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Avianca El Salvador

TACA Airlines logo used until May 21, 2013


Avianca El Salvador, formerly Transportes Aereos del
Continente Americano, simply known as TACA Air-
lines is an airline owned by the Synergy Group based in
El Salvador. It was the ag-carrier of El Salvador and is
a trade name brand comprising a group of ve indepen-
dently IATA-coded and -owned Central American air-
lines, whose operations were combined to function as one
and a number of other independently owned and IATA-
coded regional airlines which code-shared and fed the
TACA Airlines brand system.
TACA was originally an acronym meaning Transportes
Areos Centroamericanos (Central American Air Trans-
port), but this was changed to Transportes Areos del Con-
tinente Americano (Air Transport of the American Con-
tinent), reecting its expansion to North, Central, South
America and the Caribbean. The airline has a eet of 40
aircraft, mostly Airbus A320 aircraft used in most inter-
national ights and a smaller eet of Embraer E-190 for
regional ights.
On October 7, 2009, it was announced that Avianca
would merge with TACAbut both airlines stated that each
would maintain their own identity and operate separately
for the moment and TACA will continue to operate.
[2]
The merger between Avianca and TACA was ocially
completed on May 21, 2013. The brand TACA Air-
lines became Avianca El Salvador. TACA Airlines was
the second-oldest continuously-operating airline-brand in
Central America and the Caribbean after Cubana de
Aviacion.
1 Services
The airlines that made up TACA Airlines were:
TACA International Airlines (El Salvador)
Aviateca (Guatemala)
Regional - Formerly Inter, it operates under Avi-
atecas code.
Lacsa (LR) (Costa Rica)
Islea Airlines (Honduras)
TACA Per (Peru)
TACA Regional
The airlines hubs before Avianca merger were:
TACA Airlines - Monseor scar Arnulfo Romero
International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador
TACA Per - Jorge Chvez International Airport in
Lima, Peru
LACSA - Juan Santamara International Airport in
San Jos, Costa Rica ended in May 2013*
2 History
2.1 Inauguration (1931-1980)
One of TACA Airlines DC-4
TACAwas founded in 1931 in Honduras by NewZealan-
der Lowell Yerex. TACA began operations with a single-
engine Stinson plane. Since its beginnings, routes cov-
ered all the national territory and its aircraft sported the
XH Mexican registration (which were changed later by
HR). The idea of its founder was to establish one airline
in each Latin-American country, such as Aerovias Brasil
in Brazil and other TACAs in Mexico, Venezuela, and
Colombia.Out of all the TACAfranchise airlines created,
only TACA International of El Salvador survived,
1
2 2 HISTORY
As a consequence, in 1945 Yerex left the company and
TACA moved its headquarters to the Republic of El Sal-
vador where it was modernized and expanded, the com-
pany then established investment groups in other Latin
American countries to be sold to domestic airlines, which
in the case of Honduras TACAwas sold to SAHSA. Later
TACAwas organized as an international company having
its headquarters in San Salvador only under the name of
TACA International Airlines.
TACA Air Cargo Lockheed L-188AF freighter at Miami in 1978
During the 1940s and 1950s, the airline began to acquire
larger piston engine airliners including the Douglas DC-3
and the Douglas DC-4. The Vickers Viscount turboprop
passenger airliner followed in order to expand its route
network around the Americas.
On 28 December 1966, TACA Airlines entered the jet
age when it inaugurated their rst jet, a BAC One Eleven
(which was a popular airplane at the time with other air-
lines in Latin America). The aircraft model was used un-
til June 1, 1988, when it was phased out in favor of the
Boeing 737-200 aircraft. The Lockheed L-188 Electra
four engine turboprop airliner was operated from 1976
by TACA Air Cargo including freight ights to Miami,
Florida.
2.2 Expansion Years (1980-2009)
A TACA International Airlines Boeing 737-300 (circa 1994).
Until 1980, TACA was owned by a United States com-
pany and had its corporate headquarters in New Orleans,
Louisiana (due to the civil war raging in El Salvador) un-
der the administration of the Kriete Family of El Sal-
vador, who owned a minority stock and ended up buying
all the shares.
The airline also made several upgrades in the eet dur-
ing the 1980s, by substituting the much older turboprops
and One Eleven airliners with more ecient aircraft, such
as the 737-300 and Boeing 737-400 of the Boeing 737
Classic series and its predecessor, the Boeing 737-200
Advanced.
