TACA (TRANSPORTE AEREO COSTA ATLANTICA, S. A.) (1): Argentina (1946-1967). The first Argentine Costa Atlantica is established at Buenos Aires in November 1946 to operate domestic passenger and cargo charters. Revenue flights commence with a single Curtiss C-46 Commando.
During the 1950s, the carrier leases a Douglas DC-6 and two Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations. These undertake scheduled passenger flights to Antofagasta from Salto. A DC-4 is also acquired, along with a Fairchild C-82 Packet; they join the Commando in offering scheduled freighter flights from Buenos Aires to Asuncion.
TACA joins with the new Chilean all-cargo carrier ALFA (Aerlineas Flecha Austral, Ltda.) in 1965 to provide freight services from Mendoza, Argentina, to Santiago. These pooled flights end in 1967 when TACA goes out of business.
TACA (TRANSPORTE AEREO COSTAATLANTICA, S. A.) (2): Argentina (1957-1962). TACA is formed at Buenos Aires in 1957 to offer scheduled third-level flights to destinations within the Province of Buenos Aires. The fleet comprises a Cessna 170 and a Noorduyn Norseman.
Unable to maintain viability even while supplementing and feeding the Aerolineas Argentinas, S. A. trunk routes, the company is forced into bankruptcy in 1962.
TACA (TRANSPORTES AEREOS CENTRO AMERICANOS, S. A.): El Salvador (1931-1951). Having become sole owner of a Stinson Junior biplane, American-educated New Zealander Lowell Yerex, who had formerly flown for the Mexican carrier CAT (Corporacion de Aeronautica de Transportes, S. A.), forms TACA (Transportes Aereos Centro Americanos, S. A.) at Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in December 1931.
On February 14, 1932, Yerex receives a Honduran government mail contract and now begins to provide mail-cargo service Tegucigalpa to Juticalpa, Trujillo, Catacamas, La Ceiba, and other points with a fleet of 5 Stinson Juniors and 1 Stinson Model U. Late in the year, Yerex loses an eye while flying government-requested reconnaissance missions over the rebel strongholds in the mountains.
Returning from New Orleans in January 1933 with a glass eye, Yerex is greeted as a hero by Honduran President Tiburcio Carias-Andino; offered a cash reward, the pilot-entrepreneur opts, instead, for a guarantee (confirmed on February 1) of additional mail contracts that are, in fact, subsidies. A program of airfield construction is undertaken. The fleet is increased through the addition of a Stearman, two Ford 4-ATs, and a Bellanca CH-300; services are inaugurated Tegucigalpa-San Salvador at year’s end.
The Stinson Model U crashes just after takeoff from Tegucigalpa on March 6, 1934; four aboard are killed and seven hurt. A period of rapid expansion now begins, starting with the purchase of Honduras’ only other significant airline, Empresa Dean, S. A., on April 24.
The fleet grows to include 15 aircraft: 7 Stinsons, 1 Stearman, 2 Fokker Model 4 Universals, 1 WACO C, 2 Bellancas (CH-300/CH-400), the 2 Ford 4-ATs, and the 5-AT-71, purchased at Chicago from American Airlines on October 15 and flown via intermediate stops to Honduras by TACA pilots. A landing strip is built at the 3,500-foot high Agua Fria mine and in September, a Ford 4-AT arrives from San Lorenzo on the first of many flights to be made over the next 10 months ferrying in mining equipment and supplies. During the year, flights begin to Guatemala City.
The small CNA (Compania Nacional de Aviacion, S. A.) is purchased early in 1935, becoming the subsidiary Compania Nacional TACA de Guatemala, S. A. Previously operated by American Airlines,
The Ford 5-AT-75 is purchased on February 19. Service is started to Managua and majority control is taken in the local carrier LANEP (Lin-eas Aereas de Nicaragua, Empresa Palacios, S. A.) on October 16; for now, LANEP is allowed to continue operations under its own name.
The fleet is further strengthened through the acquisition of two Kreutzer K-5s, a Hodkinson trimotor, a Fleet biplane, a Ryan B-1 Brougham, and three Curtiss Kingbirds. En route to La Ceiba, a Ford crash-lands near Jutiapa, Honduras, on November 10; seven are hurt. Orders are now placed for a number of ex-U. S. airline Ford 5-ATs, to be obtained at the rock bottom of price of $3,000-$4,000 apiece.
TACA de Guatemala, S. A. receives the Ford Tri-Motors 5-AT-26, 5-AT-52, 5-AT-53, and 5-AT-73, purchased from Pennsylvania Airlines on January 21, 1936, the 5-AT-90 obtained from the Guatemalan airline CNA (Compania Nacional Aviacion, S. A.), the 5-AT-36 acquired from a Chicago broker on April 18. The 5-AT-13 and 5-AT-28 are purchased on June 6 and service is inaugurated to Belize City. A company aircraft with four aboard goes down near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on October 3; pilot Robert Ewalt, who is also Nicaraguan division chief for Yerex, is killed.
TACA thrives in 1937 as its freight business grows; valuable and perishable goods are ferried out of the jungles and mountains, including tobacco, fruit, coffee beans, timber, and the chicle sap used to manufacture chewing gum. Again, the fleet is enlarged as Yerex acquires a Bellanca 300W Pacemaker, five Flamingo G-2s, two Bellancas (31/50), and the Fords 5-AT-7, 5-AT-14, and 5-AT-18, which latter are purchased on December 11 from Nevada-based Grand Canyon-Boulder Dam Tours. The wreckage of a company trimotor is found in the jungles near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on October 3; there are no survivors.
LANEP’s Nicaraguan contract is rescinded in 1938, but the carrier’s freight operation continues to boom. During the year, the fleet is enlarged as a Lockheed Model 5 Vega and six Lockheed L-14Hs are acquired.
Passenger enplanements reach 20,000, and 4,000 tons of cargo are hauled.
LANEP (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua, Empresa Palacios, S. A.) is
Purchased outright by TACA becoming, on March 16, 1939, the Compania Nacional TACA de Nicaragua, S. A. Regular services suspended by the now wholly owned subsidiary in 1938 are now resumed. The Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-16 is purchased for the new entity from SACO (Servicio Aereo Colombiano, S. A.) at month’s end, while the 5-AT-31 is acquired from the Nicaraguan government and assigned to TACA de Costa Rica, S. A. The same month, the 5-AT-4 is destroyed in a fire at Tegucigalpa. Also, in late spring, Ford Tri-Motors begin a six-year period of freight service to the La Luz gold mine, near Siuna, Nicaragua.
Capitalized at $400,000, TACA, S. A. is established at Panama City on August 25 as a nonoperating holding company for Yerex’s growing airline empire and an operating base is set up at San Salvador. The same day, the Honduran operation is incorporated as Compania Nacional TACA de Honduras, S. A. Simultaneously, the established subsidiary Compania Nacional TACA El Salvador, S. A. now launches direct services between the capital cities of Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, with the TACA subsidiaries in those nations providing local feeder/connection services.
