Purchased and merged. Costs surrounding the ACASA integration and a thinness of traffic combine to force the carrier to cease operations in 1978.
AVENSA (AEROVIAS VENEZOLANAS, S. A.): Avenida Universi-dad, Torre El Chorro, Edit 29, Piso 2/3, Apartado 943, Caracas, 101, Venezuela; Phone 58 (2) 562-3022; Fax 58 (2) 563-0225; Code VE; Year Founded 1943. Venezuela’s first privately owned airline is formed by Andres Lord Boulton at Caracas on May 13, 1943, the day the government grants him permission to operate. Capitalized at $150,000, shareholding is divided between the founder (70%) and Pan American Airways (PAA). All-cargo service with the ex-PAA Ford 5-AT-22 begins to the interior on December 1; meanwhile, the 5-AT-61 is acquired from the Colombian Petroleum Company for spares.
Early in 1944, the carrier’s shareholding is reorganized as capitalization is increased to $200,000 (600,000 bolivars); PAA interest is reduced from 30% to 23% and Andres Boulton’s to 31% as the German Vegas group takes 23% and LAV (Linea Aeropostal Vene-zolana, S. A.) gains 23%.
The fleet is increased to three 5-ATs, a Stinson Model A, a Lockheed Model 12, and five ex-USAAF C-39s (military version of the Douglas DC-2). Emphasis is placed on ferrying supplies and equipment to the Carteru oil-producing region with passenger service initiated in December between Caracas and Ciudad Bolivar.
The fleet is increased in 1945 by the addition of the first of 28 Douglas DC-3s (the last 2 are finally received in 1969). To compete more equally with LAV (Linea Aeropostal Venezolana, S. A.) and Linea Aereas TACA de Venezuela, S. A., the carrier is reorganized again in 1946. PAA’s share rises to 37% as capitalization is increased to two million bolivars and additional DC-3s are delivered. The 5-AT-22 is sold to the Shell Company in Ecuador in May.
Continuing arrival of Douglas transports in 1947 allows retirement of the Fords and the Stinson. By 1948 the fleet comprises 11 DC-3s and 2 Lockheed Model 12As.
Major domestic destinations served in 1949-1951 include Maracaibo, Coco, Barquisimento, Maiquetta, Barcelona, Maturin, Caracas, and Ciudad Bolivar. Stops are also made at 14 smaller communities. Meanwhile, on December 15, 1950, a C-47D with 3 crew and 28 passengers, crashes on Mount Carmelo, near Velera; there are no survivors.
Three DC-4s are placed in service in 1952. A DC-3 with five passengers fails its climb out of Caracas on December 25 and makes a forced landing into the sea (three dead).
Two ex-KLM (Royal Dutch Airline, N. V.) Convair CV-340s join the fleet in 1953, along with a DC-4 leased from California Eastern Airlines. In November 1954, AVENSA: Aerovias Venezolanas, S. A. receives authority from the U. S. CAB to inaugurate a service to Miami and takes delivery of 2 new CV-340s ordered from California.
In 1955, the fleet is further strengthened by the acquisition of 5 Curtiss C-46 freighters, which are employed on domestic all-cargo flights. In June, DC-4 service is begun to Miami via Curacao and Kingston. Another CV-340 is received and the Miami route is extended to New Orleans in 1956.
The first of 3 Convair CV-440s is delivered in 1957 as orders are placed for 5 Fokker F-27As, license-built in Maryland by Fairchild. A chartered DC-3, with three crew and five passengers, crashes into the Penas Blancas Hills, near Niquito Trujillo, Venezuela, on September 3; there are no survivors.
Acquired upon the failure of its U. S. owner, the onetime California Eastern Airlines DC-4 is sold to a U. K. concern in November.
Three ex-Pan American World Airways (1) DC-6Bs are purchased in 1958 and introduced on the Miami and New Orleans run. The first
2 F-27As enter service on the domestic network on September 18 and 25, respectively, followed by 2 more on December 3 and 5. A C-46 allcargo route is opened from Caracas to Miami.
The last CV-340 and F-27As enter service in 1959.