Between 1940 and 1995, TACA bought the majority
shares of the ag carrier airlines of Guatemala (AVI-
ATECA), Costa Rica (Lacsa), and Nicaragua (NICA),
consolidating operations under a new brand name, Grupo
TACA.
In the 1990s, TACA Airlines became the launch cus-
tomer and principal users of the Airbus A320 model in
Latin America. These aircraft were substitutes for the
aging Boeing 737-200 and the 737-300/400 series air-
craft that were on the eet, which were gradually retired
until 1999.
A TACA Airbus A320 in the airlines nal livery (2008-2013) at
Los Angeles.
In 1992, TACA signed a strategic alliance with Panama-
based Copa Airlines, and the airline began ying to
Tocumen International Airport, making it the rst ight
connection center in Latin America. As a consequence,
Tocumen airport became the Hub of the Americas
and the integration of several Latin American airlines to
the alliance, such as LACSA, Aviateca, and NICA took
place. The alliance ended in 1998 after the six-year pe-
riod established in the agreement expired.
Then in 2001, having its main hubs in San Salvador, El
Salvador, and San Jose, Costa Rica, the airline set an op-
erations base at Lima, Peru, its rst base in South Amer-
ica, causing as a consequence the founding of TACA
Peru, of which TACA had 49% shares at. With this new
addition, Grupo TACA began to oer a comprehensive
network of routes throughout the Americas.
In 2005, TACA Airlines was one of the founding mem-
2.4 Star Alliance (2010-2012) 3
bers of the Mexican airline Volaris. In the same year,
TACA became the rst airline of Latin America to oper-
ate the largest version of the A320: the Airbus A321.
In 2008 the board of directors decided to revert to the
original name, TACA International Airlines (since the
consolidation of the acquired airlines was completed),
and the airline' headquarters returned to San Salvador, El
Salvador to a new building which was inaugurated shortly
afterwards. Also, it revealed a renovation in its corporate
image.
That same year, TACA became the second user of the
Brazilian Embraer E-190 in Latin America.
2.3 AviancaTaca and Modernization
(2009-2012)
Two Airbus A320 aircraft fromTACAAirlines at the Juan Santa-
maria International Airport. The airline operated at Costa Rica
one of its three major hubs until May 2013, when the routes were
subsequently modied as a result of the merger.
In October 2009, it was announced that TACA Airlines
would merge its assets in a strategic alliance with Colom-
bian airline Avianca, in which case each will maintain its
own trademark and operations. Avianca and TACA Air-
lines operated a combined eet of 129 aircraft, serving
over 100 destinations in several countries in America and
Europe.
[3]
In December 2009 approval for the merger was
given by the Colombian Civil Aeronautical Agency.
[4]
The merger of Colombias Avianca and El Salvador-based
TACA is the latest sign that consolidation in the Latin
American airline sector is picking up.
In November 2009, the airlines Chief Executive Fabio
Villegas announced that the airline was looking to replace
its Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 aircraft with newer aircraft
of 100 seats or less. The 10 Fokker 50s and 15 Fokker
100s were operated on ights shorter than one and a half
hours.
Brazils Embraer, Canadas Bombardier Aerospace,
and the Airbus A318 were being considered for the
replacement.
[5]
In December 2010, the airline made the decision to retire
the Fokker 100 aircraft in 2011 and replace them with 10
Airbus A318 leased from GECAS from 2011-2018. The
aircraft were delivered during January to February 2011.
In December 2012, the airline made an rmorder to ATR
for 15 ATR 72-600 aircraft with a total value of 700 mil-
lion dollars and the deliveries to start June 2013.
[6]
The
purpose of this purchase is to replace the aging Fokker
50 aircraft.
2.4 Star Alliance (2010-2012)
On November 10, 2010, Star Alliance announced that
Avianca and TACA Airlines were to become full mem-
bers in mid-2012.
