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Welcome to a series of special deliveries. In this space we will begin to talk about historical Ecuadorian airlines and we will start with the most representative of all, the missing Ecuatoriana de Aviación.
Performed by: Aeronautical Historian Guido Chávez with personal information and other sources.
Photographs: personal file of Guido Chavez, thanks to the authors.
Ecuadorian Aviation
“The Pride of Making Ours Great”
Background
Ecuadorian Aviation (THERE IT IS: EU, ICAO: EEA), was founded on 1 February 1957, like a flag carrier for Ecuador, in its beginnings with private capital, belonging to the consortium owned by the American Clarense Shelton, which also included the airlines TAN from Honduras and APSA from Peru, all missing. Later bought by Ecuadorian businessmen to later be nationalized, by the ruling dictatorship in the year 1974.
Between 1996 and 2006 operated 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 most representative airline in the country and recognized worldwide for its warmth of service that made it an icon and example in its time..
From Quito and Guayaquil the airline flew to Miami, The Angels, New York, Chicago, Nassau (Bahamas), Mexico City, Panama, Caracas, Bogota, Cali, Lima, Santiago and Buenos Aires, which makes it the Ecuadorian airline that has had the most routes and international presence throughout history until today, having only missed flying to Europe.
During its operation, its focus was international flights and it operated domestic flights in Ecuador only in its beginnings., but it was an airline that fed its international flights with the routes of other airlines of the time.
The Romantic Age of the Piston
Ecuadorian covered internal routes of the country and eventually some international connections the initial fleet was composed of two Curtiss C-46A HC-ABQ and F HC-AMD and a Douglas B-23 Dragon modified for passengers in VIP configuration, Known as Papa Víctor due to its HC-APV license plate, this plane even flew as a presidential plane to later operate as an executive plane in the transfer of oil company managers to different destinations within Ecuador..
This plane is still preserved in the Ecuadorian Air Force museum, being one of the few survivors of this type in the world.
In addition, the fleet of piston aircraft was made up of the eternal Douglas of the DC-4 and DC-6 type in the A and B variants that began to arrive from 1959.
The first destined fundamentally for cargo transport, especially to the East and the rest mostly for passengers, it should be noted that at that time Ecuadorian already covered international routes such as the US., Colombia, we must consider the autonomy of the planes of that time that necessarily had to make a stopover in Panama. For the year of 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, which caused a fire and total loss of the plane luckily without human losses to regret, a year later the 14 April another DC-4D HC-AON crashes with a total loss during the takeoff phase from the Miami airport due to inadequate management of post-takeoff procedures coupled with reduced visibility due to fog.
Throughout the operational life of Ecuatoriana these two were the only accidents that the company had.
DETAIL OF THE FLEET OF PISTON AIRCRAFT 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, substitute planes used to be bought as a source of spare parts, which is why the large number of Douglas planes was due, although they were Ecuadorian-registered, but not all of them flew for the company..
At the beginning of the 70 the company suffers the first kidnapping attempt, due to the communistoid fever of those years when a teacher from the Mirror school tries to hijack a DC-6B, Attempt frustrated due to the rapid action of the crew and the prompt intervention of the FAE commandos, who unfortunately shot down the hijacker, the only victim of this incident..
The era of the Turbo Propeller
From 1967 and due to the need to be competitive and given the obsolescence of the Douglas, the renewal of the fleet begins, seven Lockheed L-188A Electra aircraft are acquired and operated until 1972. Aircraft designed for short and medium routes, With these new aircraft, the service and flight times were obviously improved., served both within national territory on the Sequ – Segu – Sequ route and internationally to destinations such as Cali, Bogota, Panama and Miami. At that time, 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 state company TAME when Ecuador renewed its fleet and entered the jet era as a result of the company's nationalization..
Second kidnapping in 1969
The 19 January of the year 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 plane, who came from Quito, made a stopover in Guayaquil, was kidnapped at the latter airport, taken to Barranquilla to refuel and continue the flight to Havana, where he landed in the afternoon. Advantageously, there were no victims to regret, Details of the nationality and fate of the kidnappers are not known, what could be said is that they must have lived very happily in their communist "paradise" of that time.
Nationalization and The Boeings
Through a supreme decree of the 31 July 1974, Ecuatoriana was declared "Flag Airline" of Ecuador and became part of the Ecuadorian Air Force. As a result of this, the entire fleet of aircraft had dual registration, both civil and military..
Ecuadorian enters the jet age. Four Boeing aircraft are purchased in the United States 720 ex Pan Am, All these planes wore a unique scheme since they were painted under the inspiration of the master Bolivar Mena Franco and Osvaldo Guayasamín., They represented the 4 regions of Ecuador Coast, Sierra, east and island, where the teacher shaped and represented the landscape of each region the planes were baptized with the names of the following provinces Imbabura, Galapagos and Napo. Other planes also carried the art and inspiration of Ecuadorian master painter Eduardo Kingman.
other boeing 707 especial, it was the Ecuadorian Jet Cargo, who wore a unique and special golden painting adorned with representative colors of Ecuador, being one of the few planes 100% freighters that an Ecuadorian airline has had.
Later they added four Boeing aircraft 707. Given the maintenance cost of the painting, a change in their image was chosen, transforming them into the rainbow scheme., wearing these colors for many years, it is in this stage of nationalization where the company was able to increase its passenger service to other destinations such as Chicago, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Miami, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and connections.
One of the 720 "Napo" nicknamed the lettuce for his scheme, It had the configuration of being a cargo and/or passenger plane, which gave it a lot of versatility., subsequently purchased a 707 intended exclusively as a freighter.
During the conflict with Peru in the year 1981, known as the Paquisha War. The planes carried out logistics missions from Quito to Guayaquil due to their condition of having double registration.
In the 90, Ecuadorian begins to suffer the shakes resulting from inadequate financial management due to the excesses and abuses of a giant administrative and bureaucratic apparatus that is almost unmanageable and chaotic, breaches of obligations coupled with the laziness of the state resulted in the bankruptcy of our flag line, for this and more the planes 707 They were sold as cargo ships in Ecuador to the AECA company and to companies in the United States that bought them as a source of spare parts and spare 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 in Europe, Ecuadorian acquired a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft from Swissair, which operated until its second privatization this beautiful plane ended its days in Quito, being decommissioned and dismantled. In periods of high demand, the company leased aircraft of the type Lockheed L-1011 TriStar from the Jordanian airline Alia.
It was later purchased, new from factory, two Airbus A310 aircraft 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 |
New privatization and end of operations
In the year 1993 the one for the Rehabilitation of Ecuadorian is dictated, that favored privatization and sale to private investors as a way out of the crisis. At the same time, the flag carrier ceases operations.
On 1995, was capitalized and 51% of its shares passed into the possession of the VASP group, which later also goes bankrupt disappearing in the year 2001, after its absorption by Lan Chile.
The operation was part of the "reduction in the size of the company" that included staff reduction and office closures and the search for partners, which in practice was a failure. The operations of the new Ecuadorian properly began in 1996.
product of this change, two Boeings are incorporated 727-200 with Ecuadorian registration and a 727-100 with Bolivian registration plus the use of the aircraft that already had 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 leased another three planes: a 737-200, an Airbus A310 and another 727-200.
It should be remembered that a plane from the also defunct LAB – Loyd Aéreo Boliviano painted the image of Ecuadorian.
In the Ecuadorian practice of Aviation it has disappeared as such. From the 2005 there have been numerous rumors about the possibility of resurrecting the airline, 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 economic misfortune, the company had an excellent safety record, because it did not suffer a single fatal accident during its entire international operation in the jet age.
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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.