During the year, the entire 1,000-ton chicle crop is transported from the Flores region of Guatemala to the port city of Puerto Barrios by air. On October 20, the airlines Transportes Aereos Costarricenses, S. A. and Aerovias Nacionales de Costa Rica, S. A. are purchased and merged into TACA de Costa Rica, S. A., which, incidentally, receives the Fords 5-AT-71 and 5-AT-90 from TACA de Honduras, S. A. in December. The fleet, meanwhile, grows by only four airplanes during the year, all Lockheed Model 10A Electras.
The Costa Rican carrier ENTA (Empresa Nacional des Transportes Aereos, S. A.) is purchased, along with Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-70, on January 16, 1940. On February 20, 5-AT-107 en route to the mines on Nicaragua’s east coast, crash-lands near Prinzapolka; there are no fatalities.
On March 1, all of the newly purchased Costa Rican carriers are merged into the single Compania Nacional TACA de Costa Rica, S. A. The company now has 29 radio stations in operation for the 46+ aircraft fleet, which is enlarged this year through the acquisition of 1 Stinson SR-8, 1 Hamilton Metalplane, 3 Fairchild Pilgrim 100As, 1 Stinson Model A, 7 Travel Air 6000s, and 16 Lockheed L-18 Lodestars.
In June, takeover negotiations begin with American Export Airlines. An aircraft of unknown type piloted by Enrique Malek is lost in a storm over Colon, near San Jose, Costa Rica, on October 7 (six dead). On November 1, American Export purchases controlling interest in the airline for a reported $2 million; threatened in its sphere of influence, the giant Pan American Airways (PAA) reacts 10 days later by establishing a competing subsidiary, Aerovias de Guatemala, S. A. Meanwhile, Yerex moves further afield, founding British West Indies Airlines (1) (BWIA) at Trinidad on November 27.
Seeking compensation, the heirs of the six victims of the October 7 crash are able to obtain a judicial embargo against the company on December 13. TACA operations in Costa Rica are partially paralyzed for a week.
Enplanements during the 12 months are 65,000, and cargo tonnage reaches 12,500.
On January 28, 1941, the Guatemalan government cancels by purchase the franchise of Compania Nacional TACAde Guatemala, S. A.
With a pen, 20% of TACA’s business is wiped out. Leases on the four airfields Yerex had constructed are cancelled and he is allowed three flights to get all of his men and equipment out of the Peten region where the chicle is grown.
Although much is removed, $12,000 worth of buildings must be abandoned; Aerovias de Guatemala, S. A. will later send a $5,000 check for them. A Ford freighter, en route to Alamicambra, Nicaragua, from Puerto Cabezas with cargo for the mines, disappears on April 4; the wreckage is found in the east coast mountains 16 days later and neither of the two crewmen have survived.
American Export Airlines and Pan American Airways (PAA) now become involved in a court battle in the U. S. over the former’s TACA holding (based on Section 408b of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938). Yerex testifies from April 29 through May 2. During the year, the TACA fleet is not increased by even a single plane; however, fleet rationalization begins and a number of aircraft, including the earlier Fords, are retired.
On September 4, the CAB denies American Export Airlines the right to purchase TACA, citing that provision of the law preventing steamship companies authority to purchase airlines.
Meanwhile, and despite the “ouster” from Guatemala, bookings climb to 90,000, and cargo tonnage accelerates to 14,000.
On August 26, 1942, Empresa de Transportes Aerovias Brasil, S. A., better known as Aerovias Brasil, S. A., is formed at Rio de Janeiro; Yerex and another TACA official hold 60% interest and two Rio brothers, Oscar and Roberto Taves, the remainder. In support of the Allied war effort, two L-14s begin providing freight service Rio-Miami some months before operations are authorized by Brazilian presidential decree on December 29.
Meanwhile in Nicaragua, the Ford 5-AT-4 is purchased from the Texas Petroleum Company by TACA de Nicaragua, S. A., which also accepts the transfer of 5-AT-18 and 5-AT-52 from TACAde Guatemala, S. A., 5-AT-31 from TACA de Costa Rica, S. A., and 5-AT-89 from the government of Colombia. Stationed at Alamacamba, the 5-AT-18 is converted into a diesel oil tanker plane by the insertion of tanks in the cabin; a permanent ladder is attached to the fuselage that allows the pilot to enter his cockpit via the overhead escape hatch. The Ford 5-AT-73, also acquired on loan from TACA de Guatemala, S. A., is returned on October 15, as is the 5-AT-90 back to TACA de Costa Rica, S. A.
At year’s end, American Export Airlines withdraws from TACA, selling its shares back to TACA, S. A. The fleet grows through the purchase of three Curtiss Condor T-32Cs and four Beech 18s.
On January 27, 1943, TACA, S. A. changes its named to InterAmerican Airways, S. A.; simultaneously, the Inter-American Airways Agency is incorporated in New York City, allowing the opening of marketing and ticketing offices there and in Miami. On May 13, British West Indies Airways (1) (BWIA) is also incorporated. TACA now serves 235 points in Central America, some with the Lockheed L-12, Vultee V-1A and Burnelli UB-14B acquired during the year.
On October 5, Yerex sells 46.2% of Inter-American Airways, S. A. (worth $2.25 million) to various U. S. corporations: The Adams Express, the Pennsylvania Railroad, Maryland Casualty Co., Time, Inc., and Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA). The same day, all but 40% of the Yerex interest in British West Indies Airways (1) (BWIA) is also sold. On November 26, the name TACA, S. A. is reinstated for Inter-American Airways, S. A. and capitalization is increased to $10 million.
Infused with new capital and Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA) technical backing, the carrier in 1944 once again begins to expand, although only two new aircraft are added, a Grumman G-21A Goose and a Douglas C-39 (military DC-2). The Ford 5-AT-52 is transferred back to TACA de Guatemala, S. A. in January after two year’s service with TACA de Nicaragua, S. A. An unidentified Ford Tri-Motor is lost on an unspecified date just after takeoff from the airport at Tegucigalpa, Honduras (14 dead). The Ford 5-AT-75 is transferred on June 1 from TACA de Honduras, S. A. to TACA de Nicaragua, S. A. Another aircraft of unspecified type crashes into a mountain near Matagalpa, Nicaragua, in a storm on July 3 (one dead).
The nonoperating subsidiary Compania Nacional de TACA de Mexico, S. A. is formed, thereby allowing the international division (TACA El Salvador, S. A.) to operate north of Guatemala. Lineas Aereas TACA de Venezuela, S. A. (55%) local control and Lineas Aereas TACA de Colombia, S. A. (77.5% local shareholding) are established on August 18.
L-10As of TACA de Colombia, S. A. and TACA de Venezuela, S. A.
Launch joint nonstop service Caracas-Bogota on January 2, 1945. TACA de El Salvador, S. A. begins Mexico City-Bogota via Medellin and Mexico City-Bogota via Central America service; meanwhile, Aerovias Brasil, S. A. launches flights via Trinidad and Dutch Guiana from Ciudad Trujillo-Rio de Janeiro.
