LATAM Colombia

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"Aires" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Aries (disambiguation).

LATAM Airlines Colombia
Latam-logo -v (Indigo).svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
4C ARE LAN COLOMBIA
FoundedOctober 2, 1980[1] (as AIRES)
December 3, 2011 (as LAN Colombia)
May 5, 2016 (as LATAM Colombia)
HubsEl Dorado International Airport
Frequent-flyer programLATAM Pass
AllianceOneworld (2013-2020; affiliate)
Fleet size14
Destinations15
Parent companyLATAM Airlines Group
HeadquartersBogotá, Colombia
Key peopleSantiago Alvarez (CEO)
Websitewww.latam.com/es_co

Aerovías de Integración Regional S.A. (Acronym: AIRES, lit. airs), d/b/a LATAM Airlines Colombia, and formerly known as LAN Colombia, is a Colombian airline. It is the second-largest air carrier in Colombia.

The airline operates scheduled regional domestic passenger services, as well as a domestic cargo service. Its main base is El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá.[2]

History[]

A former AIRES Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 at El Dorado International Airport in 2012

The airline was founded on October 2, 1980, starting operations in February 23, 1981 with a few small planes, until they acquired some Embraer 110 Bandeirante and Fairchild F27. In 1990, the airline registered a 9% decrease in passenger transport.

However, with the rise of AeroRepública in 1992, it meant that they had a new competitor in the Colombia market. The airline made small expansions, mostly adding service to the neighboring countries of Venezuela and Ecuador.

In November 1998, the airline began its coverage in the Caribbean Region, opening a base of operations in Barranquilla, from where flights began to: Cartagena, Santa Marta, Valledupar, Corozal among other cities in the north of the country.

On December 13, 2000, the airline began its internationalization with the opening of the Barranquilla-Oranjestad, Aruba route, flying twice a week, later it began operations to Willemstad, Curaçao.

In 2004, the company made a corporate image change, as well as the change in the stationery, said investment had a cost of close to 1,000 million pesos.

In 2009, with the beginning of the trunk routes, a new era began and thus rubbed shoulders with Avianca and Copa Airlines Colombia, and this was done by incorporating Jet aircraft and breaking the tariff scheme by becoming a low-cost airline.

On October 28, 2010, it was announced that 98% of the shares in the previous airline AIRES had been acquired by Chilean carrier LAN Airlines. On November 26, 2010 LAN Airlines announced that it completed the purchase of 98.9% of AIRES shares, assuming its total debt and including it in the LAN holding company as another subsidiary of the group. On December 3, 2011, AIRES was renamed and started operations as LAN Colombia, becoming a member of the aeronautical holding LATAM Airlines Group.

It became an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance on 1 October 2013, but left on 1 May 2020.[3][4]

Destinations[]

Main article: List of LATAM Colombia destinations

Fleet[]

Current fleet[]

A LATAM Colombia Airbus A320-200 in the LAN livery at Miami International Airport in 2013
A former LAN Colombia Boeing 737-700 at El Dorado International Airport in 2012

As of September 2020, LATAM Colombia's fleet consists of the following aircraft:[5][6][7]

LATAM Colombia fleet
Aircraft In
service 		Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A319-100 6 — — 144 144
Airbus A320-200 8 — — 174 174
Total 14 —

Former fleet[]

The airline previously operated the following aircraft:

LATAM Colombia former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-700 10 2009 2014
Boeing 767-300ER 3 2012 2017 Leased from LAN Airlines
Bombardier Dash 8 Q100 4 1994 2009
Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 12 2003 2015
Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 4 1994 2011
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400[8] 4 2010 2014
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante 6 1981 2001
Fairchild F-27 4 1987 1997

Accidents and incidents[]

  • On February 20, 2002, a Bombardier Dash 8-300 (registered HK-3951X), en route from Neiva to Bogotá, was hijacked by 4 brigands, forcing them to land in a town and kidnapped a senator who was on board.[10]
  • On January 28, 2008, AIRES Flight 053, Bombardier Dash 8-200 (registered HK-3997), overran the runway at El Dorado International Airport, en route from Maracaibo, Venezuela after the left gear collapsed. The probable cause of the crash was that the aircraft was carrying out a landing with an unresolved fault in the left engine, which prevented the aircraft from being able to stop within the length of runway available, causing a runway excursion. A contributing factor was the failure to correct the maintenance reports in a satisfactory manner and failure to properly follow-up on repetitive entries. None of the 41 occupants were injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged and written off.[11]
  • On August 23, 2008, AIRES Flight 051, a Bombardier Dash 8-300 (registered HK-3952), sustained substantial damage after the right hand main landing gear collapsed on landing at Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport. The crew noticed a vibration of the right gear. None of the 31 occupants were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.[12]
  • On August 16, 2010, AIRES Flight 8250 crashed on landing at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport, in San Andrés, Colombia, after reportedly being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. The death of one person was reported as a result of a heart attack on the way to the hospital and another 129 were injured.[13] One of the injured occupants later died.[14] The cause was later determined to be pilot error.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Aires History" (in Spanish). Aires.aero. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012.
  2. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. March 27, 2007. pp. 69–70.
  3. ^ "LAN Colombia to join oneworld Oct. 1". Air Transport World. September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  4. ^ "Details | oneworld". www.oneworld.com. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 12.
  6. ^ https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airlines/4c-are/fleet
  7. ^ LATAM Colombia fleet details (englisch), abgerufen am 16. September 2020
  8. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 12.
  9. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  10. ^ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  11. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  12. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  13. ^ "Colombia plane crashes after lightning strike". BBC News. August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  14. ^ "Comunicado de Prensa 06 Archived September 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." AIRES. Retrieved on September 15, 2010.

External links[]

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