Avianca Costa Rica

Avianca Costa Rica S.A., using callsign as LACSA (Spanish: Lineas Aéreas Costarricenses S.A.), minority owned by the Synergy Group, is the national airline of Costa Rica and is based in San José. It operates international scheduled services to over 35 destinations in Central, North and South America. The airline previously used the TACA/LACSA moniker when it was a subsidiary of Grupo TACA. Since May 2013, following Avianca's purchase of Grupo TACA, Avianca Costa Rica became one of seven nationally branded airlines (Avianca Ecuador, Avianca El Salvador, etc.) operated by Avianca Group of Latin American airlines.

History

LACSA was formed on October 17, 1945, with the help of Pan American World Airways, and started operations on June 1, 1946, using Douglas DC-3s for local services within Costa Rica,Endres 1979, p.362 operating as an affiliate of Pan Am.Bridgman 1951, p. 22b The airline was designated as Costa Rica's Flag carrier in 1949 and was nationalized in 1958.Bridgman 1958, p. 20

LACSA operated the Douglas DC-6B four-engined piston airliner from 1960 until 1976 on their regular passenger, and eventually freight, scheduled flights to Miami International Airport. The airline introduced the first of their BAC One-Eleven twin-engined jet airliners onto their Caribbean passenger route network in April 1967.Eastwood & Roach, 2004, p. 170

The airline also operated a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands, Cayman Brac Airways (CBA) Ltd., which it sold a 51% controlling interest in the late 1960s to the Cayman Islands government, which in turn used the air carrier to form Cayman Airways. LACSA served Grand Cayman for many years as an intermediate stop on its services between San José, Costa Rica and Miami.

Beginning in 1998, TACA/LACSA was one of the member airlines comprising the TACA Airlines alliance along with Aviateca, Nica, Isleña Airlines, and five other regional airlines. In 2008, a new fleet of Embraer 190 jets was introduced. Also in 2008 a new TACA logo was introduced, followed by a new fleet of Embraer 190 airplanes registered in Costa Rica and operated under the LACSA code. In October 2009, Avianca and TACA announced their merger plans to be completed in 2010. By May 28, 2013, the airlines began operating as a single commercial brand using the Avianca name.

On May 10, 2020, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States after failing to pay bondholders, becoming one of the major airlines to file for bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Destinations Avianca Costa Rica serves the following destinations:

CountryCityAirportNotesRefsArgentinaBuenos AiresMinistro Pistarini International AirportBrazilBrasíliaBrasília International AirportRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro/Galeão International AirportCanadaTorontoToronto Pearson International AirportMontrealMontréal–Trudeau International AirportChileSantiagoArturo Merino Benítez International AirportColombiaBogotáEl Dorado International Airport CartagenaRafael Núñez International Airport MedellínJosé María Córdova International Airport Costa RicaSan JoséJuan Santamaría International AirportCubaHavanaJosé Martí International AirportDominican RepublicSanto DomingoLas Américas International AirportEcuadorGuayaquilJosé Joaquín de Olmedo International AirportQuitoMariscal Sucre International Airport El SalvadorSan SalvadorEl Salvador International Airport GuatemalaGuatemala CityLa Aurora International Airport HondurasSan Pedro SulaRamón Villeda Morales International AirportMexicoCancúnCancún International Airport Mexico CityMexico City International Airport NicaraguaManaguaAugusto C. Sandino International AirportPanamaPanama CityTocumen International AirportPeruLimaJorge Chávez International Airport Puerto RicoSan JuanLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport United StatesChicagoO'Hare International AirportLos AngelesLos Angeles International Airport MiamiMiami International Airport New York CityJohn F. Kennedy International Airport OrlandoOrlando International AirportWashington, D.C.Dulles International Airport VenezuelaCaracasSimón Bolívar International Airport

LACSA international destinations in 1973

According to the May 31, 1973 LACSA system timetable, the airline was serving the following international destinations:

Barranquilla, Colombia Caracas, Venezuela Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Maracaibo, Venezuela Mexico City, Mexico Miami, Florida Panama City, Panama San Andres Island, Colombia San José, Costa Rica - Hub San Salvador, El Salvador

This same timetable states that all international flights were being operated with British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven twin jets at this time with the exception of the San José-San Andres Island route which was being flown with a Convair 440 propliner.

International routes in 1984 The airline was operating to such international destinations in 1984 as: Barranquilla, Colombia Cancún, Mexico Caracas, Venezuela Guatemala City, Guatemala Guayaquil, Ecuador Los Angeles, USA Maracaibo, Venezuela Mexico City, Mexico Miami, USA New Orleans, USA Panama City, Panama Quito, Ecuador Rio de Janeiro, Brazil San Juan, Puerto Rico San Salvador, El Salvador

These cities were flown to using LACSA’s Boeing 727.

Fleet Current fleet

, Avianca Costa Rica operates the following aircraft:

+ Avianca Costa Rica fleetAircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotesWY+YTotalAirbus A320neo6—Total 6—

Former fleet , Avianca Costa Rica operated 1 Airbus A320 and 3 Airbus A320neo

LACSA operated the following aircraft:

+ Avianca Costa Rica former fleetAircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotesAirbus A319-100320072022Airbus A321-200220092021BAC One-Eleven619671982Beechcraft 18119651976Boeing 707-320C119851986Leased from Jet 24Boeing 727-100319871992Boeing 727-200519791994Boeing 737-200819922004CASA C-212 Aviocar119931995Convair CV-340319551962Convair CV-440219721977Curtiss C-46 Commando619481979Douglas C-47 Skytrain619451961Douglas DC-3219461959Douglas DC-6B219601977Douglas DC-8-21F119811982Leased from General Air Services Inc.Douglas DC-8-55CF319821991Douglas DC-8-62F119861987Leased from Jet 24Embraer 190AR420082012Lockheed L-188CF Electra319761981

Accidents and incidents On 23 May 1988, LACSA Flight 628, a leased Boeing 727-100 (registered TI-LRC), operating the route San José-Managua-Miami, collided with a fence at the end of the runway in the Juan Santamaría International Airport, crashed at a nearby field next to a highway, and caught fire. The excess of weight in the front part of the airplane was the cause of the accident. There were no fatalities out of the 24 occupants. On 11 January 1998, LACSA flight 691, an Airbus A320-200, veered off a runway at San Francisco International Airport during the takeoff roll. The aircraft left the runway at full speed, coming to rest in a field of mud. The runway was closed after the incident, reducing take-off capacity by 50 percent, leading to massive delays at the airport. None of the 122 passengers on board the aircraft sustained injuries, and stayed at a hotel until another aircraft could transport them to their destination, San José, Costa Rica. The cause of the incident was not determined.

Avianca Costa Rica

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