Avianca El Salvador

TACA Airlines logo used until May 21, 2013

Avianca El Salvador, formerly Transportes Aereos delContinente Americano, simply known as TACA Air-lines is an airline owned by the Synergy Group based inEl Salvador. It was the ag-carrier of El Salvador and isa 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 oneand a number of other independently owned and IATA-coded regional airlines which code-shared and fed theTACA Airlines brand system.TACA was originally an acronym meaning TransportesAreos Centroamericanos (Central American Air Trans-port), but this was changed toTransportes Areos del Con-tinente Americano (Air Transport of the American Con-tinent), reecting its expansion to North, Central, SouthAmerica and the Caribbean. The airline has a eet of 40aircraft, mostly Airbus A320 aircraft used in most inter-national ights and a smaller eet of Embraer E-190 forregional ights.On October 7, 2009, it was announced that Aviancawouldmergewith TACAbut both airlines stated that eachwould maintain their own identity and operate separatelyfor the moment and TACA will continue to operate.[2]

The merger between Avianca and TACA was ociallycompleted on May 21, 2013. The brand TACA Air-lines became Avianca El Salvador. TACA Airlines wasthe second-oldest continuously-operating airline-brand inCentral America and the Caribbean after Cubana deAviacion.

1 ServicesThe 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 RomeroInternational Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador

TACA Per - Jorge Chvez International Airport inLima, Peru

LACSA - Juan Santamara International Airport inSan 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 New Zealan-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 theXH Mexican registration (which were changed later byHR). The idea of its founder was to establish one airlinein each Latin-American country, such as Aerovias Brasilin Brazil and other TACAs in Mexico, Venezuela, andColombia.Out of all the TACA franchise airlines created,only TACA International of El Salvador survived,

1

2 2 HISTORY

As a consequence, in 1945 Yerex left the company andTACA 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 LatinAmerican countries to be sold to domestic airlines, whichin the case of Honduras TACAwas sold to SAHSA. LaterTACAwas organized as an international company havingits headquarters in San Salvador only under the name ofTACA International Airlines.

TACA Air Cargo Lockheed L-188AF freighter at Miami in 1978

During the 1940s and 1950s, the airline began to acquirelarger piston engine airliners including the Douglas DC-3and the Douglas DC-4. The Vickers Viscount turboproppassenger airliner followed in order to expand its routenetwork around the Americas.On 28 December 1966, TACA Airlines entered the jetage 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 theBoeing 737-200 aircraft. The Lockheed L-188 Electrafour engine turboprop airliner was operated from 1976by 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 buyingall the shares.The airline also made several upgrades in the eet dur-ing the 1980s, by substituting the much older turbopropsand One Eleven airliners with more ecient aircraft, suchas the 737-300 and Boeing 737-400 of the Boeing 737Classic series and its predecessor, the Boeing 737-200Advanced.Between 1940 and 1995, TACA bought the majorityshares of the ag carrier airlines of Guatemala (AVI-ATECA), Costa Rica (Lacsa), and Nicaragua (NICA),consolidating operations under a new brand name, GrupoTACA.In the 1990s, TACA Airlines became the launch cus-tomer and principal users of the Airbus A320 model inLatin America. These aircraft were substitutes for theaging Boeing 737-200 and the 737-300/400 series air-craft that were on the eet, which were gradually retireduntil 1999.

A TACA Airbus A320 in the airlines nal livery (2008-2013) atLos Angeles.

In 1992, TACA signed a strategic alliance with Panama-based Copa Airlines, and the airline began ying toTocumen International Airport, making it the rst ightconnection center in Latin America. As a consequence,Tocumen airport became the Hub of the Americasand the integration of several Latin American airlines tothe alliance, such as LACSA, Aviateca, and NICA tookplace. 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, ElSalvador, 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 TACAPeru, of which TACA had 49% shares at. With this newaddition, Grupo TACA began to oer a comprehensivenetwork 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 theoriginal name, TACA International Airlines (since theconsolidation of the acquired airlines was completed),and the airline' headquarters returned to San Salvador, ElSalvador to a new building which was inaugurated shortlyafterwards. Also, it revealed a renovation in its corporateimage.That same year, TACA became the second user of theBrazilian Embraer E-190 in Latin America.

