Avianca Brasil
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Avianca Brasil S.A. ( pt, Avianca Brasil), officially Oceanair Linhas Aéreas S/A, was a Brazilian airline based in
Congonhas Airport Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a popul ...
in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil. According to the
National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil The National Civil Aviation Agency (''Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil'' in Portuguese), also known as ANAC, is the Brazilian civil aviation authority, created in 2005. It is headquartered in the Edifício Parque Cidade Corporate in Brasília ...
(ANAC), which cancelled its operation, prior to cessation of operations, from January to December 2018 Avianca Brasil had 13.4% of the domestic and 7.3% of the international
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
in terms of passengers per kilometer flown, making it the fourth-largest airline both in domestic and international traffic in Brazil. The company slots (landings and take-off permits) were redistributed by Anac. An auction on 10 July 2019 raised R$555.3 million, not enough to pay a debt of R$2.7 billion, although Avianca's bankruptcy was not officially decreed.


History


OceanAir

The airline was established on 30 June 1998 as an
air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...
company to operate services for oil companies in the
Campos Basin The Campos Basin is one of 12 coastal sedimentary basins of Brazil. It spans both onshore and offshore parts of the South Atlantic with the onshore part located near Rio de Janeiro. The basin originated in Neocomian stage of the Cretaceous period ...
. Its name was then ''OceanAir'' and began to operate scheduled services in 2002, between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro,
Macaé Macaé () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, 180 km northeast of the state capital. It is the birthplace of the 13th president of Brazil, Washington Luís. Location Macaé is generally considered to be th ...
and Campos. Soon afterwards, it became better known to the public with a scheduled flight (no longer operated) connecting
São Paulo–Congonhas Airport São Paulo/Congonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport is one of the four commercial airports serving São Paulo, Brazil. The airport is named after the neighborhood where it is located, called Vila Congonhas, property of the descendants of Luc ...
in São Paulo and
Santos Dumont Airport Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero. Santos Dumont has slot restrictions operatin ...
in Rio de Janeiro via
São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
, enabling international passengers from both cities easy access to the country's largest international hub from those cities' more convenient central airports. At the time, OceanAir's fare between São Paulo's airports was cheaper than a taxi and on par with a luxury bus ride. In 2004,
Synergy Group Synergy Group Corp. is a South American conglomerate created and owned by Germán Efromovich. The group is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It operates several airlines in South America, among which are Avianca Group (formerly Avianca Ho ...
, the owner of the airline, bought the Colombian airline
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...
, which was undergoing judicial reorganization. As a result, OceanAir became a feeder for Avianca's flights into Guarulhos. This partnership between the two airlines increased the flow of passengers between Colombia and Brazil. Synergy Group also bought
VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...
as part of a strategy to create a continent-wide airline under the Avianca brand. In November 2005, a joint venture formed by OceanAir (49%) and ''Fondo de Inversiones Sustentables'' (51%) created a new Peruvian airline called Wayraperú, but the airline suspended operations a few months later until it was re-established later in 2018. OceanAir started operating international flights in 2007 with three
Boeing 767-300ER The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
s and a
Boeing 757-200 The Boeing 757 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the Boeing 727, 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. ...
, but by April 2008, the flights were discontinued because of increase in operating costs. Since then, the airline has concentrated its efforts on the Brazilian domestic market only. 5
Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
s and 30
Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
s were ordered in 2010, a contract worth
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
2,5 billion. With this fleet growth, Efromovich intended to control 15% of the Brazilian air market in the next decade, including routes to Mexico, Colombia, Africa and the United States.


Avianca Brasil

On 9 October 2009, Synergy announced that
TACA Airlines Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano, (''Air Transports of the American Continent'', known and branded formerly as TACA International), operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned by Kingsland Holdings based in El Salvador. As ...
and Avianca would merge. This merger increased OceanAir's feeder operations, already implemented with Avianca in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, to include TACA in São Paulo,
Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
,
Santos Dumont Airport Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero. Santos Dumont has slot restrictions operatin ...
,
Salgado Filho International Airport Salgado Filho Porto Alegre International Airport is the airport serving Porto Alegre and the region of Greater Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888– ...
in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
and Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport in Brasilia. On 26 March 2010, Germán Efromovich announced the rebranding of OceanAir as ''Avianca Brasil''. However, ''OceanAir Linhas Aéreas'' remained as the legal name of the airline. This allowed the Synergy group to further align the operations of OceanAir and Avianca. The first aircraft with the new name started operations on 27 April 2010. The only notable differences between the aircraft of Avianca Colombia and those of Avianca Brasil are the latter's Brazilian registrations and a small Brazilian flag under their cockpit windows. On 10 November 2010,
Star Alliance Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
decided to accept AviancaTaca Holding to join the network as a member airline. However, Avianca Brasil was rejected at the time due to its outdated IT platforms and an objection by
TAM Linhas Aéreas LATAM Airlines Brasil, formerly TAM Linhas Aéreas, is the Brazilian brand of LATAM Airlines Group and one of the largest airlines in the country. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between January and December 201 ...
, which since left Star Alliance to join
Oneworld Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
after merging with
LAN Airlines LATAM Airlines Chile (formerly LAN Airlines and LAN-Chile) is an airline based in Santiago, Chile, one of the founders of LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America's largest airline holding company. The main hub is Arturo Merino Benítez International ...
. Upon TAM's exit, Avianca Brasil officially joined Star Alliance on 22 July 2015 as an affiliate. On 11 October 2016, the airline took delivery of the first of 8
Airbus A320neo The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...
s being leased from
GECAS GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021. GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in ...
. Independent from
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...
, the airline increased its
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
from 3% in 2009 to 14% in 2018, becoming Brazil's fourth-largest carrier.


