Líneas Aéreas de Nicaragua, operating as LANICA, was an airline from

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. Headquartered in the capital

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

, it operated scheduled passenger flights within South and Central America, as well as to the United States.

History

The carrier was founded in as a subsidiary of

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

, with this airline initially holding 40% of the company. Domestic services began in 1946 with

Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 is an early American airliner, and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing, and retractable landing gear.

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-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

s 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 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

, one

DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete wi ...

, and four

C-46 The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...

s, with the DC-6 flying to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

. In early 1966, the carrier ordered a BAC One-Eleven 400. Pending delivery of this new aircraft, another

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

, leased from

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

, 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. Starting in May 1972, LANICA operated four examples of the larger four-engined

Convair 880 The Convair 880 is a retired American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller but faster, a niche that f ...

jet airliner on their scheduled passenger services to

. The last was disposed of in 1977. Pan Am's participation in the airline had decreased to 10% by 1975; private investors held 85% of the company until , when

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

took control of 25% of it, through

Hughes Tool Company Hughes Tool Company was an American manufacturer of drill bits. Founded in 1908, it was merged into Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987. History The company was established in December 1908 as Sharp-Hughes Tool Company when Howard R. Hughes ...

, 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 Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Miami, and San Salvador. Two more Convair 880s were acquired in 1977. The government of

Somoza The Somoza family () is a political family which ruled Nicaragua under a dictatorship over a period of forty-three years, from 1936 to 1979. Founder, Anastasio Somoza García – who served as the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956 – ...

was overthrown following the rise to power of the

Sandinistas The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

in 1979. The shares held by the

Somoza family The Somoza family () is a political family which ruled Nicaragua under a dictatorship over a period of forty-three years, from 1936 to 1979. Founder, Anastasio Somoza García – who served as the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956 – ...

—the major stockholders at the time— were seized by the

Junta of National Reconstruction The Junta of National Reconstruction () was the provisional government of Nicaragua from the fall of the Somoza family dictatorship in July 1979 until January 1985, with the election of Daniel Ortega ( FSLN) as president of Nicaragua. Overview T ...

, 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. In of that year, the airline had a fleet of two

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airp ...

s, three C-46s, one DC-6, and employed a 450-strong staff. LANICA was succeeded by Aeronica as Nicaragua's

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 ...

Destinations

LANICA offered scheduled international passenger flights to the following destinations: ;Argentina *

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 ...

;Chile *

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

;Costa Rica * San José ;Honduras *

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 701, ...

;Ecuador *

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

;Guatemala * Ciudad Guatemala ;México * Mexico D.F. ;Panamá *

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

;Perú *

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

;United States *

;Uruguay *

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 ...

Fleet

Over the years of its existence, LANICA operated the following aircraft types:LANICA at AeroTransport database
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Accidents and incidents

Bibliography

* Eastwood, Tony, and Roach, John. ''Jet Airliner Production List''. 2004. The Aviation Hobby Shop. ISBN none.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal, title=Airlines of the World – Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua SA{{--LANICA , journal=

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

, date=8 April 1960 , volume=77 , number=2665 , page=503 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%200503.html , archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6JIPXzMTe?url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%200503.html , archivedate= 1 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline survey – Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua SA (Lanica) , journal=

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

, number=2927 , volume=87 , date=15 April 1965 , page=589 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1965/1965%20-%202157.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306090523/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1965/1965%20-%202157.html , archivedate=6 March 2016 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=Air transport... – One-Eleven for Nicaragua , journal=

, number=2979 , volume=89 , date=14 April 1966 , page=562 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1966/1966%20-%201005.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306222349/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1966/1966%20-%201005.html , archivedate=6 March 2016 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline survey – Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua SA (Lanica) , journal=

, number=3031 , volume=91 , date=13 April 1967 , page=577 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200591.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927135142/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200591.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=Air transport , journal=

, volume=95 , number=3132 , date=20 March 1969 , page=431 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201676.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927135140/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201676.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , quote=Taxying in at San Salvador's Ilopango Airport is the BAC One-Eleven 400 which was originally bought by Lanica of Nicaragua and which now operates services with TAN Airlines of Honduras on a joint-ownership basis. , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline survey – Lanica (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua SA) , journal=

, number=3135 , volume=95 , date=10 April 1969 , page=578 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201831.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927135138/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201831.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline survey – Lanica (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua SA) , journal=

, date=20 March 1975 , volume=108 , number=3445 , page=492 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200556.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927171035/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200556.html , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World news – Public-transport accidents , journal=

, date=6 March 1976 , volume=111 , number=3553 , page=516 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%200356.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927170839/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%200356.html , quote=A Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua Curtiss CW-20, AN-AOC, was damaged on landing at Managua on February 25 when the starboard undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft was badly damaged but there were no passenger injures. , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=Airliner market , journal=

, date=16 April 1977 , volume=109 , number=3495 , page=516 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1977/1977%20-%201089.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927170733/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1977/1977%20-%201089.html , quote=Lanica of Nicaragua has acquired two more Convair CV-880s. , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline directory – Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua SA (Lanica) , journal=

, date=16 May 1981 , volume=119 , number=3758 , page=1446 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%201444.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050202/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%201444.html , archivedate=3 October 2013 , issn=0015-3710 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=Air transport , journal=

, date=12 December 1981 , volume=120 , number=3788 , page=1738 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%203858.html , archivedate=3 October 2013 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050420/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%203858.html , issn=0015-3710 , quote=Aeronica is the new Nicaraguan state carrier, having been formed when Lanica was declared bankrupt. , url-status=dead {{cite news, title= Flights to Nicaragua resumes as Lanica starts 'from zero', first= Arthur, last= Golden, newspaper=

The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

, date= 1 November 1979, url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ktYzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dOsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=935,143108&dq=la+nica&hl=en {{cite journal, title=The World's airlines – La Nica (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua, S.A.) , journal=

, volume=LXIII , number=2302 , date=6 March 1953 , page=312 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1953/1953%20-%200314.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927135135/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1953/1953%20-%200314.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline directory – La Nica (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua, S.A.) , journal=

, volume=67 , number=2407 , date=11 March 1955 , page=306 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%200306.html , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927135133/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%200306.html , archivedate=27 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite journal, title=World airline directory – Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua, S.A.{{--LANICA , journal=

, volume=69 , number=2465 , date=20 April 1956 , page=473 , url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1956/1956%20-%200473.html , archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6JsfNvCCX?url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1956/1956%20-%200473.html , archivedate=24 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite news, title= Lanica Airlines files bankruptcy, agency=

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, newspaper=

Boca Raton News The ''Boca Raton News'', owned by the South Florida Media Company, was the local community newspaper of Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 Unit ...

, date= 19 April 1981, url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kwJVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HJQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3839,3790614&dq=la+nica&hl=en {{cite news, title=Nicaraguan Airline Fails , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/18/business/nicaraguan-airline-fails.html?pagewanted=print , newspaper=

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, date=18 March 1981 , archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130928213828/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/18/business/nicaraguan-airline-fails.html?pagewanted=print , archivedate=28 September 2013 , url-status=dead {{cite news, title=Sandinistas remember their revolt , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3907209.stm , newspaper=

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...