Aviateca
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| Founded | 1929 (as Aerovías de Guatemala) 1945 |
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| Hubs | La Aurora International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Mundo Maya International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | LifeMiles | ||||||
| Airport lounge | Salones VIP (Avianca) | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 5 | ||||||
| Destinations | 7 | ||||||
| Company slogan | La Línea Aérea de Guatemala / Más alto, más lejos, mejor (The airline of Guatemala / Higher, further, and better. | ||||||
| Parent company | Guatemalan Government / Avianca Holdings | ||||||
| Headquarters | Guatemala City, Guatemala | ||||||
| Website | http://www.avianca.com/en-gt/ | ||||||
Avianca Guatemala is headquartered in Guatemala City.[1] It is now a subsidiary of Avianca.
Contents
History
The airline was established on 14 March 1945 as Empresa Guatemalteca de Aviación S. A., which was shortened to Aviateca. It was formed as the successor to Aerovías de Guatemala, which had been founded in 1929. One of the original founders was Alfredo Castaneda Duarte that also served as a pilot. Aviateca started operations in March 1946 and early aircraft operated by the carrier included the Douglas DC-3.
In 1961, service to Miami was originated with 4-engined Douglas DC-6 airliners. Convair 340/440 twin engined medium airliners were also acquired to replace some of the DC-3's on short-haul routes in Latin America. Aviateca was a customer for the British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven medium twin jet in 1970.
It also temporarily leased a Fokker F28, a Boeing 720 (N421MA) and a Douglas DC-8 in the 1970s. Aviateca acquired 2 Boeing 727 (TG-ALA, TG-AYA) from Eastern Airlines later, which operated for the airline in the 1980s. From 1989 on Aviateca's fleet consisted of several Boeing 737-200 and Boeing 737-300 jetliners. A full cargo Boeing 737-300 was also operated for a few months.
Aviateca was under government ownership and remained so until 1989 when it joined the TACA organised Airline Alliance of Central America and was privatised. It was fully integrated into TACA, which later merged with Avianca.
The aircraft were referred to by locals as "las papayas voladoras" (the flying papayas) due to the paint scheme used during the 1970s, in which the underbelly was painted a reddish orange. Later Aviateca switched to blue. From 2006 to 2007 Aviateca had a TACA Airbus A319 aircraft (N479TA)[1] with the TACA-style Aviateca logo on the engines.
Regional
TACA Regional (formerly Inter and operating under Aviateca's IATA code) has 2 ATR 42-300 with Guatemalan registration (TG-TRA, TG-TRB). [2] [3]
Destinations
This is a list of both current and terminated destinations of Aviateca.
Current Destinations
| HUB | |
| Future destination | |
| Terminated destination |
| City | Country | Airport | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Andrés | Colombia | Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport | Vía San José. Operated for Avianca El Salvador |
| San José | Costa Rica | Juan Santamaría International Airport | |
| San Salvador | El Salvador | El Salvador International Airport | Operated for Avianca El Salvador |
| Flores | Guatemala | Mundo Maya International Airport | |
| Guatemala City | Guatemala | La Aurora International Airport | |
| Tegucigalpa D.C. | Honduras | Toncontín International Airport | Operated by Avianca Honduras |
| San Pedro Sula | Honduras | Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport | Operated by Avianca Honduras |
| Roatan | Honduras | Roatan International Airport | Operated for Avianca El Salvador |
| Managua | Nicaragua | Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport |
Terminated Destinations
- Guatemala
- Puerto Barrios - Puerto Barrios Airport
- Quetzaltenango - Quetzaltenango Airport
- Uaxactun - Uaxactun Airport
- Mexico
- Cancún - Cancún International Airport
- Mérida - Mérida-Rejón Airport
- Mexico City - Benito Juarez International Airport
- Panama
- USA
- Chicago - O'Hare International Airport
- Houston - Houston Intercontinental Airport
- Los Angeles - Los Angeles International Airport
- Miami - Wilcox Field
- New Orleans - Moisant Field [2]
Fleet
As of September 2014 the Avianca Guatemala included:[3]
| Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | Options | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||||
| ATR 72-600 | 5 | — | — | — | 68 | 68 | |
Incidents and accidents
- On 17 February 1975, Douglas C-47A TG-AMA was destroyed by fire at El Petén Airport, Tikal.[4]
- On 18 November 1975, Douglas C-47 TG-AGA crashed within Petén Department whilst on a passenger flight from Uaxactun Airport to Flores International Airport, Santa Elena.[5]
- On 27 April 1977, Convair 240 TG-ACA crashed near Guatemala City, Guatemala, killing all 28 people on board.
- On 30 September 1977, Douglas C-47A TG-AKA was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Flores International Airport, Santa Elena. One of the three crew members was killed.[6]
- On 26 July 1978, Douglas DC-3 TG-AFA overran the runway at Flores International Airport following a birdstrike on take-off and was reported to have been damaged beyond economic repair.[7] The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service.[8]
- On August 9, 1995, at approximately 2014 local time (0214 UTC August 10, 1995), a Boeing 737-200 (N125GU) was destroyed when it collided with the side of the San Vicente (Chichontepec) volcano, 15 miles northeast of San Salvador International Airport, San Salvador. The flight (GU901) was on an IFR flight plan from La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City, Guatemala to Comalapa International Airport, San Salvador, El Salvador. All 7 crew members and 58 passengers died on the crash. Severe weather existed at the time, and the aircraft had deviated from airway G436 to the north to avoid thunderstorms. The aircraft was owned by CIT Leasing Corporation and leased to Aviateca.[9][10]
References
- ↑ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 22–28, 1995. 46.
- ↑ http://timetablist.blogspot.com/2013/07/aviateca-timetable-and-route-map-june.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 1995 Crash report
- ↑ Aviation Safety report
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aviateca. |
