Avianca
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| Founded | December 5, 1919, as SCADTA | ||||||
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| Hubs | El Dorado International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | José María Córdova Int'l Airport Ernesto Cortissoz Int'l Airport Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Int'l Airport Rafael Nuñez Int'l Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | AviancaPlus | ||||||
| Alliance | Codeshare partners (2006) Air Canada Air France Delta Air Lines Grupo TACA Iberia Mexicana de Aviación | ||||||
| Fleet size | 53 (2006) | ||||||
| Destinations | 45 (2006) | ||||||
| Parent company | Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A. Synergy Aerospace Inc. Synergy Group Corp. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bogotá, Colombia  | ||||||
| Key people | Fabio Villegas Ramírez, CEO | ||||||
| Website | Avianca Colombia Avianca USA Avianca UK | ||||||
Avianca (acronym of Aerovías del Continente Americano, formerly Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia) is a commercial airline headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the sixth largest air carrier in Latin America and the largest airline in Colombia, holding the title of flag carrier since its founding in 1919.
Avianca's main base of operations is located at El Dorado International Airport, in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia, with scheduled service to international destinations in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as an extensive domestic and charter operation.
Avianca operates four subsidiary airlines: SAM in Colombia, OceanAir in Brazil and VIP in Ecuador, as well as controlling 49% of Peruvian airline Wayraperú. Avianca Cargo is its cargo airline, Avianca Services its MRO and Deskubra its travel agency.
Code Data
History
Avianca is considered by many to be the second oldest airline still operating in the history of aviation, after KLM of the Netherlands. This claim is disputed by those who cite the continuing operation of Chalk's Ocean Airways, a scheduled seaplane airline flying between Florida and the Bahamas, which had been founded two years earlier, beginning scheduled service in February of 1919.
SCADTA
The airline traces its history back to December 5, 1919, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Germans Werner Kämerer, Stuart Hosie, Alberto Tietjen, and Colombians Ernesto Cortissoz (the first President of the Airline), Rafael Palacio, Cristóbal Restrepo, Jacobo Correa, and Aristides Noguera founded the Colombo-German Company called Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéreo, or SCADTA. The company accomplished its first flight between Barranquilla and the nearby town of Puerto Colombia aboard a Junker F13 wherein 57 pieces of mail were transported; the flight was piloted by German Helmuth Von Krohn. This and another aircraft of the same type were completely mechanically constructed monoplanes, the engines of which had to be modified in order to be able to efficiently operate in the climatic conditions of the country; there were nine airplanes in the fleet with a total range of 850 KM (525 Mi) and could carry up to four passengers and two crewmen. Due to the topographic characteristics of the country, and the lack of airports at the time, two floaters were adapted to the Junker aircraft in order for them to accomplish water landings in the rivers of different towns. Using these floaters Helmuth Von Krohn was able to perform the first inland flight over Colombia on October 20, 1920, following the trail of the Magdalena River; the flight took eight hours and had to perform four emergency landings in the water.
Soon after the vision of the founding group had become a reality, German scientist and philanthropist Peter von Bauer became interested in the airline and contributed general knowledge, capital, and a tenth aircraft for the company as well as obtaining concessions from the Colombian government to operate the country's airmail transportation division using the airline. This new contract allowed SCADTA to thrive in a new frontier of aviation. By the mid 1920s, SCADTA, having ocercome many natural obstacles, inagurated its first international routes that initially covered destinations in Venezuela and the United States. Regretfully, in 1924, the aircraft that both Ernesto Cortizzos and Helmuth Von Krohn were piloting crashed into an area currently known as Bocas de Ceniza, in Barranquilla, causing their deaths. Despite this tragedy the airline continued to thrive under the guidance of German Peter von Braun until the early 1940s where circumstances related to the outbreak of World War II forced him to sell his shares in the airline to the U.S. owned Pan American World Airways
National Airways of Colombia
On June 14, 1940, in the city of Barranquilla, SCADTA, under ownership by United States businessmen merged with Colombian Air Carrier SACO (acronym of Servicio Aéreo Colombiano) forming the new Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia S.A. or Avianca. Five Colombians participated in this act (Rafael María Palacio, Jacobo A. Corea, Cristobal Restrepo, Aristides Noguera), and German citizens Alberto Teitjen, Werner Kaemerer, and Stuart Hosie, while the post of first President of Avianca was acquired by Martín del Corral. There had been decades of dedicated work and contribution to Colombia's development through actions among which the following may be highlighted:
- In September of 1920, with Fritz Hammer as pilot, Wilhem Schnurrbush as copilot, and Stuart Hosie as a passenger, SCADTA accomplished its first flight between Barranquilla and Puerto Berrío.
