Ecuadorian airline Aerogal announced Oct. 12 that it will begin international service between Quito, Guayaquil and Miami, Dec. 7. The Cuenca-based airline, began the service last year but suspended the operations within days due to a lack of aircraft.

The airline has completed its purchase of five new aircraft, bringing its fleet total to 17, the most of any of Ecuador's three national airlines. According to Gabriela Sommerfield, the airline's executive director, the fleet expansion will allow Aerogal to serve both domestic routes and accommodate the international growth planned for the next few months.  The airline will use the 170-passenger Boeing 757 for the Miami route. 

Aerogal currently serves Quito, Cuenca, Manta, Guayaquil, Baltra, San Cristobal, Coca, Salinas and Lago Agrio in Ecuador, and Bogota and Medellin in Colombia. The Guayaquil-Miami route is Aerogal's first venture into the North American market.  The airline plans to expand service to New York, Panama City, Madrid and Lima in 2009, Sommerfeld says.