Avianca

Avianca
IATA AV	ICAO AVA	Callsign AVIANCA
Founded		December 5, 1919, as SCADTA
Fleet size		52 (2006)
Destinations		41(+2) (2006)
Headquarters		Barranquilla, Colombia
Key people		Fabio Villegas Ramírez, CEO
Website: Avianca Colombia Avianca USA Avianca UK

Avianca (acronym for Aerovías del Continente Americano, formerly Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia) is a commercial airline headquartered in Barranquilla, 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 five subsidiary airlines: SAM in Colombia, OceanAir in Brazil, Capital Airlines in Nigeria 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.

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 International Airlines, 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

SCADTA was established in 1919.

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.

Avianca as SCADTA.

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, inaugurated 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

Avianca, the oldest air company of the Americas

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.

Avianca's former logo.

• On July 23, 1929, regular routes between Girardot and Bogotá were established.

• 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 aircraft, 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.

Avianca Boeing B767 at Los Angeles International Airport in 1992. Air New Zealand B747 can be seen nearby.

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, Newark, New York City, and Miami.

• In Europe: Madrid, Paris, Frankfurt, and London.

• In Central America and the Caribbean: Mexico, Panama, San José, Curaçao, and Aruba.

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

Avianca as Alianza Summa's airline.

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 strengths 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 initiate 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.

American Continent Airways

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.

Boeing B757-200 flying over Quito, Ecuador in 2003, with Pichincha volcano in the background.

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.

Current logo with Colombian flag colors.

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

Avianca Boeing 767 with the current airline livery.

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 caused by warring 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 that the politician had not boarded the plane. 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 crew members unaffiliated with the hijacker's cause were immediately released.

On April 26, 1990, M-19 presidential candidate Carlos Pizarro was gunned down during a domestic Avianca flight[1][2].

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 surrounding this crash. The Spanish-speaking pilots appeared not to know how to indicate the urgency of their situation in English. Also, air traffic controllers may have contributed to the disaster by not providing sufficient information regarding poor weather conditions around JFK airport and the time, and maintaining the jet in a holding pattern for too long despite being told that Flight 52 was low on fuel.

Destinations

Main article: Avianca destinations

Avianca's hub is Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport. Its focus cities are Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla.

Recently in a press interview Avianca said that it is thinking of starting a new flight from Medellín to Fort Lauderdale, They also said that they are thinking of starting a new flight from Medellín to San Juan, Puerto Rico via Bogotá. Flights are anticipated to begin in December of 2006. However, as of November 2006, these flights have not been announced.

During the course of 2005, Avianca announced that it opted not to expand its European operations to destinations other than London, Paris, and Frankfurt. Instead, it preferred to focus on its other route expansions.

Avianca will thus fly to London and Frankfurt in 2007, recovering its previous European destinations. At the moment, Avianca will not begin flights to Paris due to the competition from Air France; during the next 5 years Avianca will see an expansion in the European market. Avianca has stated it will fly in the future to Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan and Zürich but has stated it will instead only focus on opening new routes to Frankfurt and London .

Many European airlines abandoned flying to Bogotá, among them Lufthansa, KLM and Alitalia. The latter has reconsidered this and is due to restart services in 2007.

Avianca has added new frequencies to Guayaquil, Quito, Mexico, Aruba, and Curaçao. These started in June and July 2006.

Avianca has now added online booking for flights from the UK Manchester and London via Barcelona to Bogotá. The connecting flights from the UK to Spain are with British Airways.

Avianca VIP Lounges

They are for the exclusive use of those enjoying our Business Class and AviancaPlus travelers with the greatest number of miles in their accounts, prior to boarding every flight. Avianca has set up these exclusive Lounges at main airports in Colombia, and VIP Lounges at other national and international airports, thanks to agreements signed with airlines and hotels.

At VIP Lounges, travelers enjoy a comfortable area with the required facilities to check in at the Lounge (if traveling without baggage), a foods and beverages service, areas for meetings and for relaxing, telephone, fax, television and free connection to Internet, through Wi – Fi technology.

DesKubra

DesKubra is Avianca’s commercial division specialized in the design and offer of tourist packages for destinations in Colombia and abroad.

At present, Deskubra offers plans to:

• The Colombian Caribbean (Santa Marta, Cartagena, San Andrés Island)
• Armenia
• The interior of Colombia (Bogotá, Cali, Medellín)
• Argentina
• Chile
• Chile plus Argentina (Lake crossing)
• Margarita Island
• Aruba
• Florida (Miami and Fort Lauderdale)
• Panamá
• Mexico (Mexico City, plus Taxco and Acapulco and plus Puerto Vallarta)
• Brazil
• Perú (Lima and Cusco)
• Spain (Madrid)

Other new domestic and international destinations will be included soon, as well as special products for similar interest groups. Everything to be combined with our spectacular Deskubra Promos.