- On October 19 of that same year, Helmuth Von Krohn accomplished the first flight between Barranquilla and Girardot, and by 1921 routes between Barranquilla, Girardot, and Neiva were established.
- In 1922 Avianca began to provide airmail service.
- In August of 1922, General Pedro Nel Ospina, then President of Colombia, used for the first time a SCADTA aircraft to conduct official business.
- On July 19, 1923, to save the country from bankruptcy, SCADTA transported a gold and currency load from Puerto Berrío to Girardot.
- On July 12, 1928, a SCADTA Junker F13, commanded by Pilot Herbert Boy crossed the Equator.
- The cost of the first SCADTA air tickets were as follows: from Bogotá to Barranquilla, COP $75; from Bogotá to Cartagena, COP $85; from Bogotá to Cartago, COP $35; from Bogotá to Cali, COP $ 50.
- On July 16, 1931, SCADTA established the first mail service between Bogotá and New York City.
- In 1937, the airline acquired 10 Boeing 247 twin-engine aircraft, extending its domestic routes.
- By October 1939, Avianca acquired the first Douglas DC3 aircraft arriving in the country, flying then at the incredible speed of 200 miles per hour.
- Beginning in 1946, Avianca inaugurated flights to Quito, Lima, Panama City, Miami, New York City, and finally Europe using Douglas DC4 and C-54 aircraft,.
- In 1951, Avianca acquired the Lockeed Constellation 0749 and the Super Constellation 1049L aircrafts, the biggest and fastest of the time.
- A grand feat in Colombian commercial aviation was also conducted by Avianca in 1956 when the airline committed to take the Colombian delegation that was to participate in the Melbourne Olympic Games in Australia. There were 61 hours of continuous operation, with only one stop for refueling allowed.
- Four years later, in 1961, Avianca leased two Boeing 707-100 aircraft to operate its international routes, and on November 24, 1961, it acquired its own Boeing 720, baptizing them with the names Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander.
- The year 1976 was an important one for Avianca becoming the first Latin American airline to continuously operate a Boeing 747. Three years later it started operations with another 747, this time a 747 Combi mixed cargo and passenger operations.
- In 1981 the possibilities for in-ground service for passengers in Bogotá expanded thanks to the modern air terminal that Avianca commissioned: Avianca’s Air Bridge. The new terminal originally operated routes to Miami, New York City, Cali, Medellín, Pasto, and Montería.
- By 1990 Avianca had acquired the most modern aircraft in the world: two Boeing B767-200ERs, which were baptized with the names of Cristóbal Colón and Américo Vespucio.
Avianca's System
In 1994, a strategic alliance was established to merge three of the most important enterprises of the aeronautical sector of Colombia: Avianca, SAM (acronym of Sociedad Aeronáutica de Medellín), and Helicol (acronym of Helicópteros Nacionales de Colombia), which brought life to Avianca’s new system of operations.
This system offered specialized services in Cargo (Avianca Cargo) and mail (Postal Services, as well as the most modern aircraft fleet in Latin America made up of: Boeing B767-200, Boeing B767-300, Boeing B757–200, McDonnell Douglas MD83, Fokker F50 and Bell Helicopters.