Orders are placed in February 1960 for a Convair CV-880. To take over its international service, AVENSA joins with competing LAV (Linea Aeropostal Venezolana, S. A.) to form the long-haul carrier VI-ASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.) on November 21, 1960. Capitalized at $3 million, AVENSA holds 45% of the shares and the new entrant is given the option of acquiring the remaining Pan American World Airways (1) interest in AVENSA.
In 1961, the 1960 order for a CV-880 is cancelled as VIASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.) now orders two of the aircraft. On October 1, the new international carrier takes over AVENSA’s Miami flights, followed by assumption of the New Orleans route a few days later. AVENSA’s European routes would also be turned over.
En route from Caracas to Maracaibo on November 27, a DC-6B with 43 passengers is diverted by 5 pirates to Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. The aircraft and hostages are quickly released and the hijackers are extradited back to Venezuela where all are sentenced to four-year prison terms.
With VIASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.) well underway, full attention is turned during 1962-1963 to development of the local and regional network as an order is placed for a DC-9-32. On February 25 of the former year, an F-27A with 3 crew and 20 passengers, crashes at Margarita Island while on a domestic flight; there are no survivors. Most of the Fairchilds will be sold by year’s end.
On November 28 of the latter year, 6 terrorists hijack a CV-340 with
3 crew and 11 passengers and force the pilot to circle Ciudad Bolivar while dropping leaflets urging the public not to vote in the upcoming national elections. The plane flies to Port of Spain, Trinidad, where the pirates are held and the plane is allowed to return to Maiquetia, the flight’s original destination. The hijackers are later extradited back to Venezuela and receive prison terms.
The fleet is further strengthened in 1964 by the introduction of the first of a fleet of 7 CV-580s and, more significantly, the carrier’s first jetliner, an ex-VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, S. A.) Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle III. The DC-9-32 is received and placed in service during 1965 and, in 1966, orders are placed for 2 DC-9-14s.
The 2 DC-9-14s arrive in May 1967, but are immediately leased to VIASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.), being returned in 1968. Meanwhile, on March 21, a CV-580, with 50 aboard and en route from Caracas to Maracaibo, is hijacked to Santiago, Cuba. The craft is released by Castro’s authorities and is returned to Caracas the next day.
The final DC-3 from the 1945 allotment is received in 1969 and one of the CV-440s is upgraded into a CV-580. One of the last three C-46 freighters is lost in a crash in Costa Rica on May 22, 1970 (six dead).
En route from Barcelona to Caracas on October 12, 1971, Flight 564, a CV-580 with 41 passengers, is captured by a lone gunman and diverted to Cuba.
Enplanements for the year total 530,011.
Airline employment in 1972 totals 1,930. The fleet now includes 2 DC-9-14s, 1 DC-9-30, 1 Caravelle III, 7 CV-580s, 3 CV-340s, 2 C-46s, and 2 DC-3s.
New tourist services are started to the island of Margarita and to the Amazon zone (Canaima).
A C-46F with two crew fails its takeoff from San Fernando on April 6 and crashes; both flyers are killed.
Passenger boardings jump 16.2% to 633,000 and freight traffic is up by 13%.
The fleet at the beginning of 1973 comprises 2 DC-9-14s, 1 DC-931, 1 Caravelle III, 7 Convair 580s, 3 CV-340s, 2 Curtiss C-46s, and 2 DC-3s.
While en route from Velera to Barquisime on May 18, a CV-580 with 37 passengers is taken over by a lone gunman, who demands the release of 97 prisoners from a Venezuelan jail. When the request is refused, the aircraft is flown to Cuba.
An SE-210 Caravelle III is damaged beyond repair when its wick strikes the runway on touchdown at Barquismento, Venezuela, on August 21; there are no fatalities.
A pirate takes over a DC-9-14 on October 31 while on a domestic service from Barquisimeto to Caracas and holds a gun to a stewardess, demanding to be flown to Cuba. When informed by the captain that the Douglas is nearly out of fuel and must land, the gunman shoots himself.
In the midst of all of this chaos during the year, the carrier goes bankrupt. The airline is taken over by its founder, Andres Lord Boulton, who is determined to make it profitable once more. He has the support of AVENSA’s unions in the enterprise.
On December 22, 1974, Flight 358, a DC-9-14 with 6 crew and 69 passengers, loses control, crashes, and explodes approximately 5 min. and 32 km. out after takeoff from Maturin International Airport; there are no survivors.
