Nuevo Continente

Aero Continente is an airline based in Lima, Peru. It operates Boeing 727 and Boeing 767 aircraft.

During the company's early stages, it faced major opposition from Peru's flag carrier, Aeroperu. But Aeroperu faced economical problems and Aero Continente began to gain ground on it's main rival. After the demise of Aeroperu in 1998, Aero Continente became Peru's largest international air carrier.

In 2004, Aero Continente's rights to fly to the United States were overturned by the American government, which acussed the airline's owner of trafficking drugs. The airline's directors denied of any connection with drug dealing. This came after Aero Continente had tried to set up a subsidiary in the Dominican Republic, Aero Continente Dominicana; which would have been mainly used for Aero Continente to have access to the lucrative Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico air market. Because Puerto Rico is, at least technically speaking, a part of the United States, Aero Continente will not be able to go on with those plans.

Aero Continente set up a subsidiary in Chile during the middle 1990s, Aero Continente Chile. But that subsidiary was shut down after the Chilean government also acussed the airline's personnel of using their airplanes for trafficking drugs.

Aero Continente still remains as Peru's largest airline as of 2004.