Avianca’s new system covered the following destinations:
- In Colombia: Bogotá, Arauca, Armenia, Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Santa Marta, Leticia, Manizales, Montería, Pasto, Pereira, Popayán, Riohacha, San Andrés, Valledupar, Providencia, Capurganá, Bahía Solano, Nuquí, Caucasia, and Chigorodó.
- In South America: Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Lima, Quito, Guayaquil, Caracas.
- In the United States: Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami.
By 1996, the trademark Deprisa was created as an evolution of Avianca’s Postal Services to ship and deliver documents and urgent goods in 24 hours, with the most competitive rates of the market, through Deprisa and Deprisa Empresarial, Traditional Mail, Certified Mail, shipment Airport-to-Airport, and P.O. Boxes.
On December 10, 1998, Avianca announced the inception of a new "connections center" in Bogotá with around 6,000 possible weekly connecting flights, and an increased number of frequencies, schedules, and destinations, taking advantage of the privileged geographical location of the country’s capital for the benefit of Colombia and international travellers between South America, Europe, and North America.
Summa Alliance
After a rigorous and complex process which faced the Colombian airline and the aviation industry worldwide following the September 11 Terrorist Attacks in the United States, Avianca, regional carrier SAM and its major rival Aces (acronym of Aerolíneas Centrales de Colombia), joined together to create Alianza Summa which began merged operations on May 20, 2002. These three airlines decided to strategically merge their strenghts to offer a more efficient service with concerns to quality, quantity, security, and competition in a new struggling marketplace. However, adverse circumstances within the industry and markets forced the alliance to disband, and airline shareholders decided to iniate the liquidation of Alianza Summa in November of 2003, to focus in streghtening the Avianca trademark. These decisions resulted in the liquidation of Aces altogether, and the acquisition of SAM as a regional carrier under Avianca's system.
Airline of the Americas
On December 10, 2004, Avianca concluded one of the most important and ambitious reorganization processes undertaken after filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection by obtaining confirmation of its Reorganization Plan which was financially backed by the Brazilian consortium OceanAir/Synergy Group and the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, allowing the airline to obtain funds for US$63 million dollars in the 13 months following withdrawal from C-11.
The Plan, which counted with the support of 99.8% of the voting creditors and which obtained the majority endorsement of the Creditors Committee, will enter into force once the Company emerges from bankruptcy. In accordance with United States laws, the administration has the trust obligation to consider any other investment proposal until the final term expiration stipulated. Notwithstanding, such offer, besides being better than the one that has been approved by Avianca’s domestic and international creditors and confirmed today by the Court, must be final, i.e. fully financed and backed with non-reimbursable cash deposits or equivalent mechanisms. Likewise, such proposal must be binding. As known, the only investment that complies with these requirements is that of OceanAir/Synergy Group and the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, which already makes part of the Reorganization Plan already voted favorably by the creditors and confirmed by the Judge.
Synergy Group is an evidenced credit-worthy Brazilian entrepreneurial conglomerate. Its strength lies in the oil sector, building, installing, and offering maintenance to offshore oil platforms; it is currently carrying exploration work in Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia. Other businesses include the extraction of gas in the United States; naval construction, telephony infrastructure, hydroelectric power plants, communications and a hydrocarbons marine exploration company which extends throughout nine countries with more than 5,000 workers.
It also owns and operates OceanAir, which services around thirty cities in Brazil, as well as VIP, an airline in Ecuador, Taxi Aero, a charter airline in Brazil, and the recently acquired Wayra in Peru, as well as Turb Serv dedicated to the maintenance of turbines.
Incidents and accidents
Accidents on Avianca aircraft have been significantly low for an airline of its age and location within a nation that has struggled with drug trafficking and organized crime problems. The airline suffered a few incidents during the 1980s, which were arranged by rivaling gangs, under the assumption that a member of a rival gang was aboard. The deadliest of those incidents was Avianca Flight 203, which was bombed in 1989 following orders from Pablo Escobar to kill a politician. In the aftermath, it was found the politician did not board the plane.