2.5 Completion of Merger and Final Flight
Avianca and TACA completed their merger on May
21, 2013 (although TACA still operates) as had been
announced. On May 20, 2013, just before midnight
(12:00 AM), TACA Airlines began to remove all its signs
bearing the TACA logo from airports across the US,
Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, and
the Caribbean. However, most of the former TACA Air-
lines Airbus and Embraer jets as well as the TACA Re-
gional jets still have the TACA logo painted on it. These
aircraft are expected to be painted with the Avianca logo
at a later date. The last ight with the TACA logo took
place on May 20, 2013. The ight was TACA ight 566
fromMonseor scar Arnulfo Romero International Air-
port in San Salvador to John F. Kennedy International
Airport in New York, NY. It departed San Salvador at
7:50 pm MST and landed in New York at 2:35 am EST.
The ight landed two hours and thirty-ve minutes after
the ocial re-branding of the airlines; thus, the ight de-
parted with the TACA logo and landed with the Avianca
logo. The nal ocial TACA ight to have the TACA
logo was TACA ight 520 from San Salvador to Los
Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, CA. This
ight departed at 7:20 pm MST and landed at 11:50 pm
PDT. The rst ight departing operated by Avianca El
Salvador took place on May 21, 2013. The ight was
Avianca El Salvador ight 561 from San Francisco Inter-
national Airport in San Francisco, CA to San Salvador.
The ight departed at 1:25 am PDT and landed at 7:55
amMST. This was followed by Avianca El Salvador ight
521 from Los Angeles to San Salvador. This ight de-
parted at 1:30 am PDT and landed at 7:30 am MST.
2.6 Merger and Controversy in Costa Rica
(2012-2013)
On October 10, 2012, it was reported in a press con-
ference that the trade name TACA Airlines was going
to disappear from the public eye and the promotion and
marketing strategies were going to be owned by Avianca,
according to representatives of the group that controls
the brand. The Avianca-Tacas CEO, Fabio Villegas, ex-
plained that the use of the single brand for the group
would occur in the rst half of 2013.
[7]
Eventually the
4 7 ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS
A TACA Airbus A319 aircraft taking o from the city of
Medellin, Colombia (2010).
TACA Airlines A321 landing in Los Angeles from San Salvador
(SAL).
TACAtrade name wouldn't disappear fromthe public eye
TACA will continue to operate but it will operate under
the Avianca El Salvador brand and it will remain a full
member of Star Alliance.
On May 18, 2013, the Avianca-Taca Holding group
downgraded the Juan Santamara International Airport
Hub in San Jos, Costa Rica to a base of operations as
part of post-merger restructuring. This included the dis-
continuation of more than ve non-stop ights made by
the airline to and from San Jose, including ights to all
cities in the United States. As a consequence, more than
200 employees lost their jobs (equivalent to 20% of the
work force of the airline). This was controversial in Costa
Rica and led to an extensive investigation by the civil
aviation authorities of that country against the holding
company.
[8][9][10]
3 Corporate Aairs
TACA Airlines has its headquarters in the Edicio
Caribe.
[11]
4 Destinations
Main articles: TACA destinations, Lacsa destinations
and TACA Per destinations
Avianca El Salvador serves 50 destinations around the
world.
5 Fleet
As of May 2013, the Avianca El Salvador eet consists
of the following aircraft:
[12][13][14]
5.1 Historic Fleet
TACA Airlines operated the following types:
6 Reciprocal Frequent-Flyer
Agreements
LifeMiles is the frequent-yer program of Avianca and
TACA Airlines as of 2009, because of the merger with
Avianca. It replaced the old Distancia program.
[21]
In addition to earning miles on TACA Airlines and
TACA Regional ights, TACA Airlines has partnerships
with the following airlines:
Aeromxico
[22]
All Nippon Airways
Avianca
Iberia
Lufthansa
[23]
Sky Airline
[24]
TAME
United Airlines
US Airways
7 Accidents and incidents
On March 5, 1959, Vickers Viscount YS-09C
crashed shortly after take-o from Managua Air-
port, Nicaragua when both port engines failed. 15
of the 19 people on board were killed.
[25]
5
TACA Flight 510 crash in Guatemala City, April 6, 1993
On May 24, 1988, a Boeing 737-300 operating as
TACA Flight 110 to New Orleans, Louisiana suf-
fered a double engine ame-out due to water inges-
tion, a result of an in-ight encounter with an area of
very heavy rain and hail. The design of the engines
and FAA water ingestion certication standards did
not take into account the higher water volume of
strong or severe thunderstorms while operating at
lower power. The plane landed without further dam-
age on a grass levee at the NASA Michoud Assem-
bly Facility. All 45 passengers were uninjured.
