LASER Airlines
Venezuelan airline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LASER Airlines (Spanish: Línea Aérea de Servicio Ejecutivo Regional, C.A., lit. 'Air Line of Regional Executive Service[s], C.A.') is a regional airline based in Caracas, Venezuela.[2] It operates scheduled and passenger charter services within Venezuela, the Caribbean, and South America. Its main hub is Simón Bolívar International Airport.[3]
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| Founded | September 1993 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | March 11, 1994 | ||||||
| Hubs | Simón Bolívar International Airport | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | La Romana International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport | ||||||
| LASER Club[1] | |||||||
| Subsidiaries | RED Air | ||||||
| Fleet size | 10 | ||||||
| Destinations | 12 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Caracas, Venezuela | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Website | www | ||||||
History
The airline was established in September 1993 and started operations on March 11, 1994.[4] At the beginning, the company had one Douglas DC-9-14, and only the following year purchased a Boeing 727-200. It began to expand domestic and international destinations, becoming one of Venezuela’s main airlines.
After the outbreak of the Venezuelan crisis in 2014, due to the embargo sanctions imposed by the United States, some of LASER’s international routes were changed to originate and end at Las Américas International Airport in Dominican Republic to ensure that relevant routes continue to operate.
LASER began to fly to Miami in an alliance with World Atlantic Airlines, which has been a partner since November 2016. The flight route was created daily, with a second frequency added by partnering with Swift Air to offer greater comfort to passengers. It was possible to expand the baggage allowance and operate 2 classes. Both were operated with the Boeing 737, thus dissolving the alliance with World Atlantic. Subsequently, due to the decision taken by the United States Government, on May 15, 2019, flights to Venezuela from the United States were suspended indefinitely.[5] Due to this, LASER created a hub at Las Americas International Airport, adding frequency to this destination, leaving 2 daily frequencies and with the possibility of connecting to Miami, maintaining the alliance with Swift Air.
On December 1, 2019, LASER was forced to cancel its Caracas-Guayaquil route due to complex migratory demands by the Government of Ecuador for Venezuelans. Still, a few weeks later, it announced a new route to Caracas-Bogotá with a daily frequency that began operating on February 10, 2020.
In January 2020, LASER formed a subsidiary low-cost airline named RED Air, under a joint venture with a Dominican corporation, SERVAIR.[6]
Destinations
As of April 2026[update], LASER operates services to the following domestic and international scheduled destinations:[7]
Codeshare agreements
Fleet
Current
As of May 2025[update], LASER Airlines operates an all McDonnell Douglas fleet which consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 4 | — | – | 163 | 163 | Last commercial operator[14] |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 4 | — | 12 | 137 | 149 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 2 | — | 12 | 129 | 141 | |
| Total | 10 | — | ||||
Former
LASER Airlines had in the past operated the following aircraft
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-200 | 2 | 2024 | 2025 | Leased from Hi Fly[15] |
| Boeing 727-200 | 3 | 1995 | 2000 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-9-10 | 1 | 1994 | 2007 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 | 6 | 1999 | 2016 |
Accidents and incidents
- On March 17, 2014, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (registered YV2945) flying from Porlamar to Valencia with 96 people on board, burst both nose gear tires while landing at Arturo Michelena International Airport and came to a stop on the runway with the tires and both nose wheels damaged, and was disabled. No injuries occurred.[16]
- On May 25, 2021, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (registered YV3465) made an emergency landing after a failure in the left engine. The crew reported that a bird strike caused the failure. The aircraft landed back safely at Simón Bolívar International Airport, and all 116 on board were uninjured.[17]
- On April 28, 2024, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating flight 943 from Caracas to Santo Domingo reported smoke on board during takeoff. Emergency slides were deployed, and all 91 people on board evacuated, although some injuries were reported. [18]