During the year, the airlift to the La Luz mine at Siuna, begun in 1939, is completed; during the 6-year period, more than 30,000 tons of supplies and equipment have been flown (mostly by Ford Tri-Motors) to the Nicaraguan dig. This achievement and continuing success in the freight carriage area of the operation allows TACA to lay claim to the honor of being the largest cargo airline in the world. This year the fleet is significantly increased as 6 L-14s and the first in a group of 39 Douglas DC-3s are placed in service.
Displeased by new inroads into Central America made by Pan American Airways (PAA) and the perceived lack of support from his American backers, Yerex attempts to obtain British backing for a scheme to buy out his North American partners. The scheme fails and in December the U. S. shareholders buy out the founder’s contract as president and elect as his successor Pennsylvania Railroad official Benjamin Pepper. Lowell Yerex, who had started the carrier with a single Stinson in 1931, is now out of his airline’s future.
In 1946, Aerovias Paraguayas, S. A. is formed as a wholly owned subsidiary, along with Aerovias Argentinas, S. A., but neither will be operated. The Ford 5-AT-31 is sold by TACA de Nicaragua, S. A. to SAN (Servicios Aereos Nacionales, S. A.) in Mexico in January and a Lockheed Model 10A Electra is damaged beyond repair at Rio Cuarto on March 7. Plans are laid to open services Caracas-Lima and Bogota-Lima via Cali, Quito, and Guayaquil during the summer, but these fail to materialize as increasing financial loss is suffered in the contest with Pan American Airways (PAA). The Ford 5-AT-18 is sold to NAMSA (Ne-gociacion Aerea Mexicana, S. A. de C. V.) on June 6 and a DC-3 disappears on December 15. The fleet is, however, further augmented by the addition of three DC-3s, four DC-4s, and two Curtiss C-46As.
On January 6, 1947, the American CAB grants rights for TACA de El Salvador, S. A. to fly Belize City-Miami via Havana. Yerex sells his interest in Aerovias Brazil, S. A. on January 11, after it reports a $900,000 loss for 1946. Two days later, the Waterman Steamship Co. purchases a significant block of TACA shares and, as general agent, merges the now-lone U. S. office in Miami into its own U. S. sales outlets at home and abroad.
The fleet shrinks to 6 L-18s and 9 DC-3s plus 2 leased DC-4s and 3 DC-3s; late in the year, 1 war-surplus Junkers Ju-52/3m and 3 Avro Anson Vs are placed in service. A DC-3 crashes near Madellin on March 18 (eight dead); two days later, another goes down near Bogota (five dead). Bogota to Balboa daily service begins on April 23; also in April, Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-75 is sold to Lagosa (Lineas Aereas Guerrero Oaxaca, S. A.) in Mexico. Another DC-3 crashes near Nicoya, Costa Rica, on May 4 (11 dead).
Following the DC-3 accidents and the reported loss of $4 million, TACA de Colombia, S. A. ceases operations in mid-May, but a new (never-to-operate) subsidiary, Aerovias Latine-Americanos, S. A., is purchased in El Salvador. On September 15, Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA) Executive Vice President Paul Richter becomes TACA chairman and 15 days later, Lowell Yerex sells his interest in British West Indies Airways (1) (BWIA). The wreckage of the DC-3 missing since the previous December is found near Tilaran on November 30; there are no survivors.
The once-thriving TACA empire crumbles almost completely before Easter 1948. On February 28, Miami service is suspended and on the same day, TACA de Honduras, S. A. is sold for $94,000, along with TACA de Nicaragua, S. A. On March 3, Pan American Airways (PAA) asks the CAB to bar an extension of the TACA permit to serve Miami and New Orleans, charging the Watership Steamship Corporation with owning the airline and operating it to invade the air transport field and evade income taxes.
The outbreak of revolution in Costa Rica on March 12 forces suspension of domestic services in that nation and on the San Jose-Panama route; the Costa Rican government seizes the subsidiary’s three DC-3s. Colombia’s first woman pilot is hired on March 31 and on May 19, TACA de Costa Rica, S. A. is sold to the brothers Kruse for a mere $175,000. For only the second time in its history, the carrier adds no new aircraft during the year; in fact, it loses or sells several. On December 31, only TACA El Salvador, S. A. and TACA de Venezuela, S. A. remain from the onetime airline empire.
In February 1949, the Waterman Steamship Co. officially purchases 35% of TACA’s Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA) interest and thereby gains control. The shipping outfit pours in $600,000 in operating funds, while plans are made to keep the pioneer alive. Meanwhile, the airline is granted its first regular, three-year, foreign air carrier permit by the U. S. CAB for the San Salvador-New Orleans route via Guatemala City and Belize City on March 30. Flights commence on May 13.
TACA de Venezuela, S. A., the last of the subsidiaries held from the Yerex era, is sold in 1950 and all interests elsewhere in Central America (except El Salvador) and Mexico are liquidated.
On May 24, 1951, the TACA Corporation is organized at New Orleans as a U. S. company, incorporated under Delaware law. All liabilities and assets of the Panamanian-registered TACA, S. A. are transferred to the Louisiana corporation, which now also reforms TACA El Salvador, S. A. into the subsidiary TACA International Airlines, S. A.; TACA El Salvador, S. A. now ceases to exist.
TACA GROUP. See AEROPERLAS (AEROLINEAS PACIFICO ATLANTICO, S. A.; AVIATECA (EMPRESA GUATEMAL-TECA, S. A.); COPA (COMPANIA PANAMENA DE AVIACION, S. A.); ISLENA AIRLINES (ISLENA DE INVERSIONES, S. A.); LACSA (LINEAS AEREAS COSTARRICENSES, S. A.); NICA (NICARAGUENSE DE AVIACION, S. A.); SAHSA (SERVICIO AEREO DE HONDURAS, S. A.); TACAINTERNATIONALAIR-LINES, S. A.; TACA PERU, S. A.
TACA INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, S. A.: Altos Edificio Caribe 2 Piso, Segunda Planta, Colonia Escalon, San Salvador, El Salvador; Phone (503) 339-9155; Fax (503) 223-3757; Http://www. taca. com; Code TA; Year Founded 1951. On May 24, 1951, the TACA Corporation is organized at New Orleans as a U. S. company, incorporated under Delaware law. All liabilities and assets of the Panama City-based TACA, S. A., are transferred to the Louisiana corporation, which now also reforms Compania Nacional TACA de El Salvador, S. A. into the subsidiary TACA International Airlines. TACA El Salvador, S. A. ceases to exist and initial capitalization for the new entrant is $200,000.
Same-day U. S. to Central America service begins on August 20. Services operate without incident through the remainder of the year and into 1952.
A DC-3 with three crew and nine passengers smashes into Cerro Grande mountain, 30 km. E of San Felipe, Venezuela, on March 29; there are no survivors.
To avoid the sort of litigation that ensued following the original buy-in to TACA S. A. back in 1949 (as well as that fought by American Export Airlines earlier), the Waterman Steamship Co. interest is sold throughout the year and into 1953. Primary buyers are the steamship line’s major shareholders and employees, who hold it as Waterman Airlines stock.
A DC-3 freighter with three crew is lost near San Andres, Honduras, on September 8; there are no survivors.
The CAB permit of 1949 is renewed on June 16, 1954.