However, it should be noted that in most of the incidents, Avianca was not at fault as its planes had been in working condition and all incidents were determined to have been caused by gang intervention. It should also be noted that only one successful bombing has occurred in the airline's history, while most other gang related incidents were related to hijackings, or shootings on board. In most hijackings, all passengers and crewmembers unaffiliated with the hijacker's cause, were immediately released.
In the 1990s, after the death or arrest of various traffickers at the hands of Colombian police, Avianca was able to regain its status as one of the safest airlines in the world.
Throughout its history, the airline has had several crashes not related to violence. These include:
- Avianca Flight 011, a Boeing B747-200 that crashed onto a mountain just short of landing at Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain in September of 1983. The cause was determined as pilot error.
- Avianca Flight 410, a Boeing B727 domestic flight which crashed into low mountains after take-off on March 17, 1988, killing all on board. It was determined that pilot error was also the cause of this crash in a situation similar to that of Avianca Flight 011 five years earlier.
- On January 25, 1990, Avianca Flight 52, a Boeing B707-321 jet (built in 1965) en route from Bogotá to New York City via Medellín, crashed into a town in Long Island after running out of fuel while in a holding pattern, killing 73 of the 158 people aboard. There was much controversy for this crash, due to the pilots not knowing how to indicate their trouble and the urgency of it from Spanish to English.
Destinations
Avianca had initially announced the start of services out of its Bogotá, D.C. Hub to Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, Paris, and Amsterdam before the end of 2005, but recently the airline announced it would not seek an European expansion. Instead, it opted to to increase, begin, or restart services to many destinations in Latin America, including Havana, San José, San Juan, Santo Domingo, and possible increased service to New York City and Fort Lauderdale.
Recently in a press interview Avianca said that it is thinking of starting a new flight from Medellín to Fort Lauderdale, also a new service between Bucaramanga and Panama City; this would be the first scheduled intenrational scheduled service from Bucaramanga. They also said that they are thinking of starting a new flight from Cali to San Juan, Puerto Rico via Bogotá. Flights are anticipated to begin in December of 2006.
Avianca is to start new services from Bogota to Valencia, Venezuela; the flight will begin operating on July 17, 2006 and will be operated by operated by SAM Colombia.
As stated above, Avianca had opted to not seek a European expansion to its previous destinations of London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Rome, preferring instead to focus on its other route expansions. However, Avianca is now reconsidering, and may fly from Bogotá, D.C. to London and Frankfurt in the near future. At present, Avianca is not considering service from Bogotá, D.C. to Paris, due to possible heavy competition from Air France.
Avianca has announced in its website it will add new frequencies to Guayaquil, Quito, Mexico, Aruba, and Curacao. These are due to start in 2006.
News
- Synergy Group bought 30 Fokker 100 to distribute it between Avianca and its subsidiaries.
- Germán Efromovich, Avianca's new owner, in a interview with Colombia's newspaper El Tiempo explaining the future of Avianca, pointed out that OceanAir is going to change it's name to Avianca in a 2 year period. This is going to be made thanks to Avianca controlling 100 percent of OceanAir.
- Efromovich also pointed out that when all Fokker 100 remaining to be delivered are integrated to the fleet, Synergy Aerospace (Avianca and its subsidiaries airlines SAM, OceanAir, VIP and Wayraperú) will be operating a total of 86 airplanes. They are also planning to make Avianca the biggest airline in Latin America.1
- There are rumors that Avianca is negotiating with Delta Air Lines to join the Skyteam Alliance.
