Avianca

Avianca, the Airline of Colombia

The current status of the Company, its fleet, history, and a brief description of products and services.

Avianca S.A.

The first commercial airline founded in the American continent and the second one in the world.

Avianca is the first commercial airline founded in the Americas and the second one in the world. Its creation took place thanks to the ingeniousness and adventurous spirit of the Germans Werner Kaemerer, Stuart Hosie, Alberto Tietjen, and the Colombians Ernesto Cortizzos (the first President of the Airline), Rafael Palacio, Crist?bal Restrepo, Jacobo Correa, and Aristides Noguera.
On the 5th of December, 1919, in the city of Barranquilla (Colombia), these visionary individuals and dreamers founded the Colombo-German Company Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transporte A?reo - SCADTA.

SCADTA

The company accomplished the first flight between Barranquilla and the nearby town of Puerto Colombia, on board a Junker F-13 wherein 57 letters were transported.

The flight was in command of German pilot Helmuth Von Krohn.

This Junker F-13 aircraft and another one of the same type made part of the Airline?s low wing totally mechanical construction monoplanes, the engines of which had to be modified in order to be able to efficiently operate in the climatic conditions of the country. They were 9. 50 mts long and 3.50 mts high. Their flight capacity was 850 kilometers and they could carry up to 4 passengers, and two crewmen.

Due to the topographic characteristics of the country, two floaters were adapted to the Junker aircraft in order to be able to accomplish landings in the waters of rivers in different towns. This way, on October 20th, 1919, following the course of the Magdalena River, Helmuth Von Krohn performed the first flight inland Colombia. It was an 8-hour flight with four emergency landings in water included.

The same vision of the group of founders, Peter Von Bauer, a German scientist and philanthropist got interested in SCADTA and contributed know-how, cash, and another plane to the Company. Likewise, he obtained for SCADTA the concession from the Colombian government for the airmail transportation in the country, with which SCADTA definitely took off.

Already in the mid 20s, overcoming many natural obstacles, SCADTA inaugurated international routes that initially covered destinations in Venezuela and the United States.

Regretfully, in the same decade, exactly in 1924, the aircraft where among other, Ernesto Cortizzos and Von Krohn were traveling, fell in the area currently known as Bocas de Ceniza, accident which caused the death of its occupants.

Given the circumstances of II World War, the Colombian ? German citizen Von Bauer has had to sell his SCADTA shares to the US company Pan American.

At present, Avianca and its affiliate Sam have 35 aircrafts, namely:

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1 Boeing 767-300
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4 Boeing 767-200
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5 Boeing 757-200
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15 McDonell Douglas MD-83
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10 Fokker-50

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