Avianca
Avianca S.A. is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since 5 December 1919, when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Bogotá, D.C. with its main hub at El Dorado International Airport. Avianca is the flagship of a group of eight Latin American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one airline using a codesharing system. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and second largest in Latin America, after LATAM of Chile. Avianca and its subsidiaries have the most extensive network of destinations in Latin America. Prior to the merger with TACA in 2010, it was wholly owned by Synergy Group S.A., a South American holding company established by Germán Efromovich and specialising in air transport. It is listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange.
Through SCADTA, Avianca is the world's second oldest extant airline after KLM, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in December 2019. It is the oldest airline in the Western Hemisphere. It became an official member of Star Alliance on 21 June 2012, after a process that lasted approximately 18 months from the initial announcement of its invitation to join the alliance. On May 10, 2020, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in New York City, NY, United States, and liquidated its subsidiary Avianca Peru, becoming one of the major airlines to have filed for bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
History
SCADTA (1919–1940)
The airline traces its history back to 5 December 1919, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Colombians Ernesto Cortissoz Alvarez-Correa, Rafael Palacio, Cristóbal Restrepo, Jacobo Correa and Aristides Noguera and Germans Wilhem Schnurbusch, Werner Kämerer, Stuart Hosie and Albert Teitjen founded the Colombo-German Company, called Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos or SCADTA. The company accomplished their first flight between Barranquilla and the nearby town of Puerto Colombia using a Junkers F.13, transporting 57 pieces of mail. 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 to efficiently operate in the climate of the country. There were nine aircraft in the fleet with a total range of which 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, floats were adapted for two of the Junkers aircraft to make water landings in the rivers near different towns. Using these floats, Helmuth von Krohn was able to perform the first inland flight over Colombia on 20 October 1920, following the course of the Magdalena River; the flight took eight hours and required four emergency landings in the water.Soon after the airline was founded, 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, which began in 1922. This new contract allowed SCADTA to thrive in a new frontier of aviation. By the mid-1920s, SCADTA started its first international routes that initially covered destinations in Venezuela and the United States. In 1924, the aircraft that both Ernesto Cortissoz and Helmuth von Krohn were flying crashed into an area currently known as Bocas de Ceniza in Barranquilla, killing them. In the early 1940s, Peter von Bauer sold his shares in the airline to the US-owned Pan American World Airways.
National Airways of Colombia (1940–1994)
On 14 June 1940, in the city of Barranquilla, SCADTA, under ownership by United States businessmen, merged with regional Colombian airline SACO, forming the new Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia S.A. or Avianca. Five Colombians participated in this: Rafael María Palacio, Jacobo A. Corea, Cristobal Restrepo, and Aristides Noguera, as well as German citizens Albert Teitjen, Werner Kaemerer and Stuart Hosie, while the post of first President of Avianca was filled by Martín del Corral. Avianca claims SCADTA's history as its own.In 1946, Avianca began flights to Quito, Lima, Panama City, Miami, New York City and Europe, using Douglas DC-4s and C-54 Skymasters. In 1951, Avianca acquired Lockheed 749 Constellations and 1049 Super Constellations. In 1961, Avianca leased two Boeing 707 aircraft, to operate its international routes and on 2 November 1961, it acquired its own Boeing 720s. In 1976, Avianca became 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, mixing cargo and passenger operations.
Merger and alliance (1994–2002)
In 1994, Avianca, the regional carrier SAM and the helicopter operator Helicol merged, beginning Avianca's new system of operations. This arrangement allowed for specialized services in cargo and postal services, as well as a more modern fleet, made up of Boeing 767-200s, Boeing 767-300s, Boeing 757-200s, McDonnell Douglas MD-83s, Fokker 50s, and Bell helicopters.By 1996, Avianca Postal Services became Deprisa, which provided various mail services.
