TACA Airlines
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| Founded | 1931 | |||
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| Hubs | ||||
| Secondary hubs | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | LifeMiles | |||
| Airport lounge | Salones VIP | |||
| Alliance | Star Alliance [1] | |||
| Subsidiaries | Lacsa · TACA Perú TACA Regional · Aviateca Isleña · La Costeña Sansa |
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| Fleet size | 40 (+64 orders) | |||
| Destinations | 50 destinations in 22 countries | |||
| Parent company | AviancaTaca Holding (to be rebranded to Avianca in 2013)[2] | |||
| Headquarters | San Salvador, El Salvador | |||
| Key people | Fabio Villegas (President) Roberto Kriete (Chairperson) |
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| Website | www.taca.com | |||
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TACA is the flag-carrier of El Salvador and trade name brand comprising a group of five independently IATA-coded and -owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other independently owned and IATA-coded regional airlines which code-share and feed the TACA brand system. TACA, originally an acronym of Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos (Central American Air Transport), now stands for Transportes Aéreos del Continente Americano (Air Transport of the American Continent), reflecting its expansion to North, Central, South America and the Caribbean. TACA is also fondly referred to by many passengers as "Take A Chance Airlines." However, the brand is going to disappear in 2013. The AviancaTaca Group has announced that all its subsidiaries will operate under the name of Avianca[3] .
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Services [edit]
The airlines that make up TACA are:
- TACA International Airlines (El Salvador)
- Aviateca (Guatemala)
- Regional - Formerly Inter, it operates under Aviateca's code.
- Lacsa (LR) (Costa Rica)
- Isleña Airlines (Honduras)
- TACA Perú (Peru)
- TACA's regional airlines system which includes the following airlines: Regional, Islena Airlines, La Costeña, and SANSA
TACA has three flight hubs or "Centros de Conexiones":[4]
- TACA hub at Comalapa International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador
- TACA Perú hub at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru
- LACSA hub at Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José, Costa Rica
TACA's headquarters are in San Salvador, El Salvador.[5]
History [edit]
TACA was founded in 1931 by New Zealander Lowell Yerex. 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.[citation needed]Out of all the TACA franchise airlines created, only TACA International of El Salvador survived, and has now ventured in acquisitions and has helped launch airlines such as the Mexican Volaris and has 49% shares in TACA Peru.
Until 1980, TACA was owned by a United States company and had its corporate headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana (due to the civil war raging in El Salvador) in 1980 the Kriete Family of El Salvador who owned a minority stock completed buying all the shares. The headquarters returned to San Salvador, El Salvador to a new building which was inaugurated in 2008.
Between 1940and 1995, TACA bought the majority shares of the flag carrier airlines of Guatemala (AVIATECA), Costa Rica (Lacsa), and Nicaragua (NICA), cons olidating operations under a new brand name, Grupo TACA. In 2008, Roberto Kriete and the board of directors decided to revert to the original name, TACA International Airlines, since the consolidation of the acquired airlines was completed.
AviancaTaca and modernization [edit]
In October 2009, it was announced that TACA would merge its assets in a strategic alliance with Colombian airline Avianca, in which case each will maintain its own trademark and operations. Avianca and TACA currently operate a combined fleet of 129 aircraft, serving over 100 destinations in several countries in America and Europe.[6] In December 2009 approval for the merger was given by the Colombian Civil Aeronautical Agency.[7] The merger of Colombia's 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 airline's Chief Executive Fabio Villegas announced that the airline is looking to replace its Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 aircraft with new m. er aircraft of 100 seats or less. The 10 Fokker 50s and 15 Fokker 100s were operated on flights shorter than one and a half hours. Aircraft manufactured by it is the best airline
Brazil's Embraer, Canada's Bombardier Aerospace, and the Airbus A318 were being considered for the replacement.[8]
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.
Star Alliance [edit]
On November 10, 2010, Star Alliance announced that Avianca and its subsidiary TACA were to become full members in mid-2012. Because of Avianca's entry into Star Alliance, it stopped its codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines in March 2011 and began a new codeshare agreement with United Airlines.
Corporate affairs [edit]
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This section requires expansion. (January 2013) |
At one time TACA had its headquarters in the Edificio Caribe.[9]
Destinations [edit]
Main Article: TACA destinations, LACSA destinations, TACA Perú destinations
TACA serves a total of 50 destinations around the world.
