Avianca Group International Limited (formerly Avianca Holdings S.A. and AviancaTaca Holding Inc.) is a pan-regional multinational airline holding company with its registered office in St Albans, England, and its global headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the second largest air transport group in Latin America after LATAM Airlines Group.
The Group dates back when it was formed in February 2010 after a merger agreement between Avianca and TACA Airlines, the of Colombia and El Salvador respectively, when Avianca and TACA became wholly owned subsidiaries of Avianca Holdings. TACA's shareholders were given 29% and Avianca's shareholders were given 71% of the shares in the new company.[ Quiénes Somos Avianca Holdings S.A. Fact Sheet , aviancaholdings.com, retrieved 16 June 2017]
The company was previously listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Colombia Stock Exchange as Avianca Holdings. Since its inception, the Avianca Group has expanded its portfolio of operations and brands with the acquisition of the Mexico AeroUnion in 2014. The Group also owns the Avianca Express brand and the rewards program LifeMiles.
Operations
The company is the second largest airline holding in
Latin America by revenue and fleet size after LATAM Airlines Group based in
Santiago,
Chile. With a fleet of 173 aircraft and more than 19,000 employees, Avianca serves over 100 destinations in
Americas and
Europe, which connect to over 750 destinations worldwide through codeshare agreements with partner airlines. Avianca carried 24.6 million passengers in 2013.
[ Avianca Holdings - Corporate Presentation 2014 . aviancaholdings.com. Retrieved 14 May 2015]
Subsidiaries
Current
-
Avianca
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Avianca Cargo (formerly Tampa Cargo)
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Avianca Cargo México (formerly AeroUnion)
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Avianca Costa Rica (formerly LACSA)
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Avianca Ecuador (formerly AeroGal)
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Avianca El Salvador (formerly TACA Airlines)
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Avianca Guatemala (formerly Aviateca)
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Avianca Honduras (formerly Isleña; dormant
Former
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Aeroperlas
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Avianca Perú (formerly TACA Perú)
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La Costeña
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SANSA
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Servicios Aeroportuarios Integrados
Shareholding
Shareholding composition of Avianca Holding S.A. as of March 31, 2021:
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BRW Aviation LLC – 51.53 %
-
Kingsland Holdings Limited – 14.46 %
-
United Airlines – less than 1%
-
Avianca Holdings S.A – 15.64 %
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Several plus numerous individual investors, mostly and others – 17.37%
Corporate affairs
The key trends for the Avianca Group are (as of the financial year ending December 31):
|
| 2011 | 3,794 | 99 | 17,360 | 20.4 | 79.6 | | |
| 2012 | 4,269 | 38 | 18,071 | 23.0 | 79.6 | 147 | |
| 2013 | 4,609 | 248 | 19,153 | 24.6 | 80.5 | 171 | |
| 2014 | 4,703 | 128 | 19,961 | 26.2 | 79.4 | 193 | |
| 2015 | 4,361 | −139 | 20,485 | 28.2 | 79.7 | 193 | |
| 2016 | 4,138 | 44.2 | 20,449 | 29.4 | 81.1 | 191 | |
| 2017 | 4,441 | 82.0 | 18,641 | 30.5 | 81.7 | 187 | |
| 2018 | 4,890 | 1.1 | 18,338 | 30.6 | 83.0 | 191 | |
| 2019 | 4,621 | −894 | 16,707 | 30.5 | 81.7 | 196 | |
| 2020 | 1,711 | −1,094 | 14,568 | 7.9 | 74.1 | 171 | |
| 2021 | 336 | −15.1 | | | | 150 | |
| 2022 | 4,047 | −322 | | 24.6 | | 140 | |
| 2023 | 4,771 | 131 | | | | 158 | |
| 2024 | 5,274 | 122 | | | | 177 | |
Paradise Papers
On November 5, 2017, the
Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that the company's former Chairman Germán Efromovich was linked to an offshore conglomerate used for the aero-commercial
holding business with ramifications in
Bermuda,
Panama and
Cyprus. Efromovich used a Panamanian offshore that hid more than 20 firms located in tax havens. The conglomerate was used by Avianca Holdings in the purchase of MacAir Jet, now Avianca Argentina, an aircraft company owned by Macri Group, for an amount of US$10 million. Allowing Avianca to make headway in the
low-cost carrier business in Argentina. The Argentine government accepted these offshores as a financial
guarantee to assign air routes to Avianca which is now being investigated by the Argentine federal justice system.
Bankruptcy
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.
In November 2020, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved its $2 billion refinancing plan.
In November 2021, Avianca Holdings announced they would move their legal address from Panama to the United Kingdom, and that they would change their name to Avianca Group.
Fleet
, the fleet of the Avianca Group consists of the following aircraft:
|
|
| Airbus A319-100 | 8 | — | – | 12 | 48 | 84 | 144 | To be retired. |
| Airbus A320-200 | 79 | — | – | 12 | 60 | 108 | 180 | |
| Airbus A320neo | 47 | 41[Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), monthly updated, accessed via ] | – | 12 | 60 | 108 | 180 | |
| – | – | 188 | 188 | Former Viva Air Colombia aircraft. |
| Boeing 787-8 | 16 | — | 20 | – | 36 | 235 | 291 | |
| 32 | – | 259 | Former Norwegian Long Haul aircraft. |
|
| Airbus A330-200F | 6 | — | Cargo |
| Airbus A330-200P2F | — | 2 | |
| Airbus A330-300P2F | 2 | 2 | |
|
See also
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List of airline holding companies
Notes
