Latin American Wings Explained

Airline:Latin American Wings
Iata:LW
Icao:JMR
Callsign:LAWI
Fleet Size:5
Destinations:8
Founded:2015
Commenced:27 January 2016
Ceased:10 March 2018
Bases:Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Key People:Andrés Dulcinelli, general manager

Latin American Wings (LAW) was a short-lived scheduled charter airline based at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile. At the time that operations were suspended, LAW flew to six destinations using Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

History

LAW was founded by a group of lawyers; executives in the insurance company and construction industries; and pilots for Middle Eastern airlines. It was led by Andrés Dulcinelli. The consortium had invested US$3 million in the airline, which might increase to $5 million. LAW would focus on operating flights to underserved markets.[1]

LAW operated its first flight on 27 January 2016, from Santiago to Punta Cana.[1] [2] Flights made a technical stop in Lima.[3] LAW used a Boeing 737-300 aircraft belonged to fellow start-up Chilejet.[4] The airline had planned to receive two Boeing 767-300 operated by Air New Zealand and two Boeing 757-200 operated by Icelandair. In August 2017, the CEO of the LAW had stated a plan to add up to 14 Boeing 737-300 in the next two years.

In February 2017, the Chilean government filed a complaint against LAW for possible implications related to Haitian immigrants smuggling, using the route between Santiago and Port-au-Prince to smuggle an estimate of 14,000 people. [5]

After only 2 years, unable to gain any significant market share against Sky Airline and the nascent JetSmart, LAW abandoned all domestic operations on January 9, 2018. Two months later, on March 10, facing the inability to use Jorge Chávez International Airport as a technical stop effective March 15, LAW announced that it was suspending operations.[6]

Destinations

At the time that operations were suspended, LAW flew to the following destinations:

CountryCityAirportNotes
ArgentinaMendozaGovernor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport
ChileSantiagoArturo Merino Benítez International AirportBase
Dominican RepublicPunta CanaPunta Cana International Airport
HaitiPort-au-PrinceToussaint Louverture International Airport
PeruLimaJorge Chávez International Airport
United StatesMiamiMiami International Airport
VenezuelaCaracasSimon Bolivar International Airport (Venezuela)

Fleet

When operations were suspended, the Latin American Wings consisted of the following aircraft:[7]

Notes and References

  1. Infante, M. P. and Villagrán, J. M. (30 December 2015). "New Chilean airline will debut in late January" (in Spanish). El Mercurio: B5. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  2. http://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/nueva-aerolinea-chilena-llegara-a-asuncion-1440803.html "New Chilean airline will arrive in Paraguay"
  3. http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/43646-chiles-latin-american-wings-commences-operations "Chile's Latin American Wings commences operations"
  4. http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/42933-chiles-latin-american-wings-eyes-launch-later-this-month Chile's Latin American Wings eyes launch later this month"
  5. News: Migrant smuggling: Why the Government is accusing LAW and how the airline is defending itself (in Spanish). EMOL. 12 November 2021.
  6. News: LAW suspends operations. World Airline News. 10 March 2018. 10 March 2018.
  7. Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part One). Airliner World. October 2017. 9.