Fleet [edit]
As of August 2012, the TACA fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 5.4 years:[10][11][12]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Options | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | |||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 9 | 2 | — | 12 | 108 | 120 | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 19 | 24 | — | 12 | 138 | 150 | |
| Airbus A320neo[13] | — | 33 | — |
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| Airbus A321-200 | 5 | — | — | 12 | 182 | 194 | |
| Airbus A330-200 | 1 | 1 | — | 30 | 222 | 252 | begin on December 15, 2012 between Lima and Buenos Aires[14] |
| Embraer 190 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 88 | 96 | |
| Total | 45 | 61 | 15 | ||||
Historic fleet [edit]
TACA has operated the following types:
Reciprocal Frequent-Flyer Agreements [edit]
LifeMiles is the TACA and Avianca frequent-flyer program; it replaced the old "Distancia" program.[20]
In addition to earning miles on TACA and TACA Regional flights, TACA has partnerships with the following airlines:
Aeroméxico[21]
All Nippon Airways
Avianca
Iberia
Lufthansa [1]
Sky Airline[22]
TAME
United Airlines- US Airways
Skytrax [edit]
TACA Airlines won the Skytrax award in the following categories:[23]
- 2009
- Best Airline: Central America
- Best Regional Airline: Central America
- Best Cabin Staff: Central America & the Caribbean
- 2010
- Best Airline: Central America
- Best Cabin Staff: Central America & the Caribbean
- 2011
- Best Airline: Central America & the Caribbean
- Best Cabin Staff: Central America & the Caribbean
- 2012
- Best Airline: Central America & the Caribbean
- Best Cabin Staff: Central America & the Caribbean
Accidents and incidents [edit]
- March 5, 1959, Vickers Viscount YS-09C crashed shortly after take-off from Managua Airport, Nicaragua when both port engines failed. 15 of the 19 people on board were killed.[24]
- May 24, 1988, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, Boeing 737-300: TACA Flight 110: A double engine flameout due to water ingestion, a result of an in-flight encounter with an area of very heavy rain and hail. The design of the engines and FAA water ingestion certification 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 damage at the NASA Michoud assembly facility, on a grass levee. All 45 passengers were uninjured.[25]
- April 6, 1993, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Boeing 767-200, TACA Flight 510, overran the runway after not being able to brake on flooded landing field.
- May 30, 2008, Toncontín International Airport, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Airbus A320 EI-TAF: TACA Flight 390, from San Salvador overran a rain-soaked runway in approach to Tegucigalpa Airport. There were 5 fatalities, 3 of which were occupants.[26]
References [edit]
- ^ Aviation Week
- ^ http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/news/aviancataca-become-avianca-150002488.html
- ^ AviancaTaca press release (spanish)
- ^ Map of routes - TACA.COM
- ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 20, 1975. 504.
- ^ "Latin American airlines to merge". BBC Online (BBC). 2009-10-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ http://www.poder360.com/dailynews_detail.php?blurbid=4034
- ^ "Avianca looking to replace Fokkers". 2009-11-30.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 24-30, 1993. 125. "Head office: Edificio Caribe, 2 Piso, San Salvador, El Salvador"
- ^ TACA Official Fleet page
- ^ TACA fleet at Planespotters.net
- ^ TACA Fleet
- ^ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aviancataca-plans-to-buy-51-a320s-from-airbus-2011-06-22
- ^ http://airlineroute.net/2012/11/26/ta-330update1/?utm_source=twitter%2C%2Bweibo&utm_medium=social%2Bmedia&utm_campaign=tweets121126
- ^ The Smithsonian keeps a photo of TACA's Bellanca
- ^ Smithsonian
- ^ Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society
- ^ Airliners.net
- ^ Cincinnati Aviation Heritage Society & Museum Shows a photo inside the Metal Aircraft Factory in Cincinnati
- ^ https://www.lifemiles.com/indexes.aspx
- ^ http://www.avianca.com/NR/rdonlyres/3BE56129-7154-4982-995A-35B8EDCF47B6/36509/N23codigocompartidoAM060312.pdf
- ^ "Chilean Colombian Airlines Reach Codeshare Agreement". Bogotá DC (Colombia).
- ^ http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards-2010/camerica.htm
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ NTSB Report
- ^ "Plane skids off runway in Honduras, 5 dead". Reuters. May 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Grupo TACA |
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