# Ladeco

Ladeco S.A. (acronym of Línea Aérea Del Cobre or the "Airline of Copper," in reference to the principal Chilean export.) was a Chilean airline.

## History

Ladeco was established on September 3, 1958, by Juan Costabal Echeñique and began flying on November 1. It transported cargo and passengers from the mining camps in northern and central Chile, mainly belonging to Codelco. Later it operated international routes to the Caribbean and North America.
On August 11, 1995, LAN-Chile bought out the shares of Ladeco. At the time of the takeover, Ladeco was equipped mainly with Boeing 737s as well as some 727s and 757s. Ladeco then became exclusively an internal carrier between Chilean cities. In October 1998, Ladeco was merged with Fast Air Carrier. On October 28, 2001, Ladeco was officially rebranded as a new affiliate of LAN-Chile under the name LAN Express, and most internal operations were taken by. The brand was merged into LAN Airlines in 2006.

## Destinations
### Domestic

Chile
* Arica (Chacalluta International Airport)
* Iquique (Diego Aracena International Airport)
* Antofagasta (Cerro Moreno International Airport) Focus City
* Calama (El Loa International Airport) Hub
* El Salvador (Ricardo García Posada Airport)
* Copiapó (Chamonate Airport)
* La Serena (La Florida Airport (Chile))
* Viña del Mar (Torquemada Airport)
* Santiago (Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport) Main Hub
* Concepción (Carriel Sur International Airport)
* Los Ángeles (María Dolores Airport)
* Temuco (Maquehue Airport)
* Valdivia (Pichoy Airport)
* Osorno (Cañal Bajo Carlos Hott Siebert Airport)
* Puerto Montt (El Tepual Airport)
* Balmaceda (Balmaceda Airport)
* Coyhaique (Teniente Vidal Airport)
* Punta Arenas (Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport)

### International

Argentina
* Buenos Aires (Ministro Pistarini International Airport Focus City
* Mendoza, Argentina (El Plumerillo International Airport)
* Salta (Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport) - Via Iquique
* San Miguel de Tucumán (Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport - Via Iquique)
* San Juan (Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport) - Via La Serena)
* Ushuaia (Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport) - Via Puerto Montt-Punta Arenas
* Comodoro Rivadavia (General Enrique Mosconi International Airport) - Via Balmaceda
* Neuquén (Presidente Perón International Airport) - Via Temuco
Brazil
* São Paulo (São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport)
* Rio de Janeiro (Galeão International Airport)
* Salvador (Salvador International Airport)
Canada
* Montreal - (Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport)
Colombia
* Bogotá (El Dorado International Airport) Focus City
Costa Rica
* San José (Juan Santamaría International Airport)
Cuba
* Havana (José Martí International Airport)
Dominican Republic
* Punta Cana (Punta Cana International Airport)
* Santo Domingo (Las Américas International Airport)
Ecuador
* Guayaquil (Simón Bolívar International Airport)
Guatemala
* Guatemala City (La Aurora International Airport)
Jamaica
* Montego Bay (Sir Donald Sangster International Airport)
Mexico
* Cancún (Cancún International Airport)
* Mexico City (Mexico City International Airport)
Panama
* Panama City (Tocumen International Airport)
Paraguay
* Asunción (Silvio Pettirossi International Airport)
Puerto Rico
* San Juan (Luis Munoz Marin International Airport)
United States
* Miami (Miami International Airport) Focus City
* New York City (John F. Kennedy International Airport)
* Baltimore/Washington (Baltimore-Washington International Airport)
* Washington, D.C. (Washington Dulles International Airport) - Serviced moved to Baltimore/Washington in July 1991
Uruguay
* Montevideo (Carrasco International Airport)

## Fleet

The fleet of Ladeco included the following aircraft:
Ladeco fleet :
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
| Airbus A300B4 | 2 | 1995 | 1996 | Leased from Carnival Air Lines |
| Airbus A320-200 | 1 | 1994 | 1995 | Leased from LACSA |
| BAC One-Eleven Series 200AJ | 2 | 1991 | 1994 | |
| BAC One-Eleven Series 300AG | 2 | 1990 | 1994 | |
| Beechcraft 65 | 1 | 1966 | Un­known | |
| Beechcraft 95 | 1 | 1965 | 1977 | |
| Boeing 707-320C | 3 | 1988 | 1994 | |
| Boeing 727-100 | 6 | 1978 | 1995 | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 20 | 1980 | 2001 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 1992 | 1996 | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 1991 | 1996 | |
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | 5 | 1958 | 1976 | |
| Douglas DC-6B | 7 | 1966 | 1979 | |
| Douglas DC-8-71F | 1 | 1992 | 1994 | |
| Fokker F-27 Friendship | 2 | 1987 | 1991 | |
During the 1960s, the airline operated some Douglas DC-3s, with their cargo fleet also including three Boeing 707s.

## Accidents and incidents

* On April 8, 1968, a Douglas C-49K (registration CC-CBM) crashed on approach to Balmaceda Airport killing all 36 people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Los Cerrillos Airport, Santiago.
* On May 17, 1999, a Boeing 737-200 (registration CC-CYR) was damaged beyond repairs after one of its fuel tanks burst into flames during refueling at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.