Operations continue apace in 1975. On April 28, 1976, Pan Am withdraws from the carrier, after which AVENSA’s ownership becomes 70% private and 30% government. The last two C-46s are withdrawn during these years.
During 1977-1979 the fleet is further revised, as the SE-210, C-46s, DC-3s, and all but 2 of the CV-580s are replaced by 4 Boeing 727-100s and another DC-9-32. In honor of the company’s former association with Pan Am, the company places a logotype on its aircraft fins which closely resembles the old PAA globe-and-wing emblem.
En route from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz on November 6, 1980, a DC-9-32 with 60 passengers is taken over by 2 hijackers claiming to have a gasoline bomb. The Douglas is ordered to Havana, where Cuban police arrest the pirates.
Enplanements for the year total 1,863,928. A $760,000 net profit is reported.
The fleet in 1981 comprises 4 B-727-100s, 4 DC-9-32s, 2 DC-9-14s, and 2 CV-580s.
In a coordinated December 7 strike in the skies over Venezuela, 11 hijackers seize 2 LAV Linea Aeropostal Venezolana, S. A. DC-9s and an AVENSA B-727-100 with 250 aboard. The pirates force the crews to fly to Colombia and later to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Guatemala City. Twenty-two hostages are freed at an Aruba stop and 67 in Colombia, while Caracas newspapers receive a ransom demand for $10 million plus freedom for 12 jailed in Venezuela. The 3 airliners with 11 gunmen, 89 passengers, and 19 crew members, are flown to Havana on December 8, where the pirates are taken into custody. The 3 planes and those remaining aboard are allowed to return to Caracas the next day.
Passenger bookings accelerate 13.2% to 2,147,383. Revenues jump 28% to $99 million while expenses climb 18% to $85 million; the profits are $14.2 million (operating) and $5.6 million (net).
The fleet is again rearranged in 1982 as the company begins to retire its 6 DC-9-14/32s and replace them with 3 additional B-727-200s and 5 more CV-580s. The Boeing trijets wear billboard-sized titles on the sides of their fuselages.
On March 11, 1983, due to a faulty instrument-landing system, a DC-9-32 with 5 crew and 45 passengers crashes while landing in fog at Bar-quisimeto Airport, in western Venezuela. As the stress causes a fatigue crack in the left main landing gear to fracture, the plane slides off the runway and breaks up (23 dead).
Enplanements for the year total 2,247,764. Profits are $1.9 million (operating) and $1.6 million (net).
The workforce is increased 9.3% in 1984 to 1,720. Passenger bookings decline 7.6% to 2,089,212. Revenues rise 9.2% to $45.3 million, but expenses jump 13.1% to $44.7 million; profits fall to $630,670 (operating) and $533,324 (net).
The founder’s nephew, Henry Lord Boulton, becomes president/CEO in 1984. During its initial climb away from Cabimas on May 28, 1985, a CV-580 with five crew and eight passengers, strikes a hill with its tail, requiring the aircraft to make a forced landing, during which the cockpit crew dies.
Despite the fact that deferred maintenance was primarily to blame, the pilot and copilot involved in the fatal 1983 DC-9 crash are tried in 1986, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In 1987, AVENSA is granted authority to operate routes to Lisbon, Madrid, and Rome. The routes will remain largely unused for a decade. Enplanements for the year are up to 2,776,587.
In 1988 the 1,878-employee carrier operates a fleet that includes 15 aircraft: 9 B-727-100s, 4 B-727-200s, and 2 Convair CV-580s. It enjoys a very good year as passenger boardings increase 32.4% to 4,107,377.
Statistics for 1989 show customer bookings down by 6.6% to 2,786,790. Airline employment in 1990 stands at 2,596 and the fleet includes 20 aircraft: 9 B-727-100s, 9 B-727-200s, and 2 CV-580s.
The Venezuelan government, under the leadership of President Carlos Andres Perez, chooses to deregulate the domestic market and CEO Boulton begins planning how best to take advantage of the new regulatory environment.
In September, USAir Leasing and Services is chosen as the marketing agent for 5 aircraft slated for disposal: 3 DC-9-30s and 2 B-727-100s. The USAir subsidiary will sell other aircraft for the airline later on.
