Aero Continente Chile was a passenger airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 from Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, that operated scheduled domestic and international flights out of Santiago International Airport

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport , also known as Pudahuel Airport and Santiago International Airport, located in Pudahuel, north-west of downtown Santiago, is Chile's largest aviation facility and the busiest international air passenger gateway to the country...

 on behalf of its parent company, Aero Continente from Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

.

History

In 1999, Aero Continente decided to set up a subsidiary in Chile in order to get access to the Chilean domestic market, in addition to its native Peruvian one, where it was just about to acquire a monopoly position at that time. Thus, Aero Continente Chile was founded, operating domestic flights within Chile under different airline codes than its parent. From 2000, it also operated international flights to Miami, which were routed via Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

 in order to connect with the feeder flights of Aero Continente there.

In 2002, the company was grounded by Chilean authorities over allegations of illegal drug trade involving Fernando Zevallos

Fernando Zevallos

Fernando Melciades Zevallos González, also known as Fernando Melciades Zevallos Gonzáles, is the founder and owner of what was Peru's largest airline, Aero Continente...

, the airline's founder. Aero Continente claimed that this was rather a measure of protecting LAN Airlines

LAN Airlines

LAN Airlines S.A. is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. LAN is currently positioned amongst the largest airlines in Latin America, serving Latin America, United States, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe. It is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance...

 from the competition, but ultimately decided to re-integrate the Chilean subsidiary back into the mainline business.

Fleet

Aero Continente Chile operated a fleet that consisted of five Boeing 737-200 and one larger Boeing 767-200. All aircraft had been handed down from mainline Aero Continente.