| Airline: | LANICA |
| Iata: | NI [1] |
| Callsign: | LANICA [2] |
| Commenced: | 1946 |
| Ceased: | 1981 |
| Hubs: | Augusto C. Sandino International Airport |
| Headquarters: | Managua, Nicaragua |
Líneas Aéreas de Nicaragua, operating as LANICA, was an airline from Nicaragua. Headquartered in the capital Managua, it operated scheduled passenger flights within South and Central America, as well as to the United States.
The carrier was founded in as a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, with this airline initially holding 40% of the company. Domestic services began in 1946 with Boeing 247 equipment. The company bought the assets of a local airline called Flota Aérea Nicaragüense (FANSA) in 1950, acquiring the control of the lucrative routes to the mining towns of Bonanza and Siuna in the north.
By, the carrier's route network was long. At, the fleet comprised seven DC-3s and one Navion that operated local routes; that year, the airline carried 21,852 passengers.
LANICA's fleet in was composed of one DC-3, one DC-4, one DC-6, and four C-46s, with the DC-6 flying to Miami and San Salvador.
In early 1966, the carrier ordered a BAC One-Eleven 400. Pending delivery of this new aircraft, another BAC One-Eleven, leased from Aer Lingus, was deployed on the Managua–Salvador–Miami sector in . Starting, LANICA's own BAC One-Eleven was operated on a joint-ownership basis with TAN Airlines. The last BAC 1-11 was disposed of in October 1972.[3]
Starting in May 1972, LANICA operated four examples of the larger four-engined Convair 880 jet airliner on their scheduled passenger services to Miami. The last was disposed of in 1977.[4]
Pan Am's participation in the airline had decreased to 10% by 1975; private investors held 85% of the company until, when Howard Hughes took control of 25% of it, through Hughes Tool Company, in exchange for the lease of two Convair 880s. By, LANICA's fleet consisted of two Convair 880s, three C-46s, and four DC-6s that served a route network including domestic services, as well as international passenger and cargo services to Mexico City, Miami, and San Salvador. Two more Convair 880s were acquired in 1977.
The government of Somoza was overthrown following the rise to power of the Sandinistas in 1979. The shares held by the Somoza family —the major stockholders at the time— were seized by the Junta of National Reconstruction, but the airline's debts were not absorbed by the new government. LANICA was declared bankrupt by a Nicaraguan court in, ceasing all operations on 31 August 1981.[5] In of that year, the airline had a fleet of two Boeing 727-100s, three C-46s, one DC-6, and employed a 450-strong staff. LANICA was succeeded by Aeronica as Nicaragua's flag carrier.
LANICA offered scheduled international passenger flights to the following destinations:[6]
Over the years of its existence, LANICA operated the following aircraft types:[7]
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| Convair 880 | ||
| Boeing 727 | ||
| BAC One-Eleven | ||
| Vickers Viscount 742-D | ||
| Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando | ||
| Douglas DC-3 | ||
| Date | Location | Aircraft | Tail number | Aircraft damage | Fatalities | Description | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AN-ACZ | W/O | |||||||
| Ometepe Island | Douglas R4D-5 | AN-AEC | W/O | /16 | Control of the aircraft was lost while flying the last leg of a domestic scheduled Managua–Bluefields–San Carlos–Managua passenger service. Crashed into Concepción after banking sharply to the left. A fire erupted following the crash, destroying the airframe completely. | |||
| Douglas C-47A | AN-ADQ | W/O | ||||||
| Siuna | C-46A | AN-AIN | W/O | /18 | Crashed on a hillside while operating a domestic Siuna–Bonanza scheduled passenger service. | |||
| BAC One-Eleven | unknown | none | none | Two hijackers commandeered the aircraft during a flight from Managua, Nicaragua, to San Salvador, El Salvador, demanding to be flown to Cuba. Instead, the airliner diverted to Grand Cayman Island in the Cayman Islands. | ||||
| Managua | C-46D | AN-AOC | W/O | Landing gear collapse during touchdown at Managua Airport. | ||||
| C-46A | AN-BGA | W/O | ||||||
| Bonanza | C-46A | YN-BVL | W/O | Crashed at Bonanza-San Pedro Airport after striking a ditch on landing. | ||||
 Panama City | Douglas DC-6BF | YN-BVI | W/O | Nosegear collapse. |