The nonunion charter subsidiary Serivensa, S. A. is established in December; it will employ aircraft leased from the parent that wear a livery remarkably like that employed by Pan American World Airways (1) during the 1950s.
Passenger boardings during the 12 months jump 22.2% to 3,405,905.
The payroll is increased by 4.4% in 1991 to 2,710. The fleet is altered by the removal of both CV-580s, all B-727-100s, except for 3 Dash-22s, and an increase in the number of B-727-200s by 1 Dash-2M7A, which, together with 1 B-727-281A, is leased to Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V.
In addition, 2 chartered B-737-229As are acquired along with 1 owned B-737-3Y0, 2 B-757-236s, 1 DC-9-31, 3 DC-9-32s, and 4 DC-9-51s. Statistics are only reported through July and show enplanements of 1,504,186 and freight traffic of 14.53 million FTKs.
During the year, over furious union opposition, AVENSA begins to outsource its reservations, ground handling, and other activities, while flight attendants begin to work as individual contractors who must pay their own health and unemployment insurance premiums.
Ten employees are laid off or not replaced in 1992. Eighty two-year-old founder Andres Boulton still controls an extended family empire that controls a dozen Venezuelan companies with revenues in combined excess of $2 billion. Again, statistics are reported only for the first half-year.
Through June, passenger boardings are down 5.6% to 1,354,371 while freight falls 40.7% to 6.86 million FTKs.
Having failed its initial climb away from Villavicencio on September 19, a C-46F with 11 crew crashes in flames while attempting an emergency landing; there are no survivors.
In 1993, Chairman Boulton and President Henry Lord Boulton oversee the same sized workforce as in the previous year. Destinations served from Caracas include Anaco, Barcelona, Barquisimeto, Canaima, Carupano, Ciudad Bolivar, Coro, Cumana, Las Piedras, Maracaibo, Ma-turin, Meridia, Mexico City, Miami, Panama City, Porlamar, Puerto Or-daz, San Antonio, San Tome, and Valerad.
The subsidiary Serivensa, S. A. undertakes low-cost flights to Bogota, Quito, and Lima. New Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera abandons many deregulatory reforms, including an arcane currency conversion rule. The airline is unable to get the dollars it needs to purchase spare parts in the U. S. and many aircraft are idled.
Enplanements are up to 1,479,551 through September.
Airline employment totals 2,700 in 1994 and the fleet now comprises 3 B-727-281As and DC-9-31s, 4 DC-9-32s, 2 B-737-229As, and 1 each B-737-3Y0, B-727-22, and B-727-2D3A. During the spring, Serivensa, S. A., with permission from the U. S. DOT, successfully takes over the AVENSA shuttle operation between Venezuela and Miami, increasing the market share from 7% to approximately 45%. The company’s finances are so wobbly that it must shut down for a day in May because it has failed to pay its fuel bill. On May 15, the company stops flying its Caracas to New York route.
When the top executives of the Boulton family group give consideration to having low-cost, low-fare Serivensa, S. A. take over in June all of AVENSA’s remaining international frequencies, including the New York service, a number of family members voice strong resistance. They unsuccessfully seek removal of the 64-year-old president, Henry, charging him with incompetence and corruption. By fall, AVENSA’s only international route is from Caracas to Mexico City.
After having faced intense competition from both AVENSA and Serivensa, LAV (Linea Aeropostal Venezolana, S. A.) goes bankrupt in October.
Passenger boardings through the first nine months drop 45.7% to 1,015,478 and freight plunges 56.6% to 4.02 million FTKs.
Domestic services continue in 1995 with a fleet that now includes 4 DC-9-51s, 3 each DC-9-31s, B-727-2D3As and B-727-281As, 2 B-737-229As, and 1 B-727-22.
As Serivensa, S. A. has continued to grow, CEO Boulton has come to rely more and more on contract cockpit crews. The pilot’s union, which has been powerless under deregulation to obtain backing from the government to halt this process, folds up during the summer and becomes, itself, a company subcontractor.
At the end of October, the carrier enters into a code-sharing pact with Mexicana de Aviacion, S. A. de C. V. on routes between Caracas and Mexico City. At about the same time, AVENSA comes to share passenger flights among the Caribbean islands with Air France.
Revenues for the year reach $250 million and there is a net gain of $11 million.
