LASER Airlines C.A.
IATA ICAO Callsign
QL LER LASER
FoundedSeptember 1993
Commenced operationsMarch 11, 1994
HubsSimón Bolívar International Airport
Secondary hubsLa Romana International Airport
Focus citiesSantiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport
Frequent-flyer programLASER Club[1]
SubsidiariesRED Air
Fleet size8
Destinations12
HeadquartersCaracas, Venezuela
Websitewww.laserairlines.com

LASER Airlines (legally and officially Línea Aérea de Servicio Ejecutivo Regional, C.A.) is a regional airline based in Caracas, Venezuela.[2] It operates scheduled and passenger charter services within Venezuela, the Caribbean, and South America. Its main hub is Simón Bolívar International Airport.[3]

History

The airline was established in September 1993 and started operations on March 11, 1994.[4] At the beginning, the company had one Douglas DC-9-14, and only the following year purchased a Boeing 727-200, and began to expand domestic and international destinations, becoming one of Venezuela’s main airlines .

After the outbreak of the Venezuelan crisis in 2014, due to the embargo sanctions imposed by the United States, some of LASER’s international routes were changed to origin and end at the Las Americas International Airport in Dominican Republic to ensure that relevant routes continue to operate.

LASER Airlines began to fly to Miami in an alliance with World Atlantic Airlines, which has been a partner since November 2016, an alliance was established through which the Miami-Caracas flight was created on a daily basis. A second frequency was added to this frequency by partnering with Swift Air to offer greater comfort to passengers on both frequencies, it was possible to expand the baggage allowance and operate 2 classes. Both are operated with equipment of Boeing 737s, thus dissolving the alliance with World Atlantic. Subsequently, due to the decision taken by the United States Government, on May 15, 2019, commercial and cargo flights to Venezuela from the United States were suspended indefinitely. Due to this, LASER created a hub at Las Americas International Airport, adding an additional frequency to this destination, leaving 2 daily frequencies and with the possibility of connecting to Miami, maintaining the alliance with Swift Air.

On December 1, 2019, LASER was forced to cancel its Caracas-Guayaquil route due to complex migratory demands by the Government of Ecuador for Venezuelans; But a few weeks later, it announced a new route to Caracas-Bogotá with a daily frequency that began operating on February 10, 2020.

In January 2020, LASER formed a subsidiary low-cost airline named RED Air, under a joint venture with a Dominican corporation, SERVAIR.[5]

Destinations

A former LASER McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 taxiing at Simón Bolívar International Airport in 2003
A LASER McDonnell Douglas MD-81 taxiing at Simón Bolívar International Airport in 2011

As of June 2023, LASER operates services to the following domestic and international scheduled destinations:[6]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
 ArubaOranjestadQueen Beatrix International AirportTerminated
 ColombiaBogotáEl Dorado International Airport[7]
 CuraçaoWillemstadCuraçao International Airport[8]
 Dominican RepublicLa RomanaLa Romana International AirportHub[9]
Punta CanaPunta Cana International AirportTerminated
Santo DomingoLas Américas International Airport
 MexicoCancúnCancún International AirportTerminated[10]
 PanamaPanama CityTocumen International Airport
 United StatesMiamiMiami International AirportTerminated
 VenezuelaBarcelonaGeneral José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport
BarquisimetoJacinto Lara International AirportTerminated
CaracasSimón Bolívar International AirportHub
El VigíaJuan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo Airport
La FríaFrancisco García de Hevia Airport
MaracaiboLa Chinita International Airport
MaturínJosé Tadeo Monagas International AirportTerminated
PorlamarSantiago Mariño Caribbean International AirportFocus city
Puerto OrdazManuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport
Santo DomingoMayor Buenaventura Vivas AirportTerminated
ValenciaArturo Michelena International AirportTerminated

Codeshare agreements

Fleet

A LASER McDonnell Douglas MD-82 parked at Arturo Michelena International Airport in 2019

Current

As of August 2023, LASER Airlines consists of the following aircraft:[12]

LASER Airlines fleet
Aircraft In
service		 Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
McDonnell Douglas MD-81 3 — – 163 163 Last commercial operator
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 3 — 12 137 149
– 165 165
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 2 — 12 137 149
Total 8 —

Former

LASER Airlines had in the past operated the following aircraft:[12]

LASER Airlines former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 727-200 3 1995 2000
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-10 1 1994 2007
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 6 1999 2016

Accidents and incidents

On March 17, 2014, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (registered YV2945) flying from Porlamar to Valencia with 96 people on board, burst both nose gear tires while landing at Arturo Michelena International Airport and came to a stop on the runway with the tires and both nose wheels damaged, and was disabled. No injuries occurred.[13]

On May 25, 2021, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (registered YV3465) made an emergency landing after a failure in the left engine, the crew reported that a bird strike caused the failure. The aircraft landed back safely at Simón Bolívar International Airport and all 116 on board were uninjured.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Laser Club trae de regreso los programas de viajero frecuente". Elestimulo.com. 2 June 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Ubicanos - Laser Airlines". Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 105.
  4. ↑ "Empresa - Laser Airlines".
  5. ↑ "Red Air history from Americas, Dominican Republic". Airlinehistory.co.uk. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ laserairlines.com - Find flight retrieved September 16, 2020
  7. ↑ "Flights to Colombia: Laser Airlines begins marketing its flights to Bogotá". Aviacionline.com. 26 May 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Laser Airlines Resumes Operations to the Netherlands Antilles: A Guide to Travel and Entry Requirements". Aviacionline.com. 5 May 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Venezuelan Laser opens new hub at La Romana airport". Dominicantoday.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Laser Airlines suspenderá la ruta Caracas-Cancún temporalmente". Elnacional.com (in Spanish). 3 March 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Plus Ultra to Start Cali, Cartagena Routes in June". Cndnews.com. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  12. 1 2 "LASER Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Laser McDonnell Douglas MD-82 at Valencia on Mar 17th 2014, both nose tyres blown on landing". aeroinside.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ Andrew Curran (25 May 2021). "Laser Airlines MD83 Suffers Engine Failure On Landing". Simpleflying.com. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved May 25, 2021.

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