This is one in an ongoing series of articles on Winglets that will summarize past airlines and other operators of CRJ aircraft that are no longer in existence.
PLUNA – PLUNA Líneas Aéreas Uruguayas S.A.
- IATA Code: PU
- ICAO Code: PUA
- Callsign: PLUNA
- Flag carrier airline of Uruguay
- Operated 1936-2012
- Number of CRJs Operated: 13 CRJ-900 NextGens
- Options for 2 CRJ-900 NextGens cancelled before delivery
- Orders for CRJ-200s considered but never completed
PLUNA Route Map
PLUNA Líneas Aéreas Uruguayas S.A., more popularly known as PLUNA, was the flag carrier of Uruguay. The airline’s hub was in Carrasco, Montevideo, and operated scheduled services within South America in the late 2000s before it closed. The airline was founded in 1936 and operated until 2012 when, under government ownership, it ceased to exist due to financial issues and labor disputes. At the time, the airline operated exclusively CRJ-900 NextGen aircraft on regional routes and also had a codeshare agreement with Iberia to allow for overseas connections.
Airports served By CRJs
The following list is all of the airports PLUNA served with CRJs.
- MVD – Montevideo, Uruguay (Hub)
- ASU – Asunción, Paraguay
- PDP – Punta del Este, Uruguay
- SCL – Santiago, Chile
- COR – Córdoba, Argentina
- EZE – Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- AEP -Jorge Newbery Airfield, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- IGU – Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
- POA – Porto Alegre, Brazil
- FLN – Florianópolis, Brazil
- CWB – Curitiba, Brazil
- GRU – São Paulo, Brazil
- GIG – Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
CRJ Fleet
PLUNA operated a total of thirteen CRJ-900 NextGens in the LR configuration. The aircraft were operated in an all economy 90 seat configuration. All of these aircraft were delivered directly from Bombardier to PLUNA as new aircraft. While there was a overall basic colour scheme to the fleet, there were colour variations between each aircraft and the bird theme also varied. Upon the airline’s closure, all CRJs were stored at Montevideo Carrasco airport in Uruguay.
Canadair Regional Jet RJ900LR MSN 15165 CX-CRA
in full PLUNA blue great crested flycatcher colour scheme
(Photo By: Salgado Filho)
Canadair Regional Jet RJ900LR MSN 15169 CX-CRB
in full PLUNA green hummingbird colour scheme
(Photo By: Patrick Mutzenberg)
The following CRJ aircraft were operated by PLUNA:
CX-CRA MSN 15165 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRB MSN 15169 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRC MSN 15175 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRD MSN 15180 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRE MSN 15185 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRF MSN 15204 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRG MSN 15209 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRH MSN 15233 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRI MSN 15234 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRK MSN 15239 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRL MSN 15273 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRM MSN 15274 CRJ-900LR
CX-CRN MSN 15275 CRJ-900LR
Canadair Regional Jet RJ900LR MSN 15175 CX-CRC
in full PLUNA red sparrowhawk colour scheme
(Photo By: Patrick Mutzenberg)
Additionally, one CRJ-900 which had been previously operated by MyAir was to be operated by PLUNA but the transaction was cancelled and the aircraft was leased onto Air Mekong instead.
MSN15102 (Ex: EI-DUU) (CX-BYB NTU) (To: VN-A801) CRJ-900LR
As of September 2012, stored at Montevideo Carrasco airport in Uruguay waiting on a government auction of PLUNA’s assets to occur. The initial auction was cancelled, but at a second auction on October 1st, 2012, Cosmo Airlines, a Spanish charter airline, purchased seven of the CRJ-900s with the intention to operate them in Europe. The CRJs purchased in the auction were: CX-CRA, CX-CRB, CX-CRC, CX-CRD, CX-CRE, CX-CRF and CX-CRG.
Canadair Regional Jet RJ900LR MSN 15180 CX-CRD
in full PLUNA violet black-necked swan colour scheme
(Photo By: Jorge Molina)
Before the airline ceased operations, PLUNA held options for two CRJ-900s that were never delivered. The airline also was considering CRJ-200s for shorter less popular routes but that concept never left the planning stage with the airline. Previous to the CRJ-200, PLUNA had previously considered the Bombardier Q400 (DHC-8Q-400) in this role.
Canadair Regional Jet RJ900LR MSN 15275 CX-CRN
in full PLUNA red sparrowhawk colour scheme
(Photo By: Shocman)
Press reports have indicated that Qatar Airways is continuing negotiations with Bombardier which may lead to the eventual purchase by the airline of Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft.
