Fri Reyes Douglas DC-6
Literally meaning “Refrigerator Reyes” in relation to its most common cargo—beef—Frigorifico Reyes was founded by Oscar Bowles, was flying war surplus aircraft in the hinterlands of Bolivia for some years before Fri Reyes was formally launched, though Bowles used the name in the late 1950s, flying ad hoc cargo contracts. In 1962, Fri Reyes became its own company, flying a mix of Curtiss C-46 Commandos and converted Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Though flying C-46s in the rugged Bolivian Andes was not exceptional (many Bolivian small-time cargo operators depended on the temperamental Commandos), the B-17 was not one used often, and Fri Reyes was the last civil operator of the venerable Flying Fortress.
Fri Reyes continued expansion in the 1980s, not a little of which was due to name recognition: “warbird” aviation historians wanting to see World War II-era equipment still flying journeyed to Bolivia to photograph these final survivors. As a result, the company acquired a dizzying amount of aircraft—at least 30 of them of eight different types, in various states of repair; at any one time, Fri Reyes might have three or four aircraft flying simultaneously, twice as many loading cargo on the ground, and the rest being repaired or cannibalized for parts.
By 1990, an improvement in Bolivia’s road infrastructure allowed truck traffic to outlying areas that, until then, were open only to air travel by small companies like Fri Reyes. Combined with operating costs for its diverse fleet, the age of that fleet, and a high accident rate (not uncommon in small operations in the Andes), Fri Reyes sold off its fleet and quietly exited the scene by 1995. Several of its aircraft, namely two of its B-17s, survived to be restored to their original colors and are now in museums.
Fri Reyes Douglas DC-6
Literally meaning “Refrigerator Reyes” in relation to its most common cargo—beef—Frigorifico Reyes was founded by Oscar Bowles, was flying war surplus aircraft in the hinterlands of Bolivia for some years before Fri Reyes was formally launched, though Bowles used the name in the late 1950s, flying ad hoc cargo contracts. In 1962, Fri Reyes became its own company, flying a mix of Curtiss C-46 Commandos and converted Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Though flying C-46s in the rugged Bolivian Andes was not exceptional (many Bolivian small-time cargo operators depended on the temperamental Commandos), the B-17 was not one used often, and Fri Reyes was the last civil operator of the venerable Flying Fortress.
Fri Reyes continued expansion in the 1980s, not a little of which was due to name recognition: “warbird” aviation historians wanting to see World War II-era equipment still flying journeyed to Bolivia to photograph these final survivors. As a result, the company acquired a dizzying amount of aircraft—at least 30 of them of eight different types, in various states of repair; at any one time, Fri Reyes might have three or four aircraft flying simultaneously, twice as many loading cargo on the ground, and the rest being repaired or cannibalized for parts.
By 1990, an improvement in Bolivia’s road infrastructure allowed truck traffic to outlying areas that, until then, were open only to air travel by small companies like Fri Reyes. Combined with operating costs for its diverse fleet, the age of that fleet, and a high accident rate (not uncommon in small operations in the Andes), Fri Reyes sold off its fleet and quietly exited the scene by 1995. Several of its aircraft, namely two of its B-17s, survived to be restored to their original colors and are now in museums.