( Puertorriqueña de Aviación )

♦  Puertorriqueña de Aviación, previously known as ANPRI (Aerovías Nacionales de Puerto Rico) operated during the 1930s. It was the first documented attempt by Puerto Ricans to have a flag carrier in the country. In 1936, brothers Horacio and Narciso Basso acquired a hydroplane to start commercial airline flights around the Caribbean. The hydroplane that Aerovías Nacionales used was named “Kofresi”, after the famous pirate, Roberto Cofresi.”ANPRI started flights from San Juan to Vieques, St. Thomas, St. Croix and Culebra in 1936. The Basso brothers then tried to change the airline’s name to Puertorriqueña de Aviación, with the United States government ruling against the name change because of their understanding that since Puerto Rico is a territory, it shouldn’t have an airline that could be perceived as a flag carrier
< operated out of San Juan > ♦