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Founded | December 5, 1919(as SCADTA) | ||||||
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Commenced operations | June 14, 1940(as Avianca) | ||||||
AOC # | ANCF173C[1] | ||||||
Hubs | Bogotá | ||||||
Secondary hubs | |||||||
Focus cities | |||||||
Frequent-flyer program | LifeMiles | ||||||
Alliance | Star Alliance | ||||||
Subsidiaries | Helicol | ||||||
Fleet size | 125[2] | ||||||
Destinations | 74[3] | ||||||
Parent company | Avianca Group | ||||||
Headquarters | |||||||
Key people | |||||||
Operating income | ![]() | ||||||
Total assets | ![]() | ||||||
Website | www |
Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A., "Airways of the American Continent", and stylized as avianca since October 2023), is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia[5][6] since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA.[7][8] It is headquartered in Colombia, with its registered office in Barranquilla and its global headquarters in Bogotá and main hub at El Dorado International Airport. Avianca is the flagship of a group of airlines of the Americas, which operates as one airline using a codesharing system. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and second largest in South America, after LATAM of Chile. Avianca and its subsidiaries have the most extensive network of destinations in the Americas.[9] Before the merger with TACA in 2010, it was wholly owned by Synergy Group, a South American holding company established by Germán Efromovich and specializing in air transport. It is listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange.[10]
Through SCADTA, Avianca is the world's second oldest extant airline after KLM and celebrated its 100th anniversary in December 2019. It is the oldest airline in the Western Hemisphere.[11] It became an official member of Star Alliance on June 21, 2012, after a process that lasted approximately 18 months from the initial announcement[12] of its invitation to join the alliance.[13] On May 10, 2020, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in New York City, and liquidated its subsidiary Avianca Perú, due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.[14][15][16]
Nosotros no podemos perder la oportunidad de tener en Bogotá ese gran centro de conexiones. Y por supuesto, que lo haga la compañía bandera de Colombia, que es Avianca. Eso lo tiene que explicar el Gobierno a la opinión pública clara y paladinamente, sin malicias, sin cartas escondidas, y salir a defenderlo y decir por qué hay que hacerlo.
Desde ningún punto de vista puede abrigarse duda alguna acerca del carácter eminentemente privado de la empresa Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia AVIANCA S. A. La prueba por excelencia en este caso, como es el certificado expedido por el Secretario de la Cámara de Comercio de Barranquilla así lo determina (fls. 2 a 10). En él se lee que la empresa se constituyó por escritura pública número 2374, otorgada ante Notaría Segunda de Barranquilla, el día 5 de diciembre de 1919, registrada en el Juzgado Tercero del mismo Circuito, llamada inicialmente Sociedad Colombo – Alemana de Transportes Aéreos -SCADTA-.
SCADTA Junkers F 13, one of the first commercial airlines in Colombia. SCADTA (now known as AVIANCA) is the oldest, continuously operating airline in the Western Hemisphere.