The airline was founded in La Paz, Mexico in 1960 as an air taxi operator using a fleet of Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes, initially known as Servicios Aéreos. By the early 1980s the demand for domestic charter flights had grown enough that the larger Douglas DC-3 was added to the fleet. Scheduled services were launched in June 1982, initially interlinking La Paz, Tijuana and Hermosillo using Convair 340 aircraft. In 1989, international scheduled flights commenced, with Los Angeles being the first destination. By 1995 the fleet had been upgraded to only include jet aircraft of various Douglas DC-9 subtypes. On 3 April 2006 all operations of Aero California were suspended by the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport, for alleged deficiencies of administrative and operative nature. It was given 90 days to correct the problems and was able to resume services on 11 August 2006. On 23 July 2008, the airline was again suspended, this time due to an alleged debt with the Mexican Air Traffic Control. This prompted a labor strike of the employees on 5 August, which technically continues to the present day. Aero California's license still remains valid to this day.
Destinations
Accidents and incidents
Aero California suffered an accident, which occurred on 29 January 1986. A Douglas DC-3 crashed into a range of hills near Las Lomitas during bad weather and visibility conditions, killing all 18 passengers and 3 crew. The aircraft had been on a scheduled passenger flight from Villa Constitución Airport to Los Mochis Airport.
On 21 July 2004 at 19:33 local time, a Douglas DC-9 encountered a wind shear upon take-off at Mexico City International Airport to Durango. All 52 passengers and the four crew members survived the accident, but the airframe was damaged beyond repair and written off.
Fleet
Aero California operated the following aircraft during its existence:
