The Peruvian Government has granted an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to the startup Fly Perú Airlines. Now, the new company will have to start its certification process within the next six months. Fly Perú aims to become a domestic carrier in the South American country. What else do we know? Let’s investigate further.

The AOC for the new carrier

Peru could have up to three new airlines shortly. The Peruvian Government is working towards launching Línea Aérea de Bandera del Perú or LAPERU.

Meanwhile, Peruvian Airlines was planning to launch a subsidiary called Aeroperu. According to the Centre for Aviation (CAPA), Peruvian Airlines signed a Letter of Intent to purchase ten Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft for the new subsidiary in 2018. There is no official launch date for Aeroperu since Peruvian Airlines ceased operations in 2019.

And now, there’s Fly Peru Airlines. There’s little information about this new carrier. What we know is that the Peruvian Government gave the AOC on May 31. There’s no official website for the airline, nor a lot of additional information from the AOC document.

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What do we know about the startup?

According to the Peruvian Government, Fly Peru Airlines will be a domestic-only carrier. It will carry passengers, cargo, and mail. It will have an AOC for the next four years, and now it should be working towards obtaining its certification.

The Peruvian law establishes that Fly Peru Airlines has to start this certification process within the next six months, meaning the startup has until December to do so. Most likely, Fly Peru's first flight won't happen in 2021.

What about the fleet?

Fly Peru wasn’t precise regarding the type of aircraft it wants to operate. Unlike ITA Transportes Aéreos (Brazil), which always said it wanted to use Airbus aircraft, or Ultra Air (Colombia) which thought about the A320 or the B737 families, Fly Peru basically listed every possible aircraft out there.

The airline could use Airbus, Antonov, ATR, Beechcraft, Boeing, Cessna, De Havilland, Embraer, or Sukhoi aircraft. According to the AOC, it could even decide to use Douglas, Fairchild Swearingen, GAF Nomad, Fokkers, or McDonnell Douglas fleets.

Obviously, we don’t expect that to happen; most likely, Fly Peru will end up with an Airbus A320ceo, a Boeing 737 NG, or even an ATR 42/72, De Havilland, or Embraer E-Jet fleet.

Where would it fly?

The new Peruvian startup would have its hub in Lima’s International Airport (LIM). It would also operate from Lib Mandy Metropolitano Airport and Las Dunas Airport. These hubs are located in Lima and Ica.

From there, Fly Peru Airlines aims to serve the 24 Peruvian provinces, as it is stated in the AOC. Currently, there’s no information regarding international flights.

Peru desperately needs a national carrier

Peru currently has four domestic airlines: Atsa Airlines, Sky Airline, LATAM Peru, and Viva Air Peru. Only the first is genuinely Peruvian. Sky and LATAM are Chilean, and Viva is Colombian.

This is a problem that has lasted for over two decades now. Old Peruvian airlines like LC Peru, Peruvian Airlines, and Aeroperu (yeah, there was one before) have ceased operations.

A few months ago, when talking about LAPERU, the local government wrote,

“In the last two decades, the airlines that used the international air routes of Peru, with revenues and sales of billions of dollars, didn’t invest in Peru (…). They worked as branches of airlines with origins in other countries, where they sent all their financial revenues.”

Do you think Peru needs a new national airline, either State or privately-owned? Let us know in the comments.