SAETA

SAETA (legally Sociedad Anónima Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aéreos S.A.) was a privately held airline of Ecuador, which was founded in 1960. During its heyday in the 1990s, it flew to numerous destinations in North and South America from its base in Guayaquil. The collapse of Ecuador's economy in the late 1990s forced this airline to cease operations in February 2000.[1]

For the Spanish jet trainer named 'Saeta' see: Hispano HA-200
SAETA
IATA ICAO Callsign
EH SET SAETA
Founded1960
Ceased operationsFebruary 2000
HubsOld Mariscal Sucre International Airport
Secondary hubsJosé Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
SubsidiariesSAN Ecuador
Fleet size23
Destinations18
HeadquartersQuito, Ecuador
Websitewww.saeta.com.ec

History
SAETA Sud Aviation Caravelle at the Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport in 1982

SAETA was founded in Quito in 1960, later the company headquarters were relocated to Guayaquil. The main owners were the Dunn family.

In addition to domestic flights, SAETA operated routes in North, Central and South America. It preferred flights to Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Panamá, Caracas, Bogotá, Lima, Santiago and Buenos Aires.

In 1990, SAETA took over the Ecuadorian airline SAN, increasing frequencies and fleet for national and international flights. The airline later in 1994 took over LAPSA from Paraguay, operated with an Ecuadorian-Paraguayan Consortium until being sold in 1996. Political instability in the country and currency devaluation led to a decline in passenger numbers. This was followed by the cancellation of flights to the United States of America due to the loss of the approach permit for Category 1 airports.

By the mid-1990s, events such as political instability and the devaluation of the currency, damaged SAETA, which caused a reduction in passengers, added to the cancellation of flights to the United States due to the loss of category 1 of the Ecuadorian aeronautical authority since 1993, accelerating its decline. Both SAN and SAETA had serious security breaches, which resulted in the loss of several flights.

In February 2000, SAETA ended its flight operations after 40 years due to due to severe financial problems after the collapse of Ecuador's economy.

Destinations
SAETA Airbus A310-300 at Miami International Airport in 1994

Fleet
A SAETA Airbus A320-200 at Miami International Airport in 1998

SAETA had operated the following aircraft since it commenced operations:[2][3]

Accidents and incidents
  • On April 23, 1979, Vickers Viscount (registered HC-AVP) crashed in the Pastaza Province on a flight between the Quito and Cuenca, killing all 57 people on board. The wreckage was discovered in 1984. The aircraft was 25 nautical miles (46 km) off track.[7]
  • On August 22, 1997, a Boeing 727-200 (registered HC-BVU) landed at San Cristóbal Airport with its undercarriage strucked the raised lip of the runway, causing it to collapse. After sliding for about 700 m before coming to rest on the right side of the runway. [8]

References
  1. http://www.saeta.com.ec SAETA Page
  2. "SAETA Air Ecuador Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  3. Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al.: jp airline-fleets international. Zürich-Airport 1960–2000.
  4. "Hijacking Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  5. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  6. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  7. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  8. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 5, 2009.


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