Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela celebrates its 94th anniversary as Venezuela’s pioneer airline. The company was founded on July 3, 1929, becoming the first airline in Venezuela and the third in Latin America.
Commercial aviation in Venezuela began when the French company Aeropostale, led by its owner Marcel Bouilloux Lafont, established ties with Venezuela with the objective of creating an air bridge to communicate South America with the Caribbean islands and the French Antilles.
By December 31, 1933 the Venezuelan government bought the shares of the company creating «La Línea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV)«. The airline initially had a fleet of Latécoère 26 and 28, which was later replaced by Fairchild 82B aircraft. The first operations were between Maracay and Maracaibo, Maracay and Ciudad Bolivar.
On May 21, 1937, the Venezuelan state became 100% owner of the airline’s shares and in 1939 its hub in Maracay was transferred to Maiquetia in Caracas.
International flights began in 1945, connecting Venezuela with Boa Vista, Brazil. The company then began services to Aruba the following year with a partnership with KLM. In 1948, the airline obtained a Lockheed L-749 Constellation for non-stop flights to New York and then to Bogota and Lima in 1952.
Several additional aircraft were introduced throughout the second half of the 20th century, including the Caravelle, DC-9-51, and MD-80. The airline was also a pioneer in introducing Airbus A320 and Airbus A310 aircraft to its fleet in 1998, being the first airline in Venezuela to fly these models.
Currently, the airline has a training center called Escuela De Capacitación Aeronáutica Aeropostal Alas De Venezuela, which has modern facilities and provides students with a comfortable environment that offers educational attention in accordance with national and international quality standards.
Aeropostal is the only school accredited by the Instituto Nacional de Aviación Civil (INAC) that offers Cabin Crew, Flight Dispatcher, Teaching Induction and Aeronautical Maintenance Technician programs, which has ensured that it always complies with the standards required worldwide.
Currently, Aeropostal has a flight schedule from Caracas and Valencia to Porlamar and a fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft.
TOP 5 oldest airlines in Latin America
- Avianca (Founded: December 5, 1919).
- LATAM Chile (Founded: March 5, 1929).
- Aeropostal (Founded: July 3, 1929).
- Cubana de Aviación (Founded: October 8, 1929).
- Aeroméxico (Founded: September 14, 1934).
