PLUNA

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PLUNA

IATA PU	ICAO PUA	Callsign Pluna
Founded		1936
Hubs		Carrasco Int'l Airport
Focus cities		Punta del Este Airport
Frequent flyer program		Smiles
Member lounge		Blue Lounge
Fleet size		7
Destinations		8
Parent company		PLUNA Ente Autárquico
Headquarters		Montevideo, Uruguay
Key people		Carlos Bouzas (President)
Website: http://www.pluna.com.uy

PLUNA (Primera Línea Uruguaya de Navegación Aérea) is Uruguay's national and international airline company, based in Montevideo. It operates scheduled services within South America and to Spain.

1 History
2 Services
3 Fleet
4 Incidents and accidents
5 References
6 External links

Pluna Boeing 767-300

The airline was established in September 1936 and started operations on November 20, 1936. It was formed by the brothers Jorge Márquez Vaesa and Alberto Márquez Vaesa, who had obtained the necessary financial and technical support through the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Uruguay at the time, Sir Eugen Millington-Drake. The airline flew two De Havilland 5-passenger Dragonfly aircraft, from Montevideo to Salto and Paysandú.^[1] The two planes were baptized Churrinche and San Alberto, the latter in honor of the brothers' father. PLUNA flew 2,600 passengers in their first fiscal year, a huge success for that era. It also flew 20,000 pieces of mail and 70,000 newspapers.

The 1940s saw PLUNA's expansion into the international field, with the airline's first regular service to Brazil in December, 1947, which linked the cities of Montevideo and Punta del Este with Porto Alegre, Brazil. This route was later extended to include São Paulo as well. Also added to PLUNA's network were Santa Cruz in Bolivia, as well as the Argentine destinations of Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba. The airline was nationalised in 1951. ^[1]

Pluna Boeing 737-200

PLUNA's growth slowed considerably for the next three decades, but it entered the jet age soon after jets were introduced to the world, and added John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and Miami, Florida to its destinations, using McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Boeing 737 aircraft.

In the 1980s, PLUNA began flying to Madrid, Asunción, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile, but services to JFK and Miami were suspended. The city of Punta del Este, in Uruguay's southeast, flourished as a major tourist destination, and PLUNA benefited from that. During this time, an office was also opened in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The 1990's saw financial trouble loom for PLUNA, and in 1994 the government sold a 49% stake to a Varig-led consortium. Many people know the company as PLUNA-Varig. Nevertheless, PLUNA remains active with over 200 weekly flights from Montevideo's international airport, using Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 equipment.

Ownership of the airline until June 2005 comprised the Government of Uruguay (48%), Varig (49%), Victor Mesa (2%) and Pluna's employees (1%). When VARIG entered Chapter 11 bakruptcy protection on June 11, 2005, it sought a bidder for its 49% stake in PLUNA. For almost a year, it looked as if it might go to Venezuela's state-run Conviasa, but the deal officially fell through in July 2006. In September 2006, the Uruguayan Government bought 98% of PLUNA, reducing VARIG's share to just 2%.

In January 4, 2007, the Government of Uruguay start to negotiate the sold of 75% of it shares to a private investors consortium from Germany, United States, Uruguay and Argentina called Leadgate Investment, that will invest US$177 millions in the company. ^[2]