The Waterman Airlines shares are acquired by McLean Industries in May 1955; in January 1956, these shares are sold to Southern Industries Corporation. The three-year CAB route award is renewed in June 1957. To upgrade the fleet, provision is made for the addition of six Vickers Viscount 700s by lease and purchase. The first, a Viscount 784D, is chartered from Philippine Air Lines and is placed in service on the New Orleans run on December 2.
Three more Viscounts, a 798D formerly owned by Hawaiian Airlines, a new 786D christened El Centroamericano, and a 763D built for Howard Hughes, join the fleet in 1958. The former Hughes machine, with 4 crew and 15 passengers, crashes on takeoff from Managua, Nicaragua, on March 5, 1959 (15 dead).
In exchange for two million shares of common stock, the TACA Corporation, on March 29, 1960 transfers all of the company’s properties, assets, and liabilities to its San Salvador-based subsidiary, TACA International Airlines, S. A., and is then liquidated. Simultaneously, the El Salvador government takes action to facilitate the transfer and establishment of the carrier as a local operation. The CAB permit is renewed in May.
One more Viscount 784D enters service in 1961. An ex-LANICA (Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua, S. A.) Viscount 786D is obtained in 1962. Enplanements in 1963 are 76,304. Revenues are $4.426 million and the net profit is $73,569.16.
Airline employment in 1964 stands at 365. In April, Riccardo H. Kri-ete purchases controlling interest, giving the airline a decidedly Salvadorian flavor. Simultaneously, the CAB route permit to New Orleans is renewed, with San Pedro Sula (Honduras) as an added stop. A third Viscount 784D enters service in late November, allowing the company to provide all-Viscount service on several major route segments.
The DC-4s are largely restricted to cargo service and the transport of passengers over a few frequencies from Guatemala City to New Orleans.
Passenger boardings jump 11% to 85,735. Revenues accelerate 12% to $5 million and the net profit skyrockets 86% to $525,494 on total revenues of $5 million.
The workforce loses 35 employees in 1965. The fleet now includes 2 DC-4s and 5 Viscount 700Ds. In November, orders are placed for a pair of BAC 1-11-407s, plus two options.
Freight traffic is up and passenger bookings increase to 104,661. Revenues climb 16% to $5.824 million and net earnings are $623,667.
On December 14, 1966, the first BAC 1-11-407 arrives from Great Britain; christened El Centroamericano, it is joined by El Salvador on February 21, 1967. The two jetliners unite with two additional Viscount 784Ds in opening additional routes to Belize, Mexico City, San Jose, Managua, Panama City, and Tegucigalpa.
When owner Kriete dies in early 1968, he is succeeded as company chairman by his son. The employee population now totals 490. Passenger and mail flights begin to Miami in the spring. The colorful Lowell Yerex, founder of the original TACA, dies of cancer in December; his nephew, David Yerex, will publish his biography in New Zealand almost two decades later, Yerex of TACA: A Kiwi Conquistador (Carterton: Ampersand Publishing, 1985).
Cargo is up again, and a total of 144,085 passengers are carried on the year. Revenues grow to $8.06 million, the freight portion of which is the second highest in the airline’s history.
A Viscount 745D is purchased from United Air Lines in February 1969 for use on short-haul, high-traffic routes in Central America. Due to a diplomatic flap between Honduras and El Salvador in July over a soccer match, the carrier loses its rights into Tegucigalpa.
A BAC 1-11-409 is purchased from LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costar-ricenses, S. A.) in September and is christened El Izalco.
During 1970, the Viscounts and DC-4s are retired in favor of four (one leased) DC-6As. On June 1, 1971, service is inaugurated to Jamaica via Belize City.
Enplanements for 1973 are 136,112. Inflation in Europe brings a shift in U. S. holiday traffic to Central America; as a result, passenger boardings soar 23.8% in 1974 to 181,000, while cargo climbs 32.4%. In that year, an ex-RCAF Canadair CL-44D freighter is added.
The workforce is 546 in 1975. In October, the carrier loses its operating authority into Guatemala. The DC-6As are replaced on freight runs by the Canadair CL-44D.
Passenger boardings dip 1.3% to 179,000, and cargo drops 13.4% to 17.3 million FTKs.
The employee population is increased 3.8% in 1976 to 567.
A DC-6BF with three crew undershoots the runway while landing at Altaverapaz, Guatemala, on May 2; although the aircraft must be written off, no serious injuries are reported.
The cargo operation is now significantly increased through the addition of a DC-6A, which replaces the DC-6BF. Also acquired in May are two former Trans Australia Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. Lockheed L-188AFs that had begun service as the passenger Electras Charles Sturt, now renamed Pangeran Diponegoro, and the John Gilbert. Passenger flights are inaugurated to Merida, Mexico, in the fall.
Passenger boardings increase 5% to 188,121, and freight is up 24.6%. An order is placed in 1977 for a Boeing 737-200.
Enplanements soar to 209,250. Profits of $39.6 million (operating) and $715,000 (net) are recorded.
Airline employment in 1978 is 617. The DC-6A is retired in August as the new B-737-244 is delivered, initiating new livery for itself and the fleet’s two remaining BAC 1-11-407s and two L-188AFs. Service is restored to Guatemala.
Passenger bookings are up 7% to 225,267 and cargo advances 12.2%. Revenues rise 13.6% to $25.1 million and expenses are up 10.8% to $21 million, producing profits of $3.1 million (operating) and $1.5 million (net).
Flights continue without incident in 1979. The wing of the L-188AF formerly known as the John Gilbert catches fire on the ground at San Salvador on February 2, 1980, destroying the aircraft. No one is injured.
Increased fuel prices and the economic recession of the early 1980s badly hurt TACA, which still, however, maintains services.
While en route over the Gulf of Mexico on September 6, 1983, a BAC 1-11-407 with 71 passengers encounters turbulence while flying in the vicinity of thunderstorms; three people are injured, one seriously.
The carrier begins to fiscally recover in 1984, at which time two additional B-737-222s are placed in service, withdrawing the ex-TAA L-188AF Charles Sturt for sale in September of the following year to Galaxy Airlines. Operations continue with little fanfare in 1985-1986 and enplanements, by 1987, reach 444,001.
The 1,000-employee flag carrier owns a fleet in 1988 that includes 4 B-737-222s, 1 each B-737-210C and B-737-244, and 1 new B-767-2S1, the only wide-body aircraft to enter service with any Central American airline. Battered by rain and hail and nearly out of fuel, a B-737-222, incoming from Belize with 44 passengers, has both engines suddenly quit at a height of 16,000 ft. The pilots are able to establish emergency power and make a successful emergency landing on a canal bank near New Orleans on May 24.
While on approach for a landing at Golden Meadow, Louisiana, on July 20, a C-118A (military DC-6A) with three crew suddenly loses power to its No. 1, 2, and 3 engines. The pilot attempts an emergency landing at his destination, during which the landing gear strikes a levee, a wing hits the ground, and the aircraft crashes into a drainage ditch. All aboard are killed and the freighter is damaged beyond repair.
On September 28, a B-737-222 runs off the runway at Tegucigalpa, Honduras, damaging its undercarriage and flaps. Although passenger boardings rise only 1% to 448,486, cargo traffic balloons a tremendous 113.3% to 6.45 million FTKs.