Summa Alliance (2002–2004)
After the September 11 attacks, Avianca, the regional carrier SAM Colombia, and its major rival ACES Colombia joined efforts to create Alianza Summa, which began merged operations on 20 May 2002. In November 2003, Alianza Summa was disbanded and ACES Colombia was liquidated altogether and SAM Colombia was acquired to be a regional carrier under Avianca's brand.American Continent Airways (2004–2009)
On 10 December 2004, Avianca concluded a major reorganization process, 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, in the 13 months following withdrawal from bankruptcy.Under this plan, Avianca was bought by Synergy Group, and was consolidated with its subsidiaries OceanAir and VIP Ecuador. The company's full legal name was changed from Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia to Aerovías del Continente Americano, retaining the acronym Avianca. In 2009, OceanAir and VIP were re-branded as Avianca Brazil and Avianca Ecuador, respectively.
Avianca-TACA merger (2009–2013)
In 2009, it was announced that Avianca would merge with TACA. This created AviancaTaca Holdings, which instantly became one of the region's largest airlines, with 129 aircraft and flights to more than 100 destinations.In November 2009, the airline's 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. On 1 January 2011, the airline decided to retire the Fokker 100 aircraft in 2011 and replace them with 10 Airbus A318 leased from GECAS. The aircraft were delivered from February to April 2011.
Star Alliance
On 10 November 2010, Star Alliance announced that Avianca were full members in 2012. Due to Avianca's entry into Star Alliance, it ended its codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines and began a new codeshare agreement with United Airlines. TACA had been codesharing with United Airlines since 2006. On 21 June 2012, Avianca and TACA were both officially admitted into Star Alliance.Avianca Holdings S.A. (2013–present)
TACA and all other AviancaTaca airlines changed their brand to Avianca on 28 May 2013. On 21 March 2013, at the annual general meeting, the shareholders approved the change of corporate name from AviancaTaca Holdings S.A. to Avianca Holdings S.A.As of 2017, Avianca operates the second-most daily international flights from Miami with 16, second only to American Airlines.
In August 2018, Avianca had some operational difficulties due to problems with the platform it used to assign crew schedules. This resulted in the cancellation of several flights within Colombia. Likewise, due to the stoppage of ACDAC pilots in 2017, only in October 2018 were all flight itineraries managed by the airline restored.
In March 2019, Avianca launched Regional Express Américas in Colombia. This new airline operates with ATR-72 aircraft for short regional flights.
2020 bankruptcy
Avianca had significant financial liabilities in 2019. Due to this they issued more debt to cover short term liabilities, and concluded a debt exchange December 31, 2019. This lack of liquidity, and amount of debt left them particularly vulnerable to the cessation of business which occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colombia has implemented a strict lockdown such that the airline was not allowed to operate; and so it flew no scheduled flights between late March and May; and most of its 20,000 employees have gone without pay throughout the crisis. On 10 May 2020, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in its history as a result of the pandemic; the airline had accumulated a total debt of $7.3 billion at the end of 2019.Avianca Holdings, S.A. and 23 affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 10, 2020. The debtors have requested joint administration of the cases under Case No. 20-11133.
Headquarters
Avianca's headquarters are on Avenida El Dorado and between Avenida la Esmeralda and Gobernación de Cundinamarca, located in the Ciudad Salitre area of Bogotá. The building is located next to the Gran Estación. Its previous head office was at Avenida El Dorado No. 93-30.Destinations
Avianca's hubs are in Bogotá at El Dorado International Airport and in San Salvador at Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport. Its focus cities are Medellín, Cali, Cartagena, Barranquilla, San José and Quito as well as Miami, where Avianca is the largest foreign carrier by number of passengers. The airline covers 187 destinations in 27 countries.Subsidiaries
| Company | Number of destinations | List |
| Avianca | 156 | List of Avianca destinations |
| Avianca Cargo | 20 | List of Avianca Cargo destinations |
| Avianca Costa Rica | 12 | List of Avianca Costa Rica destinations |
| Avianca Ecuador | 15 | List of Avianca Ecuador destinations |
| Avianca El Salvador | 37 | List of Avianca El Salvador destinations |
| Avianca Guatemala | 11 | List of Avianca Guatemala destinations |
| Avianca Honduras | 4 | List of Avianca Honduras destinations |
| Helicol | unk |
Frequent flyer program
Avianca launched their LifeMiles frequent-flyer program in 2011, replacing AviancaPlus. The levels include Silver, Gold and Diamond, replacing the former Basic, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Executive levels. This program covers all Avianca Holdings airlines.Codeshare agreements
Avianca has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:- Aeroméxico
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air India
- All Nippon Airways
- Avianca El Salvador
- Copa Airlines
- Cubana de Aviación
- Etihad Airways
- EVA Air
- Gol Transportes Aéreos
- Iberia
- Lufthansa
- Silver Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- TAME
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
LifeMiles
LifeMiles has three Elite Tiers:
- Silver
- Gold
- Diamond
Fleet
Current fleet
, the Avianca Holding S.A. fleet consists of the following aircraft:Avianca's first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was delivered on 17 December 2014 and launched its first service on 16 January 2015 between Bogotá and New York.
