Prinair was Puerto Rico's domestic and international airline for 3 decades.

Service started in 1966, under the name Aerolineas de Ponce. The initial services were from Mercedita Airport in Ponce to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (then known as Isla Verde International Airport) in San Juan. The company's name was changed to Prinair the following year (Puerto Rico INternational AIR lines). 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Mercedita Airport in Ponce, Puerto Rico, is a medium sized airport which is able to accept jets of any size on its runways. ... Ponce, the second largest city in Puerto Rico outside of the San Juan metropolitan area is named after the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. ... Executive Air dba American Eagle ATR-72 and American Airlines aircraft at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in April 2001 Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, is the islands main international gateway, and its main connection to the mainland United States. ... San Juan, the Spanish for Saint John, is a common toponym in parts of the world where Spanish is or was spoken: Argentina San Juan Province San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province Cuba San Juan Hill Mexico San Juan, Campeche San Juan, Chihuahua San Juan, Coahuila San Juan...

Prinair de Havilland Heron at San Juan-Luis Munoz airport, Puerto Rico. Photograph taken July 1972.

The airline used Heron turbo-props for its services. The livery reminded the public of Braniff International because of the many different colors used. During the 1970s, expansion saw the airline start services to Opa Locka, a Florida location close to Miami, Santo Domingo, the Virgin Islands, Martinique, Barbados, Puerto Plata, and many other Caribbean destinations, as well as Vieques, Mayaguez, Culebra and Aguadilla on the domestic side. Prinair de Havilland DH114 Heron 2, registration N551PR. CREDIT: William W. Sierra (photographer). ... Prinair de Havilland DH114 Heron 2, registration N551PR. CREDIT: William W. Sierra (photographer). ... Genera Ardea Zebrilus Philherodias Tigrisoma Ardeola Bubulcus Egretta Agamia Butorides Tigriornis Tigrisoma Gorsachius Syrigma Zonerodius Nycticorax see also: Bittern Heron and reeds, Haronobu Suzuki (1754-1770) Herons are medium to large long-legged, long-necked wading birds of the family Ardeidae, which also includes the egrets and bitterns. ... One of many different airplane livery designs of Braniff International Airlines. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... Miami skyline, sunset. ... Santo Domingo from space, May 1992 Plaza Colón Santo Domingo, population 2,061,200 (2003), is the capital of the Dominican Republic. ... Puerto Plata is one the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. ... Vieques is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico. ... Mayaguez may refer to: Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayaguez incident This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Isla Culebra (Snake Island) is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Idelfonso. ... Aguadilla is a small beach town in Northwest Puerto Rico. ...

1973 Prinair timetable with destination list

Prinair suffered 2 fatal accidents (including flight 191) that took away some of the public's trust in the airline. The first was while landing in Mayaguez's Eugenio Maria De Hostos airport, where all 9 passengers died, and the second one in Santurce, a San Juan area near Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, where 5 passengers perished, and 4 people, including local mechanic Luciano Rivera, were injured on the ground. Image File history File links timetableimages. ... Image File history File links timetableimages. ... Prinair Flight 191 was a Prinair (Puerto Rico International Airlines) flight from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, to Mercedita Airport in Ponce. ... Mayaguez may refer to: Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayaguez incident This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... San Juan is the capital city of Puerto Rico. ... San Juan, the Spanish for Saint John, is a common toponym in parts of the world where Spanish is or was spoken: Argentina San Juan Province San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province Cuba San Juan Hill Mexico San Juan, Campeche San Juan, Chihuahua San Juan, Coahuila San Juan... Executive Air dba American Eagle ATR-72 and American Airlines aircraft at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in April 2001 Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, is the islands main international gateway, and its main connection to the mainland United States. ... Luciano Rivera (1930-1988), was a local mechanic injured in the Prinair accident in Santurce, San Juan, when the plane fell over an area where he and his friends were playing cards. ...

In the 1980s Prinair introduced service with the larger and more capable Convair turbo props. This provided the plane spotter at San Juan with another interesting airplane to look out for, but did little for the airline, although it did help increase the earnings from the Virgin Islands routes. Increased competition for these routes in the shape of Aero Virgin Islands and Oceanair, plus some distrust from the public that still had not forgotten the fatal crashes, caused Prinair to cease operations in November, 1984. // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... The Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, universally known as Convair, was the result of a 1943 merger between Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft, resulting in a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States. ... San Juan, the Spanish for Saint John, is a common toponym in parts of the world where Spanish is or was spoken: Argentina San Juan Province San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province Cuba San Juan Hill Mexico San Juan, Campeche San Juan, Chihuahua San Juan, Coahuila San Juan... Aero Virgin Islands was an airline based in St. ... Oceanair was an airline that used to fly out of Puerto Rico. ... For other uses, see November (disambiguation). ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Copyright notice

The airplane photo is used under permission of, and courtesy of, owner William Sierra. Click on the photo for fuller details.

Timetable image note

The image of the Prinair timetable is used with permission and as courtesy of Bjorn Larsson and David Zekria, and are part of their personal collections.