Services continue apace in 1996-1997. Airline employment in these years has been reduced to just 600, with most jobs paid for on a contract basis. Following the demise of VIASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.), Transport Minister Gen. Moises Orozco rules that AVENSA may not begin service to Lisbon, Madrid, or Rome on their granted routes because those routes, through lack of use, have been vacated. Instead, he claims, the routes belong with the VIASA estate and may be sold with its assets. AVENSA files suit to stop the revocation of its routes, while, in a separate lawsuit filed over the same issue, the nation’s other airlines counter that VIASA, by its bankruptcy, has forfeited the routes, which should be open for reallocation.
The lawsuits work their way through the Venezuelan legal system and, by spring 1998, are on the docket of the Supreme Court. At the same time, Gen. Orozco is sacked and succeeded by Julio Marti.
The Supreme Court rules in July that the government cannot revoke the AVENSA grant, with Chief Justice Cecilia Sosa Gomez declaring that AVENSA now has the right to begin flying over the previously disputed routes.
During late summer, AVENSA is granted permission to operate from Caracas to Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Oporto, Milan, Tenerife, and Santiago de Compostela. To operate the new service, a DC-10-30 is leased from VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, S. A.)
In early December, entering service on December 18.
Flights continue apace in 1999, though with vastly diminishing returns. In December, Venezuela is hit by floods and landslides that kill thousands and close the Caracas Airport for weeks. The airline loses significant income.
During the second week of January 2000, AVENSA is able to settle $23 million in past debt. Still, the carrier, together with its sister, Serivensa, S. A., are facing bankruptcy. To add to their woes, the government’s civil aviation authority has been grounded a portion of their fleet and services have been cut dramatically, with those to Madrid, Rome, and Lisbon suspended.
The carrier is forced to turn to the government for a loan; political leaders agree, but demand reorganization. At the beginning of April, Wilmar Castro succeeds Henry Boulton as chairman of both AVENSA and Serivensa. The company also begins discussions with ASERCA (Aerolineas Regional de Centro, S. A.) concerning a joint venture, signing a letter of merger intent on April 6.
In late spring, AVENSA is approached by LAV Venezuelan Airlines, S. A. (Aeropostal) with a buyout offer. Under the proposal, AVENSA would pay $20 million for 80% majority control. In June, the AVENSA board rejects the Aeropostal offer, preferring the union with ASERCA instead. Even though the two plan a joint service from Caracas to Madrid with ASERCA aircraft in July, the matter of paying off $53 million in debts beforehand, however, remains.
Company officials announce on August 18 that Korean-based Asian International and a local consortium representing Germany-based Davis Trading have indicated an interest in purchasing a 50% stake in the airline for $35 million. The two groups would help with restructuring and provide funds for capital requirements.
At the end of September, a Stage III compliant B-727-2D3A is acquired. Meanwhile, the DC-10-30 that had been returned is refurbished and sent on to LAC (Lignes Aeriennes Congalaises, S. A.)
On October 16, it is announced that service to Europe will resume on November 24. A DC-10-30, previously operated by VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, S. A.), is chartered for the flights.
Plans for a merger with ASERCA (Aerolineas Regional de Centro, S. A.) are dropped on November 3.
AVEX AIR (PTY.), LTD.: South Africa (1968-1986). R. N. Turvey and M. Van Ginkel establish this charter operation at Germiston’s Rand Airport in 1968 to complement their business as a flight school and Piper Aircraft distributorship. Revenue flights to domestic locations commence with 3 Piper PA-23 Aztecs and 1 PA-31-310 Navajo.
During the early 1970s, a subsidiary, Grand Central Air Charter (Pty.), Ltd. , also known as Grand Central Airways (Pty.), Ltd. is set up at Grand Central Airport at Halfway House. During the decade, Avex also undertakes cargo and other contract service flights (for example, the transport of newspapers) with a Douglas DC-3.
Service is continued until 1986.
AVIA AIR, N. V.: P. O. Box 69, Queen Beatrix International Airport, Oranjestad, Aruba; Phone (297) 834-600; Fax (297) 826-355; Code 8R; Year Founded 1987. Avia is set up on Aruba in 1987 to provide scheduled passenger flights throughout the eastern Caribbean region. Revenue flights begin and continue with a single Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante.
