Avianca Honduras
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| Founded | 1981 (independent from Avianca Guatemala) | ||||||
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| Hubs | Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Toncontin International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | LifeMiles | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
| Destinations | 4 (scheduled) | ||||||
| Parent company | Avianca | ||||||
| Headquarters | La Ceiba, Honduras | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Avianca Honduras, is an airline based in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It offers mostly domestic scheduled and chartered passenger flights out of its hub at Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport.[1] In 1998, Grupo TACA acquired a 20 percent stake in the company.[2] In 2014 Isleña Airlines being part of Grupo TACA, was unified with the rest of TACA's subsidiaries into Avianca, being renamed Avianca Honduras. It is one of the seven nationally branded airlines (Avianca Costa Rica, Avianca Ecuador, etc.) in the Avianca Holdings group of Latin American airlines.
History
Avianca Honduras was founded as Isleña Airlines in 1981 by Arturo Alvarado Wood. It was one of the most successful airlines in the country and in the Central American region, was part of the TACA Group. The central office was located in the city of La Ceiba and the operations center at Golosón Airport. Revenue flights between La Ceiba and Roatán were commenced on 31 March.
Destinations
In 2015, Avianca Honduras operated scheduled flights to the following destinations:
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Roatán - Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport
- San Pedro Sula - Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (hub)
- Tegucigalpa - Toncontín International Airport
Further destinations were served by chartered flights.
Fleet
The Islena Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2020):[3]
| Aircraft | In Service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 72-600 | 1 | — | 68 | |
| Total | 1 | |||
In 2015 as part of Avianca's fleet renewal, Avianca Honduras received new ATR 72-600, operating a total of four at one time.
As of January 2013, the Airlines fleet consisted of 4 ATR 42-320 with an average age of 19.5 years.[4] The first turboprop aircraft of that type was put in service with the airline in 1996.[5]
Previously, airliners of the types Fokker F27 Friendship and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 had formed part of the fleet,[2] as well as smaller ones like Twin Otter, Short 360 and Let L410 Turbolet.[6]
Incidents
- On 4 April 1990, an Isleña Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (registered HR-ALH) landed in the water short off the runway at Útila Airport, following a scheduled passenger flight from La Ceiba with 18 passengers on board. The two pilots claimed to have been blinded by the sun, thus misjudging the remaining distance to the runway. All occupants of the aircraft could be saved.[7]
- On 3 March 1997, an Isleña Airlines Let L410 Turbolet (registered HR-IAS) did not gain sufficient height upon take-off from Golosón International Airport for a scheduled passenger flight to Puerto Lempira with 19 passengers on board. Following the retraction of the landing gear, the two pilots had applied a wrong engine power setup, and were forced to bring the aircraft down again in a belly landing, during which it was damaged beyond repair.[8]
References
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 95.
- ^ a b Information about Isleña Airlines at the Aero Transport Data Bank
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 15.
- ^ Isleña Airlines fleet list at planespotters.net
- ^ "Isleña Airlines fleet list at airfleets.net". Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- ^ *Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (1999). North American Airlines Handbook (2nd ed.). ISBN 0-9653993-5-4.
- ^ 1990 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ 1997 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