Bankruptcy

On 10 December 2018, Avianca Brasil filed for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
protection, R$ 100 million (US$26 million) was owed to
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
s and bank
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
grew by 50% in 2018, while
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
extended a loan of US$456 million to Avianca owner
Synergy Group Synergy Group Corp. is a South American conglomerate created and owned by Germán Efromovich. The group is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It operates several airlines in South America, among which are Avianca Group (formerly Avianca Ho ...
. Total debts amount to 493 million reais (US$127 million), whereas the first half of 2018 generated 175.6 million reais of losses. On 18 April 2019 Azul cancelled its offer to buy Avianca Brasil, but resubmitted the offer on 13 May. On 24 May 2019, ANAC suspended flights of Avianca Brasil, due security reasons. On 24 June 2019, its suspension was officially written in the official Diary by Anac. On 10 July 2019, the auction generated US$147,32 million or R$555,3 million from
Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A ("Gol Intelligent Airlines S.A." also known as VRG Linhas Aéreas S/A) is a Brazilian low-cost airline based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between ...
and
LATAM Brasil LATAM Airlines Brasil, formerly TAM Linhas Aéreas, is the Brazilian brand of LATAM Airlines Group and one of the largest airlines in the country. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between January and December 201 ...
, if valid, however the debts are R$2.7 billion. On 20 August 2019,
Star Alliance Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
announced Avianca Brasil's exit from the alliance from 1 September 2019. The departure, however, didn't affect Avianca's membership. On 14 July 2020, Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy in court.


Corporate affairs

Even though the legal name of the airline remained as ''OceanAir'', it was re-branded as Avianca since it was owned by
Synergy Group Synergy Group Corp. is a South American conglomerate created and owned by Germán Efromovich. The group is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It operates several airlines in South America, among which are Avianca Group (formerly Avianca Ho ...
, which owns
Avianca Holdings Avianca Group International Limited (formerly Avianca Holdings S.A. and AviancaTaca Holding Inc.) is a pan-regional Latin American multinational airline holding company with its registered office in St Albans, England, and its global headquarter ...
. The original
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...
of Colombia and Avianca Brasil remained separate legal entities, but in February 2017, it was reported that Avianca Holdings planned to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to fold Avianca Brasil into Avianca Holdings. Its current CEO, Frederico Pedreira, took office in April 2016.
José Efromovich José Efromovich (born 1955 in La Paz, Bolivia) is a Brazilian businessman of Polish-Jewish descent. He was CEO of the Brazilian airline Avianca Brazil and has a seat in the supervisory board of the AviancaTaca Holding company. His brother i ...
, younger brother of
Germán Efromovich Germán Efromovich (born 1950 in La Paz) is a Bolivian-born entrepreneur with multiple citizenship: Brazilian, Colombian, and Polish. He was born into a family of Polish Jews.
, President of Avianca Holdings, who had led the company since 2008, took office as chairman of the Board of Directors on the same date.


Destinations


Former codeshare agreements

Avianca Brasil had
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with the following airlines: *
Aeroméxico Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AM), is the flag carrier airline of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central Ameri ...
*
Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
*
Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport w ...
*
Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana Società per azioni, S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of ...
*
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...
*
Avianca El Salvador Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano, (''Air Transports of the American Continent'', known and branded formerly as TACA International), operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned by Kingsland Holdings based in El Salvador. As ...
*
Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by t ...
*
Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
*
South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...
*
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
*
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.


Fleet

As of May 2019, the Avianca Brasil fleet included the following aircraft.


Retired fleet

Avianca Brasil had formerly operated the following aircraft:


Frequent-flyer program

Avianca Brasil had a
frequent-flyer program A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...
called ''Programa Amigo.''


Accidents and incidents

*On August 12, 2010, a
Learjet 55C The Learjet 55 "Longhorn" is an American business jet manufactured by Learjet. Development and design The Learjet 50 series was first announced at the 1977 Paris air show with larger cabins than the existing Learjets. The series was to have three ...
(registered PT-LXO) was damaged in a runway excursion accident at
Santos Dumont Airport Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero. Santos Dumont has slot restrictions operatin ...
. The aircraft ran off the end of runway 02R into the
Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and ...
. The three occupants on board were not injured. *On March 28, 2014, a
Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 is based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans, an ...
(registered PR-OAF) crashed while landing at
Brasília International Airport Brasília–Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport is the only international airport serving Brasília. The airport was named after Juscelino Kubitschek (1902–1976), the 21st President of Brazil. It is located in the administra ...
after the nose landing gear could not be extended due to a hydraulic failure. No one was harmed in the incident. The aircraft was damaged beyond repairs and was written off, however it was later preserved as a
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
-themed restaurant at
Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
in August 2020. *On March 3, 2019, an
Airbus A320-200 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
(registered PR-OCW) suffered a minor runway excursion on landing in heavy rainfall on runway 15 of
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport Rio de Janeiro/Galeão – Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport , popularly known by its original name Galeão International Airport, is the main airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2019, it was the country's fourth-busiest airpor ...
.


See also

*
List of defunct airlines of Brazil a. German trade company that operated airline services in Brazil while also providing aircraft, maintenance and aviation information. See also * List of airlines of Brazil * Transportation in Brazil References {{List of defunct airline ...


References


External links


Avianca Brasil, formerly OceanAir History Sketch at Aviação Brasil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avianca Avianca Defunct airlines of Brazil Airlines established in 1998 Airlines disestablished in 2019 Companies based in São Paulo Former Star Alliance affiliate members