#md11aviation

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 VASP

Registration: PP-SOW Type: MD-11 P Engines: 3 × GE CF6-80C2D1F Serial Number: 48413 First flight: Jan, 1992

The famous Brazilian airline VASP was founded on November 4, 1933 by the government of the state of Sao Paulo and began its operations a week later. It was the only company in Brazil that did not use seaplanes. Unlike other Brazilian airlines, it has focused on serving routes inland to airfields far from water surfaces. In most cases, VASP aircraft landed in pastures that were specially leveled for their landing.

Over the years, VASP has expanded its flight geography by acquiring other airlines. Since 1990, VASP began offering international flights, which until then was the monopoly of another Brazilian airline, Varig. The company needed bigger planes for long-distance flights. VASP has operated various types of aircraft, from the British General Aircraft Monospar ST-4 to the Boeing 737-200 and the largest of all, the MD-11.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a wide-body airliner that evolved from the DC-10. The aircraft made its first flight in 1990, and a couple of years later joined the VASP airline. There were ten MD-11s in total in the company's fleet, and all of them performed flights on long-haul international routes. These planes could be found on the platforms of many airports around the world.

Despite the ambitious plans made by the VASP management, a period of ineffective management led to the fact that the airline was left with significant debts and a bad credit history, which forced it to abandon international expansion. Therefore, in 2001, MD-11 aircraft were withdrawn from its fleet.

As the fourth largest Brazilian airline with a fleet of obsolete Boeing 737-200, VASP is facing a major crisis amid growing competition from airlines with a more modern fleet. In 2005, it stopped all flights, and in 2008, having not found a way out of the crisis situation, the company was finally closed after 75 years of existence.