Former fleet
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
| Airbus A318-100 | 2011 | 2019 | Purchased from Mexicana |
| Airbus A330-300 | 2018 | 2020 | |
| ATR 72-600 | 2013 | 2019 | Transferred to Avianca Express |
| Boeing 247D | 1937 | 1947 | |
| Boeing 707-320 | 1969 | 1993 | One was written off as Avianca Flight 52. |
| Boeing 720 | 1961 | 1984 | |
| Boeing 727-100 | 1966 | 1992 | |
| Boeing 727-200 | 1978 | 1998 | |
| Boeing 737-100 | 1968 | 1971 | |
| Boeing 747-100 | 1976 | 1996 | |
| Boeing 747-100SF | 1981 | 1988 | |
| Boeing 747-200M | 1981 | 1995 | One was written off as Avianca Flight 011. |
| Boeing 757-200 | 1992 | 2011 | |
| Boeing 767-200ER | 1992 | 2011 | |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 1994 | 2011 | |
| Consolidated PBY Catalina | 1946 | ||
| Curtiss C-46 Commando | 1950 | ||
| de Havilland Giant Moth | |||
| de Havilland Tiger Moth | |||
| Douglas C-54 Skymaster | 1948 | 1975 | |
| Douglas DC-2 | 1944 | ||
| Douglas DC-3 | 1939 | 1975 | |
| Douglas DC-4 | 1945 | 1970 | |
| Dornier Do J | 1932 | ||
| Dornier Komet | |||
| Dornier Merkur | 1927 | ||
| Embraer 190 | 2015 | 2019 | |
| Fokker 50 | 1993 | 2014 | Replaced by ATR 72-600 |
| Fokker 100 | 2005 | 2011 | Replaced by Airbus A318 |
| Fokker Super Universal | 1931 | 1934 | |
| Ford 5-AT-DS Trimotor | 1932 | 1946 | |
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | 1968 | 1978 | |
| Junkers F.13 | 1920 | 1939 | |
| Junkers W 33 | 1928 | 1932 | |
| Junkers W 34 | 1929 | 1947 | |
| Lockheed L-749 Constellation | 1956 | 1968 | |
| Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation | 1958 | 1968 | |
| Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar | |||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11ER | 1999 | 1999 | Leased from World Airways |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1992 | 2011 | |
| Sikorsky S-38 | 1929 |
Cancelled orders
From 2009 to 2010, Avianca ordered 10 Airbus A350-900s that were to be delivered from 2015 to 2017. As of 2019, the orders had not arrived. The aircraft were intended for Avianca Brazil, but since that airline has declared bankruptcy and ceased operations, the fate of those orders is uncertain.Incidents and accidents
The airline suffered a few incidents during the 1980s and early 1990s. The deadliest of those incidents was Avianca Flight 011, which crashed in 1983.- On 22 January 1947, a Douglas C-53B, registered C-108, crashed in the Magdalena river valley, killing all 17 people on board.
- On 9 August 1954, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation, registered HK-163, crashed three minutes after takeoff from Lajes Field, Azores, after it flew left into the hills instead of right towards the sea. All 30 on board died.
