TACA Airlines, or Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano, formerly known as TACA International, is an airline company founded in 1931. This airline company has its hub at El Salvador International Airport and is owned by Kingsland Holdings, based in El Salvador. It currently operates as the flag carrier of El Salvador and is one of the seven nationally branded airlines in the Avianca group of Latin American airlines.

TACA owned five other airline companies in Central America and expanded its operations to North, Central, Caribbean, and South America. On October 7, 2009, they announced a merger with Avianca, but they maintained their name until completing the official merger on May 21, 2013. TACA was the second oldest operating airline brand in the Caribbean and Central America.

Historical Background

TACA was founded in Honduras by Lowell Yerex, a native of New Zealand. The airline commenced operations with a single-engine Stinson plane, covering routes across the national territory from the start, with aircraft bearing the XH Mexican registration. The vision was to establish one airline in each Latin American country. These airlines included Aerovias Brasil in Brazil and other TACAs in Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico.

In the 1940s and 1950s, TACA acquired larger piston-engine airliners such as the Douglas DC-4 and Douglas DC-3. On December 28, 1966, TACA International entered the jet age with the inauguration of its first jet, a BAC One Eleven, a famous twin-engine aircraft. This model was used until June 1, 1988, when it was replaced by the Boeing 737-200.

Expansion Years: 1980-2009

Until 1980, a United States company owned TACA, with its corporate headquarters in New Orleans under the administration of the Kriete Family of El Salvador. They held a minority stock and eventually bought all the shares. By July 1983, TACA was operating jet services to four destinations in the US from Central America, including Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and Houston. In the 1980s, the airline upgraded its fleet, replacing older turboprops and BAC One Eleven jetliners with Boeing 737-200 Advanced and 737-300 aircraft, the latter being a member of the Boeing 737 Classic family. TACA also operated wide-body Boeing 767s on scheduled passenger services, expanding international flights to Los Angeles and Miami.

Between 1990 and 1995, TACA acquired the majority shares of the flag carrier airline Aviateca and consolidated all operations under a new brand group, Grupo TACA. Additionally, TACA became the launch customer and primary user of the Airbus A320 in Latin America and formed a strategic alliance with Panama-based Copa Airlines, establishing Tocumen International Airport as the "Hub of the Americas."

Avianca-TACA and Modernization

On October 7, 2009, it was announced that TACA International would merge all its assets in a strategic alliance with the Colombian flag carrier, Avianca. TACA International and Avianca operated a combined fleet of 129 aircraft, serving over 100 destinations across Europe and the Americas.

Star Alliance

On November 10, 2010, The Star Alliance announced that TACA International and Avianca would become full members in mid-2012.

Completion of Merger and Final Flight

On May 20, 2013, TACA International began removing all signage bearing the TACA logo from airports across Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, the US, and Canada. The last flight departed from San Salvador at 7:50 PM MST and arrived in New York at 2:35 AM EST, two hours and thirty-five minutes after the official rebranding. The flight departed with the TACA callsign and landed with the Avianca callsign.