Taca Airlines Essay, Research Paper

Lineas Aereas Taca de Colombia was established in Bogota, (capital) Colombia on November 4, 1944. On this day the government gave this new business its legal rights. Foreign investors also had other economic interests in the country and showed up as the owners of the airplanes that were leased to Taca de Colombia to start its operations. Soon Taca faced its first obstacles, Avianca, which is the rival airline, did not let them use the airport grounds, to build their installations. For this reason a special permit was given to the airline, to use the airport at Madrid, located near Bogota, where the Colombian Air Force had an air base as well as a military aviation school.

Operations began at last, on January 1, 1945 connecting Bogota with the cities of Medellin, Cali, Cartagena and Bucaramanga. After finding itself forced to establish a field that holds the proper equipment for the aircrafts, technical support, and a place to the airplane, the company increased to $1.5 million pesos by the end of 1945. Following their great success, they requested from the Colombian government the permission for their first international flight from Colombia to Ecuador. A month after Taca obtained the authorization; Avianca, their rivals was also given the permission to fly the same route.

The flying equipment had been changed to the Douglas DC-3, with the goal of keeping Taca?s the image as a safe company. The installation of advanced radios in the plane was promoted, which allowed the captain to keep in contact with the airport stations, and to receive the latest information on the weather. It also received other data to guarantee the best security for each flight. The company?s image was focused on safety and fast service.

By December of 1946, the Crespo airport, in the city of Cartagena, was opened, also belonging to the company. When the board of directors met, an $8 million project was presented. The project included a two-floor airplane, the ?Boeing Stratocruiser?, which would connect to the Americas, and Miami to Argentina, and the main base in Bogota. Their goal was to compete against Pan American Airways, which dominated routes between the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Unfortunately the project did not go beyond that stage. Wanting to expand, Taca requested permission to fly to San Jose, Costa Rica. From there they started to provide service to the near by countries, all the way to Mexico and to the U.S.

The airline grew tremendously, despite the competition from Avianca and Lansa (a company that was already expanding services in the national countries) while at the same time, kept promoting Air Express service to all international countries, including a special service for fragile objects, valuables and perishables. After a serious incident with four planes in 1947, the director in charge of the Civilian Aviation Department demanded all the planes to be inspected, including the registration form for those planes operating in Colombian territory. The loss of many planes from the Colombian territory caused a great disaster and the ending for Lineas Aereas Taca de Colombia. All the employees were fired, including administrative agents, technicians and pilots. Soon Taca went bankrupt and went out of business, which was well-received news by Avianca.