Douglas DC-9s in South America and Central America

The Douglas DC-9 enjoyed a long and profitable second career in South America, flying for many different airlines in the twilight years of its existence.

While carriers in North America and Europe had mostly retired their DC-9s, the early 2000s saw various carriers in South America, Central America and the Caribbean still flying these classic jetliners.

Here we showcase a snapshot of some of them:

Aserca Airlines

Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Aserca Airlines was a Venezuelan carrier which flew from 1992 to 2018. It flew domestic and Caribbean services using DC-9-15 and -30 aircraft.

Air Aruba

JetPix (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

Air Aruba operated between 1986 and 2000, operating services around the Caribbean and South America, with a variety of aircraft types. Among them was a small fleet of Douglas DC-9-30s.

Aeropostal

Aeropostal DC-9 wearing a special livery in 2001. Photo (c) Aero Icarus

Aeropostal is a Venezuelan airline which is still flying today, having been founded in 1929. In the mid-1970s it took on a fleet of Douglas DC-9-15, DC-9-30 and DC-9-50 aircraft which became the core part of its domestic and international schedules. They were eventually retired in the mid-2000s, with the last DC-9-50 leaving in 2016.

Aerocalifornia

Photo (c) Aero Icarus

This Mexican low-cost carrier was a major rival to Aeromexico for many years. It flew from various cities, including its hub at La Paz, and operated domestic and regional routes. For many years its fleet was dominated by the Douglas DC-9, with over 30 examples operated in total. The airline closed down in 2008.

Laser Airlines

Alan Lebeda (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

Another Venezuelan carrier, LASER Airlines was founded in 1993 and is still flying today. Until 2016 it flew the Douglas DC-9-30, and in the 1990s and early 2000s had flown the smaller DC-9-10. Today it is one of the last operators of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series.

Servivensa

Photo (c) Steve Knight

This airline based in Caracas, Venezuela, operated between 1989 and 2003 and flew to destinations across South America and to the United States. It flew Boeing 727s, 737s, and Douglas DC-9-31 and -50 aircraft types.

Dinar

Photo (c) Aero Icarus

Argentinian carrier Dinar Lineas Aereas operated between 1992 and 2002, flying domestic services out of Buenos Aires Aeroparque airport. It operated the Douglas DC-9-40 among other types.

Austral Lineas Aereas

Photo (c) Aero Icarus

Another Argentinian domestic carrier, Austral was a subsidiary of the national carrier Aerolineas Argentinas. It flew out of Buenos Aires Aeroparque, and had the Douglas DC-9-30 and -50 in its fleet among many other types. It was merged into the parent carrier in 2020.

Today only one airline is known to be flying passenger DC-9s – African Express, based in Kenya. Other examples are flown by freight carriers.

Among these is:

Aeronaves TSM

This Mexican carrier is the largest operator of the DC-9 anywhere in the world today. Its aircraft consist of the DC-9-10 and -30, all of which have been converted to freighters.

Have we missed any South American or Central American airlines that flew the DC-9? Leave a comment below.