[26]
On April 5, 1993, a Boeing 767-200 operating as
TACA Flight 510, overran the runway at Guatemala
City's La Aurora International Airport due to an in-
ability to brake on the ooded runway.
On May 30, 2008, an Airbus A320, registration
EI-TAF, operating as TACA Flight 390, from San
Salvador overran a rain-soaked runway on landing
at Toncontn International Airport in Tegucigalpa,
Honduras. There were 5 fatalities, 2 of which were
on the ground.
[27]
8 References
[1] Aviation Week
[2] [,http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/10/07/
333194/avianca-confirms-strategic-merger-with-taca.
html Avianca conrms 'strategic merger' with TACA
Airlines extquotedbl]. Flightglobal. 10 July 2009.
Retrieved 10 July 2009.
[3] Latin American airlines to merge. BBC Online (BBC).
2009-10-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
[4] Poder 360 - Page One Daily News - Avianca and Taca
Merger Approved. Poder360.com. 2009-12-03. Re-
trieved 2013-06-04.
[5] Avianca looking to replace Fokkers. 2009-11-30.
[6] Avianca-Taca encargan 15 aviones regionales ATR por
$700 millones. Terra.com. 2012-12-13. Retrieved
2012-12-21.
[7] Nombre TACA desaparece del fuselaje de los aviones -
ECONOMA - La Nacin. Nacion.com. 2012-10-11.
Retrieved 2013-06-04.
[8] juuber (2013-05-18). AviancaTaca reorganiza vuelos y
elimina 261 empleos en Costa Rica - Revista Estrategia &
Negocios. Estrategiaynegocios.net. Retrieved 2013-06-
04.
[9] Aviacin Civil arma que Avianca suspendi vuelos sin
avisar - ELPAS - La Nacin. Nacion.com. 2013-05-25.
Retrieved 2013-06-04.
[10] Costa Rica: Reestructuracin de Avianca afecta mercado
areo. Aeronoticias.com.pe. 2013-05-27. Retrieved
2013-06-04.
[11] World Airline Directory. Flight International. March
2430, 1993. 125. Head oce: Edicio Caribe, 2 Piso,
San Salvador, El Salvador
[12] TACA Ocial Fleet page
[13] TACA eet at Planespotters.net
[14] TACA Fleet
[15] AviancaTaca plans to buy 51 A320s from Airbus. Mar-
ketWatch. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
[16] The Smithsonian keeps a photo of TACAs Bellanca
[17] Smithsonian
[18] Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society
[19] Airliners.net
[20] Cincinnati Aviation Heritage Society & Museum Shows a
photo inside the Metal Aircraft Factory in Cincinnati
[21] Hola. LifeMiles El programa de viajero frecuente de
Avianca, TACA y AeroGal. Lifemiles.com. Retrieved
2013-06-04.
[22] http://www.avianca.com/NR/rdonlyres/
3BE56129-7154-4982-995A-35B8EDCF47B6/36509/
N23codigocompartidoAM060312.pdf
[23]
[24] Chilean Colombian Airlines Reach Codeshare Agree-
ment. Bogot DC (Colombia).
[25] Accident description. Aviation Safety Network. Re-
trieved 11 September 2009.
[26] NTSB Report
[27] Plane skids o runway in Honduras, 5 dead. Reuters.