Codeshare partners
Subsidiaries
Fleet
Current
Avianca is set for a major fleet renewal and has issued requests for proposals (RFP) to Airbus and Boeing for up to 56 aircraft. It declines to comment on the RFP, but manufacturing sources say it comprises up to 42 narrowbodies (22 firm and 20 options), and 14 widebodies (seven firm and seven options) – most likely the Airbus A350 or Boeing B787. Airbus and Boeing sources confirm receipt of the RFP.
Avianca-SAM
Avianca-SAM fleet consists of following aircraft (as of June 2006):
| Type | Number | Seats | Routes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing B767-300ER | 2 | 210-213 | Medium and long range flights within America and Europe. | B767-300 |
| Boeing B767-200ER | 5 | 175-181 | Europe and medium and long range flights within America | B767-200 |
| Boeing B757-200 | 7 | 168-170 | Medium range flights within America | B757 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD83 | 18 | 143-147 | Flights within Colombia and international short range routes | MD83 |
| Fokker F100 | 6 (+5) | 120 | Flights within Colombia and Venezuela | F100 |
| Fokker F50 | 10 | 52 | Flights within Colombia | F50 |
Avianca's average fleet age is 14.2 years old as of June 2006.
OceanAir
Avianca's Subsidiary, OceanAir has a separate fleet consisting of the following aircraft (as of March 2006):
| Type | Number | Seats | Routes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker F100 | 4 (+6) | 120 | Flights within Brazil | F100 |
| Fokker F50 | 3 | 52 | Flights within Brazil | F50 |
| Embraer EMB120 Brasilia | 7 | 30 | Flights within Brazil | EMB120 |
| Bombardier Learjet 45 XR | - | 8-9 | Flights within Brazil | L45 |
| Bombardier Learjet 35 A | - | 8 | Flights within Brazil | L35 |
| King Air C90 | - | 6-7 | Flights within Brazil | C90 |
| Jet Ranger | - | 4 | Flights within Brazil | B407 |
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
OceanAir's average fleet age is 13.7 years old as of June 2006.
Wayraperú
Avianca's Subsidiary, Wayraperú has a separate fleet consisting of the following aircraft (as of June 2006):
| Type | Number | Seats | Routes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker F100 | 4 (+2) | 120 | Flights within Perú | F100 |
Wayraperú's average fleet age is 14.1 years old as of June 2006.
VIP
Avianca's Subsidiary, VIP has a separate fleet consisting of the following aircraft (as of June 2006):
| Type | Number | Seats | Routes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker F100 | +3 | 120 | Flights within Ecuador | - |
| Dornier 328-100 | 2 | 32 | Flights within Ecuador | DO328 |
Retired
The following have been airplanes the airline has used in the past:
| Type | Year Retired | Replacement | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junker F13 | - | Boeing B247 | J13 |
| Boeing B247 | - | Douglas DC3 | - |
| Douglas DC3 | - | Boeing B737 | DC3 |
| Douglas DC4 | - | Lockheed L749 Constellation and Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation | DC4 |
| Douglas C54 Skymaster | - | Lockheed L749 Constellation and Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation | DC54 |
| Lockheed L749 Constellation | - | Boeing B707 and Boeing B720 | L749 |
| Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation | - | Boeing B707 and Boeing B720 | L1049 |
| Boeing B707 | - | Boeing B757 | B707 |
| Boeing B737 | 1971 | - | B737 |
| Boeing B720 | - | Boeing B757 | B720 |
| Boeing B747 | 1995 | Boeing B767 | B747 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD11 | - | Boeing B757 | MD11 |
| Boeing B727 | 2002 | McDonnell Douglas MD83 | B727 |
| This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
Awards and nominations
Awards
Nominations
- South America's Leading Airline - 2006 World Travel Awards
- South America's Leading Business Class Airline - 2006 World Travel Awards
- South America's Leading Airline - 2005 World Travel Awards
- South America's Leading Business Class Airline - 2005 World Travel Awards
Notes
- Avianca is the only Latin American airline that serves both Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.