2.3 AviancaTaca and Modernization(2009-2012)

Two Airbus A320 aircraft from TACAAirlines at the Juan Santa-maria International Airport. The airline operated at Costa Ricaone of its three major hubs until May 2013, when the routes weresubsequently modied as a result of the merger.

In October 2009, it was announced that TACA Airlineswould merge its assets in a strategic alliance with Colom-bian airline Avianca, in which case each will maintain itsown trademark and operations. Avianca and TACA Air-lines operated a combined eet of 129 aircraft, servingover 100 destinations in several countries in America andEurope.[3] In December 2009 approval for themerger wasgiven by the Colombian Civil Aeronautical Agency.[4]Themerger of Colombias Avianca and El Salvador-basedTACA is the latest sign that consolidation in the LatinAmerican airline sector is picking up.In November 2009, the airlines Chief Executive FabioVillegas announced that the airline was looking to replaceits Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 aircraft with newer aircraftof 100 seats or less. The 10 Fokker 50s and 15 Fokker100s were operated on ights shorter than one and a halfhours.Brazils Embraer, Canadas Bombardier Aerospace,and the Airbus A318 were being considered for thereplacement.[5]

In December 2010, the airline made the decision to retirethe Fokker 100 aircraft in 2011 and replace them with 10Airbus A318 leased from GECAS from 2011-2018. Theaircraft were delivered during January to February 2011.In December 2012, the airlinemade an rm order 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] Thepurpose of this purchase is to replace the aging Fokker50 aircraft.

2.4 Star Alliance (2010-2012)On November 10, 2010, Star Alliance announced thatAvianca and TACA Airlines were to become full mem-bers in mid-2012.

2.5 Completion ofMerger and Final FlightAvianca and TACA completed their merger on May21, 2013 (although TACA still operates) as had beenannounced. On May 20, 2013, just before midnight(12:00 AM), TACAAirlines began to remove all its signsbearing the TACA logo from airports across the US,Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, andthe 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. Theseaircraft are expected to be painted with the Avianca logoat a later date. The last ight with the TACA logo tookplace on May 20, 2013. The ight was TACA ight 566fromMonseor scar Arnulfo Romero International Air-port in San Salvador to John F. Kennedy InternationalAirport in New York, NY. It departed San Salvador at7:50 pm MST and landed in New York at 2:35 am EST.The ight landed two hours and thirty-ve minutes afterthe ocial re-branding of the airlines; thus, the ight de-parted with the TACA logo and landed with the Aviancalogo. The nal ocial TACA ight to have the TACAlogo was TACA ight 520 from San Salvador to LosAngeles International Airport in Los Angeles, CA. Thisight departed at 7:20 pm MST and landed at 11:50 pmPDT. The rst ight departing operated by Avianca ElSalvador took place on May 21, 2013. The ight wasAvianca 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 7:55amMST. This was followed by Avianca El Salvador ight521 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 goingto disappear from the public eye and the promotion andmarketing strategies were going to be owned by Avianca,according to representatives of the group that controlsthe brand. The Avianca-Tacas CEO, Fabio Villegas, ex-plained that the use of the single brand for the groupwould 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 ofMedellin, Colombia (2010).

TACA Airlines A321 landing in Los Angeles from San Salvador(SAL).

