LATAM Colombia

Aerovías de Integración Regional S.A. (Acronym: AIRES, lit. airs), d/b/a LATAM Airlines Colombia, and formerly known as LAN Colombia, is a Colombian airline. It is the second-largest air carrier in Colombia.

LATAM Airlines Colombia

IATA ICAO Callsign 4C ARE LAN COLOMBIA
Founded	20 February 1981[1] (as AIRES)
Commenced operations	1981 (as AIRES) December 3, 2011 (as LAN Colombia)
Hubs	El Dorado International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	LATAM Pass
Alliance	Oneworld (2013-2020; affiliate)
Fleet size	17
Destinations	31
Parent company	LATAM Airlines Group
Headquarters	Bogotá, Colombia
Key people	Santiago Alvarez (CEO)
Website	www.latam.com

Airbus A320 in LAN Colombia livery

The airline operates scheduled regional domestic passenger services, as well as a domestic cargo service. Its main base is El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá.[2]

On 28 October 2010, it was announced that 98% of the shares in the previous airline AIRES had been acquired by Chilean carrier LATAM Airlines. On 3 December 2011, it started operations as LAN Colombia. It became an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance on 1 October 2013, but left on 1 May 2020.[3][4]

Destinations

Main article: List of LATAM Colombia destinations

Fleet

Current Fleet

Boeing 737-700 in LAN Colombia livery (2011)

As of October 2019, LATAM Colombia's fleet consists of the following aircraft:[5][6]

LATAM Colombia Fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers	Notes
Airbus A319-100	7	—	144
Airbus A320-200	10	—	174
Total	17	—

Former Fleet

The airline previously operated the following aircraft:

• 3 further Airbus A319 (at August 2018)[7]
• 3 further Airbus A320 (at August 2018)[7]
• Boeing 737-700
• Boeing 767-300
• Bombardier Dash 8 Q100
• Bombardier Dash 8 Q200
• Bombardier Dash 8 Q300
• Bombardier Dash 8 Q400[8]
• Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
• Fairchild F-27

Incidents and accidents

AIRES Flight 8250

• On 28 January 2008, AIRES Flight 053 overran the runway at Bogota's El Dorado airport, en route from Maracaibo, Venezuela after the left hand main gear collapsed. The aircraft was a Dash 8-202, registration HK-3997. The probable cause for the crash was that the aircraft was carrying out a landing with an unresolved fault in the left engine, which prevented the aircraft from being able to stop within the length of runway available, causing a runway excursion. A contributing factor was the failure to correct the maintenance reports in a satisfactory manner and failure to properly follow-up on repetitive entries.[9]
• On 23 August 2008, AIRES Flight 051 sustained substantial damage following the collapse of the right hand main landing gear on landing at Barranquilla-Ernesto Cortissoz Airport (BAQ), Colombia. None of the 31 occupants were injured. The Bombardier Dash 8-301, registered HK-3952, operated on an international flight from Curaçao-Hato International Airport (CUR). The approach and landing were normal, touching down about 770 metres (2,530 ft) past the threshold of runway 23. The crew noticed a vibration of the right hand main gear. The undercarriage leg collapsed. There was no fire.[10]
• On 16 August 2010, AIRES Flight 8250 crashed on landing at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport, in San Andrés, Colombia, after reportedly being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. The death of one person was reported as a result of a heart attack on the way to the hospital and another 129 were injured.[11] One of the injured occupants later died.[12] The cause was later determined to be pilot error.

References

1. "Aires History" (in Spanish). Aires.aero. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012.
2. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. March 27, 2007. pp. 69–70.
3. "LAN Colombia to join oneworld Oct. 1". Air Transport World. September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
4. "Details | oneworld". www.oneworld.com. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
5. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 12.
6. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airlines/4c-are/fleet
7. "Global Airline Guide 2018 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2018): 12.
8. "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 12.
9. AIRES Flight 053
10. AIRES Flight 051
11. "Colombia plane crashes after lightning strike". BBC News. August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
12. "Comunicado de Prensa 06 Archived September 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." AIRES. Retrieved on September 15, 2010.

External links

• Official website
• (in Spanish) Conexión (inflight magazine)
• (in Spanish) LAN Airlines buys Aires