News

• Synergy Group bought 30 Fokker 100 to distribute it between Avianca and its subsidiaries.
• Germán Efromovich, Avianca's new owner, in an interview with Colombia's newspaper El Tiempo explaining the future of Avianca, pointed out that OceanAir is going to change its name to Avianca in a two-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.
• There are rumors that Avianca is negotiating with Delta Air Lines to join the Skyteam Alliance.
• Avianca's owner Germán Efromovich said that the airline will make an order this year to replace its 767, 757 and MD-83 fleet, the candidates are the 787 or A350 to replace the widebodies and the 737 or A320 series to replace the narrowbodies.
• Avianca to Invest $2 Billion to Buy 30 Jets By 2014: "I don't have preference for any of the jet makers, but we will choose the one who offers the best conditions," Efromovich told reporters at a press conference to inaugurate the $7.5 million upgrade of Avianca's hub for domestic flights. "We want to change our planes with more fuel-efficient and more modern jets," he said. Efromovich said Avianca plans to buy the first of the new airplanes later this year. Avianca, which owns 52 jets, plans to start flights from Bogotá to London in 2007, he added. Brazilian-born Efromovich, through his company Synergy Group, pulled Avianca out of U.S. bankruptcy protection in 2004 and took a 75% stake after agreeing to inject $63 million of fresh capital and assuming nearly $220 million of debt. Synergy then bought the remaining 25% of Avianca in November 2005. Synergy, which also operates airlines in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, had bought 10 secondhand Fokker 100 jets earlier this year.

Alliances

Affinity programs

AviancaPlus, Avianca's frequent flyer program, was created in 19xx.

Avianca offers frequent flyer partnerships the following:

Codeshare partners

Presently, Avianca has codeshare agreements with:

• Delta Air Lines: Offering connecting service to the United States via the airline's codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines; Delta's non-stop flight from Bogotá to Atlanta allows for codeshare connections to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Chicago, and Boston. Connections from Fort Lauderdale to Boston and to La Guardia airport in New York City using Avianca's non-stop Bogotá-Fort Lauderdale service will soon be offered.

• Mexicana de Aviación: Allows Avianca to offer booking services 11 times per week between Bogotá and the Mexico City: four frequencies operated by Avianca and seven operated by Mexicana de Aviación.

• Iberia: Through this alliance, Avianca offers three destinations in Spain and one in France, through Iberia’s hub in Madrid. Connections available from Madrid include, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Paris (Orly Airport), La Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo, Asturias, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Pamplona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Sevilla and Las Palmas, and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

• Air Canada: With this agreement, Avianca is able to offer its travelers the two most important destinations in Canada: Toronto and Montreal. The Air Canada operation is initiated in Bogotá with its direct flight to Toronto, subsequently connecting with Montreal. Notwithstanding, this agreement may be commercialized by Avianca from any other city, provided the connections allow.

• Grupo TACA: With this agreement, Avianca offers three destinations in Central America, served by Lacsa and TACA airlines: San José de Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador, in direct flight Bogotá – San José de Costa Rica with subsequent connection to the other two destinations.

Subsidiaries

• Avianca Cargo is a cargo airline based at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.
• SAM is an airline based at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.
• OceanAir is an airline based at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil.
• Wayraperú is a regional airline based at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Perú.
• VIP is a regional airline based at Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador.
• Capital Airlines is a regional airline based at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria.

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 November 2006) ^[1]:

Avianca-SAM'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 November 2006):

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):

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):

Capital Airlines

Avianca's Subsidiary, Capital Airlines has a separate fleet consisting of the following aircraft (as of March 2006):

Capital Airlines's average fleet age is xxx years old as of June 2006.

Retired

The following have been airplanes the airline has used in the past:

Livery

Livery through time:

Awards and nominations

Awards

• Avianca VIP Lounge at El Dorado Int'l Airport - Latin America & Caribbean - 2006 Priority Pass Lounge of the Year 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 might become the second Latin American airline to purchase a Boeing 787, after Aeromexico.
• Avianca might be the second Latin American airline to purchase the A350-800 after TAM Linhas Aéreas

Avianca around the world

External links

References

1. ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006

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Airlines of Colombia

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