TACA trade namewouldn't disappear from the public eyeTACA will continue to operate but it will operate underthe Avianca El Salvador brand and it will remain a fullmember of Star Alliance.On May 18, 2013, the Avianca-Taca Holding groupdowngraded the Juan Santamara International AirportHub in San Jos, Costa Rica to a base of operations aspart of post-merger restructuring. This included the dis-continuation of more than ve non-stop ights made bythe airline to and from San Jose, including ights to allcities in the United States. As a consequence, more than200 employees lost their jobs (equivalent to 20% of thework force of the airline). This was controversial in CostaRica and led to an extensive investigation by the civilaviation authorities of that country against the holdingcompany.[8][9][10]

3 Corporate Aairs

TACA Airlines has its headquarters in the EdicioCaribe.[11]

4 DestinationsMain articles: TACA destinations, Lacsa destinationsand TACA Per destinations

Avianca El Salvador serves 50 destinations around theworld.

5 FleetAs of May 2013, the Avianca El Salvador eet consistsof the following aircraft:[12][13][14]

5.1 Historic FleetTACA Airlines operated the following types:

6 Reciprocal Frequent-FlyerAgreements

LifeMiles is the frequent-yer program of Avianca andTACA Airlines as of 2009, because of the merger withAvianca. It replaced the old Distancia program.[21]

In addition to earning miles on TACA Airlines andTACA Regional ights, TACA Airlines has partnershipswith 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-09Ccrashed shortly after take-o from Managua Air-port, Nicaragua when both port engines failed. 15of the 19 people on board were killed.[25]

5TACA Flight 510 crash in Guatemala City, April 6, 1993

On May 24, 1988, a Boeing 737-300 operating asTACA 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 ofvery heavy rain and hail. The design of the enginesand FAA water ingestion certication standards didnot take into account the higher water volume ofstrong or severe thunderstorms while operating atlower 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 asTACA Flight 510, overran the runway at GuatemalaCity's La Aurora International Airport due to an in-ability to brake on the ooded runway.

On May 30, 2008, an Airbus A320, registrationEI-TAF, operating as TACA Flight 390, from SanSalvador overran a rain-soaked runway on landingat Toncontn International Airport in Tegucigalpa,Honduras. There were 5 fatalities, 2 of which wereon 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 TACAAirlines 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 TacaMerger 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. Retrieved2012-12-21.

[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 yelimina 261 empleos en Costa Rica - Revista Estrategia &Negocios. Estrategiaynegocios.net. Retrieved 2013-06-04.

[9] Aviacin Civil arma que Avianca suspendi vuelos sinavisar - EL PAS - LaNacin. Nacion.com. 2013-05-25.Retrieved 2013-06-04.

[10] Costa Rica: Reestructuracin de Avianca afecta mercadoareo. Aeronoticias.com.pe. 2013-05-27. Retrieved2013-06-04.

[11] World Airline Directory. Flight International. March2430, 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. Retrieved2013-06-04.

[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 licenses10.1 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, AlexandreGouger, 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 File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original

artist: ? File:Factory_1b.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Factory_1b.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-

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

File:TACA_Airlines_A321_LAX.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/TACA_Airlines_A321_LAX.JPG License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: METRO96

File:TACA_Airlines_logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/TACA_Airlines_logo.svg License: Fair use Con-tributors:http://www.taca.com/ Original artist: ?

File:TACA_DC4.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/TACA_DC4.jpg License: Public domain Contribu-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)

File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Created by bdesham with Inkscape; based upon Text-x-generic.svgfrom the Tango project. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)

File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg License:CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:

Wiki_letter_w.svg Original artist: Wiki_letter_w.svg: Jarkko Piiroinen

10.3 Content license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

ServicesHistoryInauguration (1931-1980)Expansion Years (1980-2009)AviancaTaca and Modernization (2009-2012)Star Alliance (2010-2012)Completion of Merger and Final FlightMerger and Controversy in Costa Rica (2012-2013)

Corporate AffairsDestinationsFleetHistoric Fleet

Reciprocal Frequent-Flyer AgreementsAccidents and incidentsReferencesExternal linksText and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license