AVIA AIR CHARTER (PTY.), LTD.: South Africa (19941995). Avia Air Charter (Pty.), Ltd. is established by Gert De Klerk’s Wonderair (Pty.), Ltd. at Sinoville in the fourth quarter of 1994 to provide passenger and cargo services to domestic and regional destinations. Revenue flights commence on December 1 with 2 each Douglas DC-3 Turbos and DC-6s. The former, wearing civilian registration, have been reregistered with the South African Air Force since the previous November. At the same time, authority is received from the government for operation of a scheduled service from Johannesburg to London (LGW).
Late in the year, De Klerk, who in terms of personal flare is often compared to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. Chairman Richard Branson, files suit against several Pretoria-based newspapers. These have suggested in early 1993 that his aircraft have a history of covertly running guns to the UNITA organization in Angola.
Following an equipment search, the company acquires the Boeing 747SP-44 Maluti on April 28, 1995 under charter from South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. The aircraft is repainted and is also rechristened, as the Gauteng.
After conducting several proving flights to the U. K., the Gauteng, on May 8, inaugurates thrice-weekly, deep-discount roundtrips between Johannesburg and London (LGW). Avia is the nation’s first independent carrier to ply the lucrative U. K. passenger route.
Unable to achieve viability or succeed in its competition with British Airways, Ltd. (2) or South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. on the route, the new entrant closes down on August 2. The Gauteng is returned to SAA.
It will later be reported that De Klerk’s concern had not only oversold its London seats, but had failed to pay Rand 100 million up front to cover possible bankruptcy. It had even had insufficient funds on hand to cover the check written to South African Airways to cover the lease of the Jumbojet.
AVIA AIR COMPANY: 269/88 Kropotkina Street, Novosibirsk, 630111, Russia; Phone 7 (3832) 267 789; Code AWL; Year Founded 1996. Yuri Petrov establishes AAC at Novosibirsk in 1996 to provide domestic and international all-freight charters. He begins revenue flights with 2 Antonov An-12s and 1 An-26.
AVIA AIRLINES, A. B.: Sweden (1940-1993). Legendary Swedish aviatrix Birgit Thyring and her husband establish Avia Airlines, A. B. on the island of Gotland in 1940 to transport mail and passengers back and forth to the mainland. During World War II the family company flies target planes on Farosund for the Swedish military. Following V-E Day in 1945 , operations are enhanced as air taxi, night mail, crew training, and agricultural services are added. Operations continue apace for the next 30 years.
Nils Bjorkman and Lennart Gustavsson purchase Avia Airlines, A. B. in 1976; however, no significant changes are made again until 1984, when the company is purchased by the shipping concern Gotlandsbo-laget, A. B. Bo Peterson is named managing director and, late in 1985, the decision is made to offer scheduled regional services.
Employing an initial fleet of 2 Swearingen Metro IIs and 4 Shorts 330s, scheduled passenger and cargo flights are begun in 1986 from Visby Flyglaft on Gotland to Kalmar and Norrkoping.
Operations continue apace in 1987 and negotiations are successfully completed for the acquisition of Karlstad-based Golden Air, A. B. En-planements in 1988 total 132,600.
Bert-Ake Eriksson succeeds Peterson as managing director in 1989, as passenger boardings climb 15% to 156,000. Eriksson withdraws the Fairchilds in 1990 and acquires 2 Shorts 360s.
The fleet in 1991 comprises 2 Shorts 360s and 6 new SAAB SF340As. Scheduled domestic and regional destinations visited include Orebro, Arland, Norrkoping, Visby, Linkoping, Copenhagen, Mora, Stockholm, Riga, and Kalmar. Charter passenger and cargo services are also flown.
Swedish domestic air traffic is deregulated in 1992. On July 15, a merger is completed with rival Salair, A. B., although the Avia Airlines, A. B. name is retained. During the second half of the year, the new managing director, John Stahl, replaces his Shorts 360s with another SF340Aand 3 SF340Bs.
The workforce in 1993 totals 97. The company name is changed to Skyways Avia, A. B. as ownership is assumed by Salenia, A. B., the shipping and offshore energy concern that had engineered the Avia merger with its previous subsidiary Salair, A. B.
World History
