Avianca El Salvador

Transportes Aéreos del Continente Americano, S.A. (Spanish for "Air Transport of the American Continent"), known and formerly branded as TACA International Airlines, and operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned by Kingsland Holdings and based in San Salvador, El Salvador. It is one of the seven national branded airlines in the Avianca Group of Latin American airlines, and it serves as the flag carrier of El Salvador.

Founded in 1931, the airline owned and operated five other airlines in Central America. Its name was originally an acronym meaning Central American Air Transport (Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos) but was later changed to Air Transport of the American Continent (Transportes Aéreos del Continente Americano) to reflect its expansion to North, Central, and South America.

On 7 October 2009, the airline announced that it would merge with the Colombian airline Avianca, however, it maintained the TACA name until the merger was officially completed on 21 May 2013. TACA is the second-oldest continuously operating airline brand in Central America and the Caribbean, after Cubana de Aviación.

History

Inauguration (1931–1980)

TACA International Airlines, then named Central American Air Transports, was founded in 1931 in Honduras by New Zealander Royal Flying Corps veteran Lowell Yerex. Initially, the airline only transported cargo, but beginning in 1940 the airline began passenger services. TACA began operations with a single-engine Stinson plane. Since its beginnings, routes covered all the national territory and its aircraft sported the XH Mexican registration (which was changed later by HR).