Sky Airline
Sky Airline, styled as SꓘY, is an airline based at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile. It is the second largest airline in the country behind flag-carrier LATAM Airlines and the first airline to operate under a low-cost model in the country. It serves international routes to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay. It also operates charter flights in Chile and South America and domestic flights within Peru.
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| Founded | 2001 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Sky Plus | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Sky Airline Peru | ||||||
| Fleet size | 28 | ||||||
| Destinations | 18 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Santiago, Chile | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Website | skyairline.com | ||||||
History
Sky Airline was controlled by its founder, Jürgen Paulmann (1930–2014), a German-Chilean businessman, brother of retail billionaire Horst Paulmann.[1] It started operations in December 2001 and made the first flights from Santiago to Northern Chile in June 2002. Since 2005 is a full member of IATA.
In April 2009, the company signed an agreement with Aerolíneas Argentinas, allowing the Argentinean flag carrier to offer in all its commercial offices and through its electronic ticket system most of the destinations covered by Sky Airline in Chile.[2]
In 2011, it signed a codeshare agreement with TACA for domestic flights in Chile, Peru and between both countries.[3] In 2012 it signed a codeshare agreement with TACA's parent company, Colombia's Avianca for operations between Chile and Colombia.[3]
The airline planned to transition to a low-cost carrier model during 2015 and 2016 to reduce costs.[4]
On June 28, 2023, it was announced that Avianca and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes plan to add Sky to their proposed Abra Group.[5]
Awards
Sky Airline was named the Best Regional Airline in South America in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Skytrax World Airline Awards.[6][7]
In addition, OAG (Official Airline Guide) declared Sky Airline as the most punctual airline of 2016.[8]
Maintenance
Maintenance services are supplied by AIRMAN, a sister maintenance company based in Santiago Airport.
Destinations
Fleet
Current fleet
As of July 2023 the Sky Airline fleet consists of the following aircraft:[11]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320neo | 25 | — | — | 186 | 186 | |
| Airbus A321neo | 3 | — | — | 238 | 238 | |
| Airbus A321XLR | — | 10[12] | TBA | |||
| Total | 28 | 10 | ||||
Former fleet
Since its beginnings, Sky Airline operated a 100% Boeing 737 fleet, these began to be replaced by Airbus A320 family planes in 2010 and were fully withdrawn in 2013.[13]
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Incidents and accidents
- On July 18, 2012, at 5:08 PM local time, a Sky Airline Flight SKU 101, operated by a Boeing 737-200 Advanced, registration CC-CRQ, with 115 passengers and 6 crew members on board, en route from Antofagasta Cerro Moreno Airport to La Serena-La Florida Airport, aborted landing at La Serena touching the runway with its right hand wing, suffering substantial damage to the wing tip and flap fairing. The plane safely landed at Copiapó-Chamonate Airport at 5:47 PM with no injuries. Visibility conditions at La Serena were rapidly deteriorating at the time of the approach, but still good enough for a safe landing (6000 m. visibility). The plane was subsequently repaired.[14]
- On October 14, 2015, a passenger on board SKU 112, an Airbus A319, filmed part of the plane's left engine cowling coming off as it took off from Santiago Airport en route to Chamonate Airport. The plane immediately returned to Santiago Airport and landed safely. No passengers were injured. A similar incident with the A319 had happened previously on a British Airways flight departing Heathrow Airport.[15]
References
- "Las palabras que Horst Paulmann dedicó a su hermano Jürgen". 3 October 2014.
- "Transport of insect repellent in view of the Dengue / Zica epidemic". www.aerolineas.com.ar. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- "Sky Airlines codeshare". www.skyairline.cl. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- "Sky Goes Low Cost". Airliner World: 17. November 2015.
- "GOL & Avianca's Abra Group's Next Step: Adding Sky Airline". Simpleflying.com. June 28, 2023.
- "The World's Best Regional Airlines | 2014". 2015-01-14. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "The World's Best Regional Airlines in 2015". www.worldairlineawards.com. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- "SKY Airline: la más puntual del mundo el 2016". ModoCharlie (in Spanish). 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
- "Sky Airline resumes Sao Paulo service from Dec 2018". Routesonline. 1 November 2018.
- "Sky Airline resumes Montevideo service from Dec 2019". AviacionNews. 23 August 2019.
- "Sky Airline Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- "Chile's SKY orders 10 A321XLRs to expand its international footprint". airbus.com. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- "Sky Airline Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net Just Aviation. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- Ranter, Harro. "Descripción del Accidente ASN 18 JUL 2012 Boeing 737-230 CC-CRQ - La Serena-La Florida Airport (LSC)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- "Engine Breaks Apart In Passenger Video Onboard Sky Airline Flight 112". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