The fleet in 1989 is altered slightly as a B-737-3S1 is acquired to replace the B-737-222 lost the previous May. The company initiates a plan, under development for two years, to become “The Airline of the Americas” by purchasing equity in the carriers of neighboring countries.
The process begins with a 30% purchase into Guatemala’s AVI-ATECA (Empresa Guatemalteca, S. A.). The plan also calls for the beginning of fleet rationalization, joint purchasing, and cooperation and coordination in ground handling, catering, and maintenance. Enplanements for the year plunge to 262,945.
Daily nonstop service is initiated in July 1990 from Washington, D. C. (IAD) to Guatemala City and San Salvador. In August, daily nonstop flights commence from Dulles International to San Salvador.
Customer bookings jump upwards to 512,966 and revenues are $119.78 million.
Airline employment still stands at 1,000 in 1991 and the chartered fleet now includes 1 each B-737-222, B-737-244, B-737-242A, B-737-210C/A, B-737-3S3, B-767-2S1, and 2 B-737-3S1s. A strong 41% share is acquired in the Honduran carrier SAHSA (Servicio Aereo de Honduras, S. A.).
Enplanements total 548,004 and 1.7 million FTKs are operated; together, the traffic produces revenues of $143.91 million.
A noninvestment marketing alliance is concluded with Panama’s COPA (Compania Panamena de Aviacion, S. A.) in 1992. In addition, equity is acquired in NICA (Nicaraguense de Aviation, S. A.) (49%) and LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, S. A.) (41%).
All are joined together with AVIATECA (Empresa Guatemalteca, S. A.) to form the “Airline of the Americas” or, officially, America Central Corp., S. A., which is often better known as the TACA Group. All participate in joint purchasing, fleet rationalization, and cooperate in ground handling, catering, scheduling, and maintenance.
Passenger boardings are initially announced only for the first five months and total 274,253; it will be revealed later that boardings for the full 12 months have increased to 713,653. Revenues for the year are $170.92 million.
In 1993, Chairman Enrique Borgo Bustamante and President/CEO Federico Bloch oversee a workforce of 1,500 and the addition of one each B-767-216ER and B-767-33AER to the fleet, the latter delivered in June under lease from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services. Indeed, El Salvador becomes the first Central American nation to operate an extended range B-767.
A total of 12 cities in nine countries are served from El Salvador, including: New York, Washington, D. C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Belize, Mexico City, Guatemala City, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, San Jose, and Panama City.
Just after landing at Guatemala City on April 6, Flight 510, a B-767-2S1ER with 9 crew and 227 passengers veers off the runway at 90 kn., 300 m. short of the end of the runway. The wide-body strikes the perimeter fence, runs down a hill, crashes into and through a cinder block house, and hits another home. Although the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities; three people on the ground are, however, injured.
In July, a comprehensive marketing agreement is signed with the Italian flag carrier Alitalia, S. p.A. covering the entire TACA Group; featured is schedule coordination for connections through Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Chicago.
Customer bookings are swell to 777,158. Cargo is up a whopping 62.8% to 7.78 million FTKs and revenues reach $192.38 million.
When SAHSA (Servicio Aeros de Honduras, S. A.) grounds its entire fleet on January 15, 1994, it begins to employ a leased TACA B-737-2H6A. Hubs for TACA Group are developed. San Salvador handles flights to North America while San Jose, Costa Rica, becomes the gateway for flights to South America. A secondary hub is also set up at Guatemala City.
The entirely leased fleet in 1995 includes 2 each B-737-3S1s and B-737-3Q8s and 1 each B-737-244, B-737-25A, B-737-296A, B-737-210CA, B-737-3S3, B-767-216ER, and B-767-3S1ER. An order is outstanding for an Airbus A320-233. The U. S. reservations centers of the TACA Group members are consolidated in a single El Salvador facility. During the summer, the four B-737-200s are all leased to LACSA (Lin-eas Aereas Costaricenses, S. A.). Three are repainted in LACSA colors, while one retains its TACA livery with LACSA markings.
The chartered fleet is increased in 1996 by the addition of two A320-233s, which are subleased to LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costaricenses, S. A.), two B-737-2K5As, two B-737-205As, a B-737-2T5A, which is chartered to NICA (Nicaraguense de Aviacion, S. A.) and another B-737-3S1, which is chartered to Air New Zealand, Ltd. The B-737-3S3 on hand is leased to Western Pacific Airlines (Westpac).
During the third week of January 1997, a code-sharing pact is signed between the TACA Group and Continental Airlines. Under its terms, Continental codes will be added to the flights of the TACA partners to Santo Domingo, Cali, Guayaquil and Quito, and Panama City while the TACA designator will also grace Continental frequencies from Houston to Los Angeles and from Houston, Miami, and Dallas (DFW) to Newark.
During the spring, three Cessna 208 Caravan Is received at the start of the year are transferred to SAHSA (Servicio Aereo de Hunduras, S. A.) and LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costaricenses, S. A.). The latter company becomes the first to offer services from Cuba to North America when it inaugurates flights from San Jose to Toronto via Havana.
A veteran airline executive with service at Continental Airlines, UPS (United Parcel Service), Northwest Airlines, and American Airlines, 36-year-old B. Benjamin Baldanza is named group managing director and chief operating officer in May.
Three Cessna Grand Caravans are delivered in June. By the end of July, TACA Group is operating a combined fleet of 37 jetliners and 8 Grand Caravans. The route network includes stops at 12 points in South American, 14 in Central America, 3 in Mexico, and 8 in the U. S.
Also in July, officials of TACA Group and American Airlines sign a memorandum of understanding for establishment of a strategic codesharing partnership. Due to intense opposition from other Latin American carriers, as well as Continental Airlines and United Airlines, the pact will remain enmeshed in bureaucratic regulatory wrangling during the next year.
During the summer and fall, joint planning is undertaken between TACA Group, LANChile, S. A., and the Brazilian carrier TAM (Trans-portes Aereos Mercousur, S. A.) for the joint acquisition of up to 200 new narrow-body jetliners. At the same time, the TACA partners begin planning for the elimination of their individual frequent flyer programs in favor of one new loyalty offering.
TACA Group’s presence in Cuba is enhanced in August when AVI-ATECA (Empresa Guatemalateca, S. A.) launches thrice-weekly roundtrips to Havana from Guatemala City.
During the fall, a number of company aircraft, including a B-767-3SA1, are repainted in a new TACA Group livery that features a white fuselage and a blue tail with a red vertical slash over which appears a logo consisting of five golden macaws, which represent the group members. It is anticipated that the entire group will be repainted by the end of the century.
In November, TACA Group begins service to Santo Domingo. Thrice-daily service to Dallas (DFW) from San Salvador, San Jose, and Guatemala City begins in December.
The company, in January 1998, takes the lead in creation of a new TACA Group frequent flyer program, Distancia. The new loyalty program, affiliated with LatinPass, also allows passengers on any of the five member airlines to collect points when they fly with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) and USAirways.
