahuara de Carangas, Oruro. The 47 prisoners gained control of the aircraft in mid flight and rerouted the airplane to Tartagal, Argentina. Two of the 47 prisoners took control of the aircraft controls and received instructions to again reroute to Salta, Argentina as the airfield in Tartagal was not big enough for the DC 4. They did and moments later arrived safely to the city of Salta. They told the government of the injustice they were submitted to, and received political asylum. On 18 March 1957, another DC 3 (registered CP 535), which had been on a passenger flight from Cochabamba to Oruro, crashed into a mountain near Sayari. All 16 passengers and 3 crew members died. On 31 December 1959, all 11 occupants of an LAB C 47 (registered CP 584) died when the aircraft crashed shortly after take off from an airfield near San José de Chiquitos. On 5 February 1960, a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Douglas DC 4 (registered CP 604), that had been on a scheduled passenger flight from Cochabamba to La Paz, crashed shortly after take off into Laguna Huañacota, a mountain lake, following an engine fire. All 55 passengers and 4 crew members lost their lives (a two year old girl could be saved, but later died in hospital). On 21 August 1962, an LAB C 47 (registered CP 536) crashed near Cochabamba Airport during a post maintenance test flight, killing four out of the five people on board. On 15 March 1963 at approximately 13:55 local time, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Flight 915 from Arica, Chile to La Paz, that was operated by a Douglas DC 6 (registered CP 707) on this day, crashed into Mount Chachakumani, killing all 36 passengers and three crew members. At the time of the accident, there were poor visibility conditions due to bad weather. On 4 February 1964, an LAB C 47 aircraft (registered CP 568) crashed shortly after departing Yacuiba Airport, killing two out of the 29 people on board. On 3 August 1966, an LAB C 46 (registered CP 730) that had been on a cargo flight from Riberalta to Cochabamba crashed into a mountain range of the Andes, killing all three people on board. The accident likely occurred because of a navigational error of the pilot, who had chosen a wrong flight path and subsequently had flown at the wrong altitude. On 19 April 1968, an LAB DC 3 (registered CP 734) crashed shortly after take off from an airstrip at Trinidad. Even though the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, there were no fatalities. On 26 September 1969 at around 15:10 local time, an LAB DC 6 (registered CP 968) carrying 69 passengers and 5 crew members on a scheduled flight from Santa Cruz de la Sierra to La Paz crashed into Mount Choquetanga 176 kilometres away from the destination airport. There were no survivors when the wreckage was found after three days. Seventeen Bolivian football players had been amongst the passengers. On 16 December 1971, an LAB passenger flight from Sucre to La Paz was hijacked and demanded to be diverted to Chile. The aircraft landed at Cochabamba Airport instead, police forces stormed the plane and arrested the perpetrator. In the ensuing shooting, one crew member and one passenger were killed. On 13 October 1976 at 13:32 local time, a Boeing 707 freighter aircraft (registered N730JP) that had been chartered by LAB to operate a cargo flight from Santa Cruz de la Sierra to Miami crashed directly after take off from El Trompillo Airport into a housing area and a crowded football pitch, killing the three crew members as well as 88 people on the ground, making it the deadliest air disaster in Bolivia to date. The accident had likely occurred because the pilots had not selected the correct amount of thrust, so that the aircraft did not gain sufficient height. On 23 January 1980, a LAB Fairchild F 27J (registered CP 1175) ran off a taxiway whilst being on ground at Santa Ana del Yacuma Airport and went into a ditch, during which the fuel tank was ruptured by debris from the propeller. In the ensuing fire, the aircraft was destroyed, but all 15 passengers and the three crew members could be saved. On 2 June 1980, a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano F 27J (registered CP 1117) crashed into a hill whilst approaching Yacuiba Airport, killing the 10 passengers and three crew members on board. On 16 March 1984, another F 27M (registered CP 862) crashed, this time in a jungle somewhere between Trinidad and San Borja, claiming the lives of the 20 passengers and three crew. On 23 January 1985, a passenger detonated a bomb in a lavatory on board an LAB flight from La Paz to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, killing him. The aircraft involved, a Boeing 727 200 registered CP 1276, was substantially damaged but could safely be landed. There were no fatalities among the other 119 passengers and seven crew members. On 31 August 1991, an LAB Boeing 707 (registered CP 1365) was destroyed in a hangar fire at Dothan Regional Airport in the United States. On 22 December 1994, a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Fokker F27 Friendship (registered CP 2165) overran the runway at Guayaramerín Airport following a rejected takeoff and crashed into trees. All 36 passengers and four crew members survived the accident. The planned destination of the scheduled domestic flight had been San Joaquín. On 9 January 2001 at 17:20 local time, the left main landing gear of an LAB Boeing 727 200 (registered CP 2323) collapsed while taxiing at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport prior to a scheduled flight to Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Investigator found that the accident, by which none of the 138 passengers and 8 crew members were injured but left the aircraft damaged beyond repair, happened because of corrosion damage. On 7 August 2004, an LAB Boeing 767 300ER (registered CP 2425) experienced a hard landing at Viru Viru International Airport following a scheduled flight from Miami, and was substantially damaged. On 1 February 2008 at 10:35 local time, the pilots of an LAB Boeing 727 200 (registered CP 2429) had to execute a forced landing in a jungle clearing near Trinidad due to fuel exhaustion. The aircraft carrying 151 passengers and 8 crew had been on a scheduled flight from La Paz to Cobija, when it had to divert to Trinidad due to bad weather conditions, ultimately failing make the distance with the remaining fuel. There were no fatalities; the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.