May 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
9 External links
Avianca
Aeroman
Tus Sentidos
LifeMiles
6 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
10.1 Text
Avianca El Salvador Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avianca_El_Salvador?oldid=628575237 Contributors: AntonioMartin,
Cherkash, Tobias Conradi, WhisperToMe, Ke4roh, Sekicho, SmilingBoy, Avala, Marine 69-71, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Alan-
sohn, Yamla, XLR8TION, RJFJR, Ardfern, Tabletop, Gudeldar, Vegaswikian, XLerate, LordEnzo, FlaBot, Russavia, Guanaco152003,
Hawaiian717, Drdisque, Clib, Welsh, Brbigam, RFBailey, Lockesdonkey, Cloudbound, Airodyssey, Mjroots, SmackBot, Nihonjoe, Tter-
rag, Miquonranger03, Colonies Chris, Pcstico, Azumanga1, Escottf, Mbhskid520, Ju98 5, MilborneOne, Nobunaga24, Elektrik blue 82,
Iridescent, Nutster, Utelprob, Birdhurst, MarsRover, Cydebot, Reywas92, Bardak, Khatru2, Thijs!bot, Mds6901, V-train, Tobibln, XyBot,
OhanaUnited, PhilKnight, Benstown, Brusegadi, Wayne Miller, Jolenine, CommonsDelinker, Britodiego, The Legacy, Jablue, Paris1127,
Jersonc, Largoplazo, KylieTastic, Funandtrvl, Arno1313, Signalhead, Inetpup, VolkovBot, Britcan, Kww, LaNicoya, Scoelho86, Wikihon-
duras, Cpzphantom, Maksdo, Brokenwit, Fischer.sebastian, Brunoptsem, Darksparrow777, HkCaGu, Lightmouse, Kumioko (renamed),
Rareeyes, Plane nerd, Seorplayero, Frapoz, ImageRemovalBot, YSSYguy, Mariordo, Sjordi, Gene93k, Piledhigheranddeeper, RuthAS,
House1090, Editor652, DerBorg, Versus22, XLinkBot, SilvonenBot, Luisfege, Joey Boeing 777, Addbot, CubBC, EZ1234, Eielef, Queen-
momcat, Mpr1964, Binary TSO, Gork 27, LaaknorBot, Mdnavman, Jasepl, Luckas-bot, AnomieBOT, Nicop, LilHelpa, Xqbot, Kayego,
Mr.choppers, Armbrust, Nardisoero, B767-500, Gleppe, Ll1324, Carelvir, Zaps93, Danielg1987, Samuelemperor, JcHnd, Alexandre
Gouger, Jirisys, Francoperuvien, Surfeit of palfreys, Wayne Riddock, Payogitano, Snoozlepet, Fry1989, EGroup, Louisg7594, Wikitanvir-
Bot, Dewritech, Sumsum2010, Fedeztz96, ChokeSlamFromHell, Simano5555, Tamizi ts, ZroBot, ANG99, Mauk111, DONALDderosa,
Wind of freedom, Giraldezjota, ClueBot NG, Stevenghetto257, AndRiiw, JetBlast, Lord Roem, A szu, AdAstra reloaded, BG19bot,
Funlovelatino, Isa Roarte, Unitedstates1000, Candycane0406, METRO96, Ramc501294, Zujua, Khazar2, Muns94, Penguinsrule121,
Jenniepierce567, Strikiman01, JMG797, Jjbernardiscool, Af Gultarp, EPA888 and Anonymous: 324
10.2 Images
File:Avianca_Logo_2013.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Avianca_Logo_2013.png License: CC-
BY-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: EPA888
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artist: ?
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tors: PNG version on the English Wikipedia Original artist: Dtbohrer, updated to SVG by Tomtheman5
File:Flag_of_El_Salvador.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Flag_of_El_Salvador.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: user:Nightstallion
File:Lockheed_L-188AF_YS-06C_TACA_MIA_24.02.78_edited-3.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/
34/Lockheed_L-188AF_YS-06C_TACA_MIA_24.02.78_edited-3.jpg License: CC-BY-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist:
RuthAS
File:TACA_-_Flickr_-_skinnylawyer.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/TACA_-_Flickr_-_
skinnylawyer.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-2.0 Contributors: TACA Original artist: skinnylawyer from Los Angeles, California, USA
File:TACA_Airbus_A319_Ramirez.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/TACA_Airbus_A319_
Ramirez.jpg License: GFDL 1.2 Contributors: http://www.airliners.net/photo/TACA/Airbus-A319-132/1766865/L/ Original artist:
Andrs Ramrez
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tributors:
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tors: Allen Drebert Original artist: Allen Drebert
File:TACA_International_Airlines_Boeing_737-300_JetPix.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/
TACA_International_Airlines_Boeing_737-300_JetPix.jpg License: GFDL 1.2 Contributors: http://www.airliners.net/photo/TACA/
Boeing-737-3S1/0207794/L/ Original artist: Torsten Maiwald
File:TACA_airplanes_SJO_04_2005.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/TACA_airplanes_SJO_04_
2005.jpg License: CC-BY-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Mariordo
File:Taca_Guatemala.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Taca_Guatemala.jpg License: ? Contributors:
I created this work entirely by myself.
Original artist:
Sjordi (talk)
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