Citizens of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are, beginning on February 18, able to employ the new C-4 Central American Immigration card while traveling between the three nations.
On behalf of the TACA Group, LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarri-censes, S. A.), on April 1, inaugurates thrice-weekly B-737 roundtrips between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Havana, Cuba.
On April 6, in cooperation with ENSA, a company that is owned by the Institute of Civil Aeronautics of Cuba, TACA Group unveils a new “Inter Cuba” division. Although under the operational management of SANSA (Servicios Aereos Nacionales, S. A.), the Costa Rican domestic airline, the new unit’s employees, including its general manager, are all Cubans. Under this arrangement, Cessna 208Bs with Costa Rican pilots provide internal frequencies between Havana, Varadero, Cayo Coco, Trinidad, Cayo Largo, and Gerona, all growing tourist areas.
Airbus Industrie achieves a historic victory over its Boeing competitors in April when it signs a gigantic South American consortium purchase agreement. Under its terms, TACA Group, including TACA International, SAHSA (Servicio Aereo de Honduras, S. A.), NICA (Nicaraguenses de Aviacion, S. A.), LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarri-censes, S. A.), and AVIATECA (Aerolineas de Guatemala, S. A.) promises to take 32 firm A320 family planes, plus 32 options. Other participants are TAM (Transportes Aereos Regionais, S. A.) on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries, which agree to acquire 38 firm A320 family aircraft, with 37 options and LANChile Airlines, S. A., which will take 20 A320 family aircraft, with 20 options.
A320-233 daily nonstop return service is inaugurated on April 20 between San Salvador and Washington, D. C. (lAD), between San Salvador and New York (JFK), and between San Salvador and Guatemala City.
As Guatemala has no scheduled, permanent, and efficient domestic air transport for passengers, cargo, or documents, TACA Group decides at the end of the month to remedy that situation. The subsidiary Transportes Aereos Inter, S. A. is established at Guatemala City to provide frequencies. Equipped with a fleet of Cessna 208B Grand Caravans operated by Costa Rican pilots of SANSA (Servicios Aereos Nacionales, S. A.) under contract, the new entity begins regular flights to Puerto Barrios, Coate-peque, Retalhuleu, Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, and El Quiche.
In May, a 49% stake in the parent holding company of TACA Group associate COPA (Compania Panema de Aviacion, S. A.) is acquired by Continental Airlines. Subject to “certain conditions,” the two will enter into a comprehensive marketing and code-sharing alliance. Also during the month, Managing Director/Chief Operating Officer Baldanza is named to the board of directors of Frontier Airlines (2).
The DOT approves the TACA/American Airlines alliance in June, with some restrictions, including a prohibition on code-sharing beyond Mexico City. Under terms of the agreement, TACA will place its codes on 126 weekly AA services from 8 points in 7 Central American countries to U. S. gateways and beyond. American Airlines will place its designation upon 149 weekly TACA flights from 9 U. S. communities to 10 Central American destinations.
The new arrangement begins in July when the U. S. major places its “AA” code aboard TACA Group services from Dallas (DFW) to Guatemala City and to San Jose via Guatemala City; from Los Angeles to Guatemala City and from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Salvador. The codeshare is expanded on August 26 on four new routes: San Francisco to San Salvador, Houston (IAH) to San Salvador, as well as to Roatan, Honduras, on Saturdays, and from Washington, D. C. (IAD) to San Salvador.
During the fall, four new A320-233s are received. All of the group’s jetliners are reconfigured for the introduction of Clase Ejecutive (Business Class) service. The initial business services are available over the groups routes from Guatemala City and San Jose to Dallas (DFW).
A $2-million wet-lease contract is signed with World Airways on October 31. Under its terms, the U. S. carrier, beginning on November 1, operates a DC-10-30CF for the group four to six times a week from Miami (MIA) to San Jose, Costa Rica, San Salvador, El Salvador, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Flights will continue through the end of the year.
During the first week of November, company aircraft are enlisted to transport 430,000 pounds of relief supplies to Soto Cano AB in Honduras, from where it will be distributed to victims and survivors of Hurricane Mitch. The Honduras-American Emergency Fund in Louisiana had collected the goods.
In addition to relief supply flights, the company establishes an aerial bridge with special flights between the main cities of Honduras so as to overcome the lack of passable roads. It also begins to implement a major program to help rebuild tourism and the economies of the Central American countries affected by the storm.
On November 25, a host of new scheduled changes to be introduced in early December are announced. Demonstrating the growing unity of the group, the individual carriers providing the various services are not identified. Clase Ejecutive seating will be available on every jet flight by the end of the year.
The decision is taken on December 2 to expand all-cargo services in the new year through the addition of five A300 freighters.
The new schedule is duly implemented on December 7. North American gateway improvements include new daytime nonstop service from Los Angeles (LAX) to both El Salvador and Guatemala City, in addition to the evening service, plus nonstop service to Mexico City and through-service to San Jose. Five daily nonstops are offered between Los Angeles (LAX) and Central America, more than any other airline.
Daily nonstop flights are now operated from New York (JFK) to El Salvador and Guatemala City, plus a new nonstop route to San Jose. From those three stops, connections are available to almost every city in Central America, plus Lima, Caracas, Bogota, Santiago, Quito, and Guayaquil. A daily nonstop is also available from Washington, D. C. (IAD) to El Salvador.
Two daily re-timed flights become available from Houston (IAH) to El Salvador, along with a daily nonstop to Belize and a weekly nonstop to the resort island of Roatan. A new daily nonstop is launched from Dallas (DFW) to El Salvador, doubling service on that route, which complements flights from that Texas city to Guatemala City and through plane service to San Jose.
Daily flights continue to be offered linking Miami with El Salvador, while thrice-daily roundtrips are operated from Miami to San Jose. Nonstop service is also flown daily from Miami to Guatemala City, Managua, and San Pedro Sula, with same-plane service to Tegucigalpa. Daily nonstops are also provided from New Orleans to San Pedro Sula and El Salvador.
Flights from San Francisco to El Salvador are flown every day, while thrice-weekly roundtrips are operated from Toronto to Havana. From the San Jose and El Salvador hubs, the company also offers five daily roundtrips to Guatemala City, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Managua, Panama City, Liberia, and Belize. These regional operations will be provided with a mix of jets and newly received Avions de Transport Aerien ATR42-320s.
COPA, on January 19, 1999, places orders for eight Next Generation B-737-700s. Simultaneously, four units are requested from two lessors, Tombo Aviation Services and GE Capital Aviation Services, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery in April.
In April, TACA President/CEO Bloch is named the 1998 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for his outstanding contribution to the airline industry. The honor will be presented at a dinner in Tampa, Florida, on October 15.
Chartered from Tombo, the premier Next Generation B-737-71Q is delivered to COPA in ceremonies at Seattle on May 24. The aircraft wears the company’s new image, which emphasizes the new alliance with Continental Airlines.
Following its arrival at Panama City, additional ceremonies are held, with a ribbon cut by Panamanian first lady Dora Perez Balladares and comments from TACA’s Bloch and COPA Chairman Motta. Simultaneously, the code-share with Continental is implemented through a linkage of the two carriers’ frequent flyer programs. Plans are announced for the opening of a new Presidents Club at the Panama Airport later in the year. COPA continues to plan for the opening of services to Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.
