Alas Uruguay (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for ''Wings Uruguay'') was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

from

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. It was founded by former employees of the defunct Uruguayan

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...

PLUNA PLUNA Líneas Aéreas Uruguayas S.A. was the flag carrier of Uruguay. It was headquartered in Carrasco, Montevideo and operated scheduled services within South America, as well as scheduled cargo and charter services from its hub at Carrasco ...

, which closed in 2012. PLUNA had been a

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

most of its life, and a mixed-ownership enterprise in later years, but Alas Uruguay was started as a private company, owned and managed by its own workers. Its bases were

Carrasco International Airport Carrasco/General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport is the main international airport of Uruguay. It is the country's largest airport and is located in the Carrasco neighborhood of Montevideo. It has been cited as one of the most effic ...

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

and

Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport () , also known by its former official name of Laguna del Sauce International Airport, and as Punta del Este International Airport, is an airport serving Punta del Este, Uruguay, located ...

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este grew to become a resort for the Latin and North American jet set and tourists. T ...

. The company first adopted the name Alas-U, but in October 2013 was renamed Alas Uruguay. It started operations in January 2016 but, mired in debt, it stopped flying in October the same year and was eventually declared bankrupt.

History

Alas Uruguay was founded in 2013 on the initiative of a group of former PLUNA employees, but several difficulties led to it starting operations only almost three years later. It had a fleet of three leased

Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

aircraft. The first aircraft was delivered to the airline in January 2015. She had previously operated for

Ukraine International Airlines Ukraine International Airlines PJSC, often shortened to UIA, is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Ukraine, with its head office in Kyiv and its main hub at Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport. It operated domestic and internationa ...

(UIA). Later in 2015, a second aircraft, also previously from UIA, and a third one, previously from

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

, were delivered. All had

blended winglets A blend is a mixture of two or more different substances. Blend may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans * The Blend (Sirius XM), a North American satellite radio channel * "Blend", a 2017 song on ...

. After several postponements, Alas Uruguay commenced operations on 21 January 2016, with a flight from Montevideo to

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, followed by

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

six days later on the 27th. The Asunción route was discontinued on 12 October 2016, as it was not profitable. Plans to fly to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

never materialized. The airline operated for only nine months, struggling with financial difficulties, and suspended its operations on 24 October 2016. That day, its last remaining plane was repossessed by the lessor and Alas Uruguay filed a request to the Uruguayan authorities for a 60-day suspension of its activities, but operations never resumed and the airline lost its

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial air transport purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and s ...

(AOC) at the end of that period. The company was heavily indebted, owing U.S.$15 million to the Uruguayan government for a loan granted for the start of its operations and a further U.S.$4.9 million to suppliers. Negotiations with Chilean airline Latin American Wings to take over the company failed and Alas Uruguay was declared bankrupt, but as of 2017

Azul Brazilian Airlines Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (''Azul Brazilian Airlines''; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian airline headquartered in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo. The company's business model is to stimulate demand by providing frequent and affordable ...

was negotiating with the Uruguayan government to establish a subsidiary in the country, taking up some of Alas Uruguay's routes and staff.

Destinations

Fleet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alas Uruguay 2013 establishments in Uruguay 2016 disestablishments in Uruguay Airlines established in 2013 Airlines disestablished in 2016 Defunct airlines of Uruguay Companies based in Montevideo