Avianca Guatemala
Guatemalan airline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aviateca S.A. branded Avianca Guatemala is a regional airline headquartered in Guatemala City that serves as the flag carrier of Guatemala.[2] Aviateca was under government ownership and remained so until 1989 when it joined the Grupo TACA alliance of Central America and was privatized. It was fully integrated into TACA, operating under the TACA Regional banner, which later merged with Avianca.
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March 14, 1945 (as Aviateca)
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_-_La_Aurora_International_Airport,_Guatemala_City.jpg) Avianca Guatemala (Aviateca) Airbus A320-214 (N538AV) taxiing at La Aurora International Airport | |||||||
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| Founded | 1929 (as Aerovías de Guatemala) March 14, 1945 (as Aviateca) | ||||||
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| Hubs | La Aurora International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Mundo Maya International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | LifeMiles | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 1 | ||||||
| Destinations | 9 | ||||||
| Parent company | Avianca Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Guatemala City, Guatemala | ||||||
| Key people | Frederico Pedreira (CEO) | ||||||
| Founder | Alfredo Denby Chattfield | ||||||
| Employees | 82[1] | ||||||
| Website | avianca | ||||||
History
The airline was established in 1929 as Aerovías de Guatemala and was founded by Alfredo Denby Chattfield. In March 14, 1945, the airline was nationalized during the government of Juan José Arevalo and established as Empresa Guatemalteca de Aviación S.A. which was shortened to Aviateca. One of the original founders was Alfredo Castaneda Duarte who also served as a pilot. Aviateca started operations in March 1946 and early aircraft operated by the carrier including the Douglas DC-3.
In 1961, service to Miami was originated with four-engined Douglas DC-6 airliners. The airline later operated the Douglas DC-6B version as well. Convair CV-240 family airliners were also acquired to replace some of the DC-3s on short-haul routes in Latin America.
Aviateca introduced jet service as a customer for the BAC One-Eleven medium twin jet in 1970. In 1974, the airline was operating the stretched BAC One-Eleven series 500 version of the British-manufactured jet on international flights to Miami, New Orleans, Mexico City, Mérida and San Jose, Costa Rica.[3] The airline's fleet was referred to by locals as "Las Papayas Voladoras" (The Flying Papayas) due to the paint scheme used during the 1970s, in which the underbelly was painted a reddish orange. It also temporarily leased a Fokker F28 Fellowship, some Boeing 720s and a Douglas DC-8-61. Aviateca later acquired two Boeing 727-100s, which operated for the airline in the 1980s. From 1989 on, Aviateca's fleet consisted of several Boeing 737-200 and Boeing 737-300 jetliners, including a full cargo 737-300 that operated for a few months.
Between 2006 and 2007, Aviateca operated a few Airbus A319s with the TACA-style Aviateca logo on the engines. Five of TACA's ATR 42-300s were registered for Aviateca in Guatemala. Due to reorganization measures at Avianca Holdings, Aviateca was renamed Avianca Guatemala in 2013.
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.[4][5]
In March 2021, the airline terminated all destinations and transferred its operations to Avianca. However, in October 2022, Avianca Group announced that it would reactivate Avianca Guatemala's operations by December 2022.[6][7]
Destinations
This is a list of destinations of served by both Aviateca and Avianca Guatemala throughout their existence.[8]
Fleet
Current fleet
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As of August 2025[update], Avianca Guatemala operates the following aircraft:[11]
| Aircraft | In service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Y+ | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 1 | — | 12 | 60 | 108 | 180 | |
| Total | 1 | — | |||||
Former fleet
Throughout its operations, the airline operated these aircraft:[12][13][14]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 2 | 2006 | 2007 | Operated by TACA Airlines |
| ATR 42-300QC | 3 | 2006 | 2017 | |
| ATR 72-600 | 4 | 2014 | 2021 | |
| BAC One-Eleven Series 500 | 4 | 1970 | 1980 | |
| Boeing 720 | 3 | 1977 | 1979 | |
| Boeing 727-100C | 4 | 1979 | 1989 | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 12 | 1990 | 2004 | One written off as Flight 901 |
| Boeing 737-300 | 9 | 1989 | 1996 | |
| Convair CV-440 | 4 | 1954 | 1979 | |
| Curtiss C-46 Commando | 6 | 1949 | 1975 | |
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | 11 | 1945 | 1981 | |
| Douglas C-54 Skymaster | 2 | 1954 | 1970 | |
| Douglas DC-2 | 2 | 1945 | 1952 | |
| Douglas DC-6 | 10 | 1965 | 1984 | |
| Douglas DC-8-61 | 1 | 1988 | 1989 | Leased from Trans International Airlines |
| Fairchild C-82 Packet | 5 | 1957 | 1961 | |
| Fokker F-27 Friendship | 3 | 1978 | 1987 | |
| Fokker F-28 Fellowship | 1 | 1974 | 1976 | Leased from Fokker |
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | 1 | 1975 | 1975 | Leased from Midwest Aviation |
| Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation | 1 | 1972 | 1972 | |
Aviateca photo gallery
A Douglas DC-6A at Miami International Airport in 1971
A Boeing 727-100 in the "Flying Papaya" livery in 1980
A Boeing 737-200 in hybrid Aviateca/TACA colors in January 1999
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Accidents and incidents
- On 15 December, 1953, Curtiss C-46 Commando (registered TG-AQA) cargo flight crashed in the Cerro Tecpán mountains within Tecpán, killing the 2 pilots onboard.[15]
- On May 24, 1956, Douglas C-47A (registered TG-AHA) crashed in the Sierra de las Minas mountains, near Río Hondo, all but one of the 31 occupants were killed.[16]
- On May 11, 1971, Curtiss C-46 Commando (registered TG-ACA) crashed into a hill shortly after takeoff from La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City, killing 5 out of 32 occupants onboard.[17]
- On February 17, 1975, Douglas C-47A (registered TG-AMA) was destroyed by fire at El Petén Airport, Tikal.[18]
- On November 18, 1975, Douglas C-47 (registered TG-AGA) crashed within Petén Department whilst on a passenger flight from Uaxactun Airport to Flores International Airport, Santa Elena, 15 out of 22 occupants killed.[19]
- On April 27, 1977, Convair CV-240 (registered TG-ACA) emergency landed near La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City following engine failure, all 28 people on board survived.[20]
- On September 30, 1977, Douglas C-47A (registered TG-AKA) was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Flores International Airport, Santa Elena. One of the three crew members was killed.[21]
- On July 26, 1978, Douglas DC-3 (registered TG-AFA) overran the runway at Flores International Airport following a birdstrike on take-off and was reported to have been damaged beyond economic repair.[22] The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service.[23]
- On August 9, 1995 (0214 UTC August 10, 1995), Aviateca Flight 901, a Boeing 737-200 (registered N125GU), collided with the side of the San Vicente (Chichontepec) volcano, 24 kilometres (15 mi) northeast of San Salvador International Airport, San Salvador. The aircraft was on an IFR flight plan from La Aurora International Airport to Comalapa International Airport. All 7 crew members and 58 passengers died on the crash. Severe weather existed at the time, and the aircraft had deviated from airway G436 to the north to avoid thunderstorms.[24][25]