It is announced on May 25 that the number of daily roundtrip flights between Newark and Dallas (DFW) will be increased on September 9 from six to nine.
COPA and Continental Airlines begin code-sharing on June 10. The Panamanian line places its “CM” code on approximately 35 Continental flights serving 22 destinations (including Houston, Newark, and Los Angeles), while the American major puts its “CO” code on COPA’s flights to Latin America, as well as Miami.
“New Look” daily return service is launched on June 19 between Miami and both Belize City, Belize, and Flores, Guatemala.
About this time, TACA Group takes a minority stake in the Peruvian carrier TransAm, S. A., which is immediately renamed TACA Peru,
S. A. It leases to it the B-737-2Q3As required for its October 1 start-up, as well as two new Airbus A319-132s. A third A319-132 is delivered on December 29.
The last of four new A319-132s to be delivered, including the two with TACA Peru, is accepted on March 13, 2000. The “classic” B-737 fleet continues to include 2 each Dash-2K5As and Dash-205A, and 1 each Dash-296A, Dash-242A, Dash-25AA, and Dash-2L9A, plus a Dash-3S1.
A marketing and code-sharing agreement is signed with Air France on March 22. With the beginning of the AF arrangement on April 9, TACA Group and the French major exchange designators on their flights between Paris (CDG) and Guatemala, with the consortium carrier able to connect with Air France’s worldwide flights via Miami. Weekly Saturday charters, operated on behalf of Cuba Travel Services, from Los Angeles to Havana are launched on April 15.
All-cargo roundtrips begin on June 10 between Guatemala and El Salvador to cities in Mexico.
Due to safety concerns and its inability to measure up to ICAO standards, the FAA downgrades El Salvador to Category 2 status during June. TACA Group core airline TACA International now faces a freeze on its U. S. operations, including its alliance with American Airlines, forcing the Group to shift much of its international operations emphasis to its partners COPA (Compania Panamena de Aviacion, S. A.) and LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, S. A.)
In early July, TACA Group Vice President-Maintenance Alfredo Schildknecht is named the group’s chief operating officer.
In the wake of Hurricane Keith’s devastation in Belize, TACA Group organizes a support plan on October 2 under which the multinational carrier undertakes the immediate delivery of 60 95-pound boxes filled with foods and first-necessity articles. Flights to Belize, cut off by the storm, are resumed on October 4.
Thrice-weekly A320-233 return service is inaugurated on October 31 from San Jose to Montreal via San Salvador and Havana. The last of four A320-233s to be delivered during the year is accepted on December 7. Six more will arrive in 2001, bringing their representation in the fleet to 24 units (including one Dash-232).
Daily roundtrip A319-132 service begins on December 8 from Lima to La Paz and Santa Cruz. A320-233 daily roundtrips commence on December 15 between Lima and Miami.
The eruption of the Popocatepetl Volcano 40 mi. NW of Mexico City on December 20 forces the carrier to cancel all of its flights into and out of the Mexican capital.
Also during December, a B-727 is donated to the Tin Marin children’s museum at San Salvador. Company engineers assemble it as a static display.
TACA PERU, S. A.: Avenida Comandante Espinar 331, Miraflores, Lima, Peru; Phone 51 (1) 444-7835; Fax 51 (1) 445 1787; Code ES; Year Founded 1999. With AeroPeru (Empresa Transportes de Aereos de Peru, S. A.) bankrupt and on its way to eventual liquidation, Daniel Ratti, former CEO of Carnival Air Lines, and Ernesto Mahle establish a new carrier, Trans American Peru, S. A. at Lima during January 1999. When additional capital and support is provided by TACA Group, the company, which retains Ratti as chairman and Mahle as president, is renamed TACA Peru, S. A.
A Peruvian air operator’s certificate is obtained on July 13. The TACA Group strategy for the carrier involves its use as a spearhead for the group’s deeper penetration into South America.
Outfitted with a pair of Boeing 737-2Q3As leased from TACA Group, the new entrant launches daily roundtrip domestic services from Lima to Iquitos on October 1 and from Lima to Cuzco on October 7. On November 1, scheduled international service is inaugurated from Lima to Miami via Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo employing two Airbus Industrie A319-132s.
TACA Peru officially becomes a member of TACA Group on July 18, 2000. The hub at Lima is expanded with two banks of flights, morning and early evening, beginning on July 19. Domestic flights are operated with one each B-737-2L9A and B-737-230A, while two more Airbus Industrie A319-132s are brought in to inaugurate new daily return frequencies to Buenos Aires, Caracas, Guayaquil, Mexico City, Panama City, Quito, San Jose, Santiago de Chile, and Sao Paulo.
International services from Lima are boosted on October 1, with roundtrips started to Bogota and Miami. Daily A319 return service starts on December 8 from Lima to La Paz and Santa Cruz. A320s replace B-737s on the daily Lima to Miami nonstop route beginning on December 15. By year’s end, the domestic network from Lima has been increased with stops at Trujillo, Chiclayo, and Piura.
TACH (TRANSPORTES AEREOS DE CHIAPAS, S. A. de C. V.): Mexico (1933-1939) . Noted Mexican aviator Francisco “Pancho” Sara-bia and his brother Jesus form a cargo charter operation in early 1933, Sarabia Hermanos, and operate it as partners, flying chicle and coffee from the southeastern states of Chiapas and Tabasco. Later, in the spring, the name is changed to TACH (Transportes Aereos de Chiapas, S. A.) and on May 25 the government grants the brothers the route concession formerly flown by Charles Wren’s Pickwick Airways.
Employing single engine Travel Airs 4000s, Bellancas CH-300 Pacemakers, and Stinsons, TACH maintains its routes, adding passenger service and during late 1934 serves as a feeder for Walter Varney’s LAO (Lineas Aereas Occidentales, S. A.), which suspends operations in January 1935.
Thereafter, the company concentrates on building up its local chicle and coffee freight service; two Pilgrim 100s and a rare EMSCO Model B-3-A are acquired in 1937. The small competitor Aerovias de Quintana Roo is purchased and merged in late 1938, its route concessions being received in early 1939. On June 7 of the latter year, Francisco Sarabia is killed in the crash of his record breaking Gee Bee Conquistador del Cielo.
The company is now split in two. Jesus Sarabia begins flying a coastal service under the name Lineas Aereas Jesus Sarabia, S. A. de C. V.; however, he is killed in a crash at Quintana Roo on September 2. Francisco’s widow Agripina Diaz and his former chauffeur Effego Cabrera change LAO’s name to Compania Aeronautica Francisco Sarabia, S. A. de C. V.
TACSA (TAXI AEREO CENTROAMERICANO, S. A.): Tobias Bolanos Airport, Hangar #9, Pavas, San Jose, Costa Rica; Phone 232-1317; Fax 232-1469; Http://www. crdirect. com/tacsa; Year Founded 1996. TACSA is established at San Jose in 1996 to offer both scheduled and nonscheduled domestic passenger and cargo services. Flights are operated with a sizeable fleet of small aircraft which, by decade’s end, includes several Cessna 182s, 5 C-206s, 7 Piper Aztecs, and 4 Piper PA-31-310 Navajos. On occasion, Let L-410UVP-E are leased for charter flights.