- On 9 March 1955, a Douglas C-47A, registered HK-328, crashed at Trujillo, Colombia, killing all eight on board. The wreckage was found a month later, but some of the gold and cargo was missing.
- On 23 June 1959, a Douglas DC-4, registered HK-135 and operating Flight 667, struck Cerro Baco mountain while en route to Lima, Peru, killing all 14 aboard.
- On 21 January 1960, a Lockheed L-1049E operating Flight 671 crashed and burned on landing at Montego Bay International Airport in Jamaica, killing 37 aboard.
- On 22 March 1965, a Douglas C-47-DL, registered HK-109 and operating Flight 676, struck Pan de Azucar at an elevation of, killing all 29 on board. The cause was the decision of the pilot to fly VFR in conditions that required IFR.
- On 15 January 1966, Avianca Flight 4 crashed shortly after takeoff from Cartagena-Crespo Airport. The cause was determined to be maintenance problems, possibly compounded by pilot error.
- On 22 September 1966, a Douglas DC-4, registered HK-174 and operating Flight 870, crashed while attempting to return to Eldorado Airport due to engine problems, killing both pilots. The cause was traced to a failure in the governor control unit. Improper supervision by the company was a contributing factor, as the pilot was briefed to make a night flight while he was in conversion training for the L-749.
- On 24 December 1966, a Douglas C-47A, registered HK-161 and operating Flight 729, struck Cerro Las Animas at an elevation of while approaching Pasto, killing all 29 on board. A combination of poor CRM, pilot intoxication, deviation from route, and pilot error was cited as the cause.
- On 21 May 1970, a Douglas DC-3, registered HK-121, was hijacked to Yariguíes Airport, Barrancabermeja whilst on a flight from El Alcaraván Airport, Yopal to Alberto Lleras Carmargo Airport, Sogamoso. The hijackers had demanded to be taken to Cuba.
- On 29 July 1972, two Douglas C-53s, registered HK-107 and HK-1341, were involved in a mid-air collision over the Las Palomas Mountains. Both aircraft crashed, killing 21 people on HK-107 and 17 people on HK-1341. Both aircraft were operating domestic scheduled passenger flights from La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio to El Alcaraván Airport, Yopal.
- On 22 August 1973, a Douglas DC-3A, registered HK-111, crashed into a hill near Casanare, Colombia, killing 16 of the 17 people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio to El Alcaraván Airport, Yopal.
- On 12 August 1974, a Douglas C-47, registered HK-508, flew into Trujillo Mountain, killing all 27 people on board. The aircraft was on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from El Dorado Airport, Bogotá to La Florida Airport, Tumaco.
- On 27 November 1983, a Boeing 747-200 operating Flight 011 crashed into a mountain just short of landing at Barajas Airport in Madrid, killing 181 of the 192 people aboard. The cause was determined to be pilot error.
- On 17 March 1988, a Boeing 727 operating Flight 410 crashed into low mountains near Cúcuta – Norte de Santander, Colombia after take-off, killing all 143 on board. It was determined that pilot error was also the cause of this crash, in a situation similar to Flight 011.
- On 27 November 1989, a bomb destroyed Avianca Flight 203. All 110 passengers and crew were killed. The bombing had been ordered by Pablo Escobar to kill presidential candidate César Gaviria Trujillo. In the aftermath, it was discovered that Gaviria had not boarded the aircraft.
- On 25 January 1990, Avianca Flight 52, a Boeing 707–320 operating Flight 52 en route from Bogotá to New York City via Medellín crashed in Cove Neck, New York, after running out of fuel while in a holding pattern for at New York's Kennedy Airport, killing 73 of the 158 people aboard.
- On 26 April 1990, 19th of April Movement presidential candidate Carlos Pizarro was gunned down during a domestic Avianca flight.
- On 12 April 1999, a Fokker 50 operating Flight 9463 from Bogotá to Bucaramanga was hijacked by six ELN members, who forced the plane to make an emergency landing on a clandestine runway in the Bolivar region. One passenger died during captivity, the rest were eventually liberated a year after the hijacking.