The company is not well regarded for its safety. On September 18, 1998, a PA-31-310 crashes into two local houses just after takeoff from Tobias Bolanos Airport (2 dead).
A more dramatic tragedy occurs on January 15, 2000. Having departed Tobias Bolanos on a charter to Tortuguero National Park, a leased L-410UVP-E with 3 crew and 17 passengers is unable to maintain its height and crashes into a home in the upscale Rohrmoser neighborhood of San Jose. Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Adm. Stansfield Turner is among the injured in the disaster, which kills his wife, Eli Karen, a San Francisco couple, and a Spaniard. A housekeeper in the demolished home is also hurt.
The actions and lapses of the badly injured crew are later enumerated and include overloading of the aircraft, failure to calculate the plane’s weight and balance, no provision of a safety briefing for passengers, non-connection of an installed FDR, and improper flap selection.
TACSA (TRANSPORTES AEREOS DE CARGA, S. A. de C. V.): Mexico (1960-1984). An all-cargo airline formed at Ensenada in 1960,
TACSA flies from that city to Tijuana and to Punta Abreojos via Isla Ce-dros with Douglas DC-3s. A DC-6F is acquired from Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V. in January 1972.
Upon the failure of Aerocarga, S. A. de C. V. in 1977, that company’s routes and assets are acquired, including a Lockheed L-188AF and a U. S. government contract to return deported Mexican citizens.
Following the world economic recession and the dramatic increase in fuel costs in the early 1980s, the carrier is no longer able to turn a profit and stops flying by 1984.
TACV CABO VERDE AIRLINES (TRANSPORTES AEREOS DE CABO VERDE, S. A.): P. O. Box 1, Rua Guerra Mendes 11/13, Praia, Santiago, Cape Verde; Phone 238 613 215; Fax 238 613 585; http://www.57.250.224.29; Code VR; Year Founded 1958. When the local aero club, which has been providing air transport since 1955 with a de Havilland DH 89A Dragon Rapide, goes bankrupt at Praia’s Es-pargo Airport in 1958, the Portuguese government steps in on December 27 and forms TACV to take over its services in on a formal, scheduled basis.
Flight operations commence in January 1959 over a Praia-Sal-Sao Vincente-Praia route. Two de Havilland DH 104 Doves supplement the Dragon Rapide, until the company is closed down at the end of 1966 for reformation.
Following a period of suspended operations, the carrier is reorganized in 1967 by native-born Anastacia Filinto Correia e Silva, who is sent from Lisbon by TAP-Air Portugal, S. A. to become CEO. A third Dove is supplied and service is resumed over the original route, as well as to Sao Vicente, Sao Nicolau, and Boa Vista.
Operations continue apace during the remainder of the decade and into the next as the principal islands of the 275,000-citizen republic are all linked. In addition, on-demand charters are often flown.
The first of two Hawker Siddeley HS 748s to be delivered arrives in 1973 and enplanements total 38,048. The employee population in 1974 numbers 172 and the fleet includes 2 HS 748s, 3 de Havilland DH 104 Doves, and 3 Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders. On December 30, Portugal transfers power to a transitional government headed by the Portuguese High Commissioner.
Passenger boardings jump 35% to 57,787 and cargo traffic accelerates by 104% to 619,912 FTKs flown.
Following the July 5, 1975 independence of the islands, TACV becomes the national airline. CEO Correia e Silva is retained by the new national leadership, becoming general manager and president of the board of management. He now establishes a route to Dakar, in Senegal, which will be the company’s lone international service for many years.
Enplanements for the full year total 62,666.
Airline employment grows 6% in 1976 to 220. Passenger boardings jump 10% to 69,629 and freight traffic is up by 9% to 1.1 million FTKs.
During 1977-1982, the fleet grows to include 2 BAe (HS) 748-2As and 2 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300s. Airline employment reaches 300. Passenger enplanements in 1981 and 1982 total 103,000 and 113,000, respectively.
The carrier becomes a public company in 1983 and Valdemar Fortse de Sousa Lobo becomes CEO. In 1984, enplanements total 126,433, with revenues exceeding $2 million. The employee population in 1985 stands at 475. A Douglas DC-10-30, chartered from LAM-Mozam-bique Airlines, S. A. begins weekly weekend charter flights to Lisbon for six months, beginning in April.
Operations continue apace in 1986 and in the summer of 1987, twice-weekly service is initiated between Sal and Boston employing the DC-10-30 leased from LAM Mozambique Airlines, S. A. During 1988, a direct route to Lisbon is started by the company in cooperation with TAP-Air Portugal, S. A., which conducts the flight with its A310-304 under a TACV flight number.
Late in 1989, the fleet is increased by the delivery of an Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia. The fleet in 1990-1991 includes 2 each CASA C-212-300 Aviocars, DHC-6-300s, and BAe (HS) 748-2As, plus the Brasilia.
In 1992-1993, new President/General Manager Alfredo Carvalho oversees a workforce of 580. European destinations visited, with the cooperation of TAP-Air Portugal, S. A., include Lisbon, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Enplanements in the latter year total 169,903.
Fleet renewal plans are announced during the spring of 1994. Both CASAs and the Brasilia will be replaced before the end of the year with two new Avions de Transport Aerien ATR42-320s. A B-767-281ER is leased from LAM Mozambique Airlines, S. A. and used to start flying from Sal to Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
Passenger boardings accelerate 18.3% to 207,959 while 19.2 million FTKs are operated.
Operations continue apace in 1995 and business improves. During January 1996, a Boeing 757-2Q8 is chartered from International Lease Finance Corporation. It enters service in March on the company’s long-haul routes from Sal to Lisbon, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris, replacing the B-767, which is returned to Mozambique.
The company now joins with Air Bissau (Transportes Aereos da Guine-Bissau, S. A.) to provide joint services. Under this arrangement, the two fly weekly roundtrips from Bissau to Lisbon, employing TACV’s Boeing 757-2Q8. Similarly, weekly roundtrips are offered from Bissau to Dakar employing one of TACV’s ATR42-320.
Airline employment stands at 580 in 1997 and domestic destinations visited include Boa Vista, Brava, Maio, Mosteiros, Sal, Santo Antao, Sao Nicolau, and Sao Vicente. Flights to Munique begin on October 30.
While landing at Praia on Santiago Island on September 28, 1998, after a charter service from Sao Nicolau Island, a DHC-6-300 with 3 crew and 19 passengers including Prime Minister Carlos Veiga, crashes in stormy weather. One of the prime minister’s bodyguards is killed and four other persons are injured.
New roundtrip service is inaugurated on October 25 from Sal to Bologna and Vienna.
Flights continue in 1999. While on a go-around on August 7, a Dornier 228-212 acquired the previous year and with 18 passengers, crashes. There are no survivors. A total of 762 workers are employed at the beginning 2000. A second B-757-2Q8ER arrives under charter from ILFC in April.
World History
