Avianca
S.C.A.D.T.A-SOCIEDAD COLOMBO-ALEMANA De TRANSPORTES AEREOS
SCADTA
A review of commercial aviation in South America would not be complete if it did not include a tribute to one of the oldest airlines in the world . I name that airline AVIANCA . However, the roots of AVIANCA goes way back in the early 20th century when a group of Colombian and German businessmen founded on December 5, 1919 the SOCIEDAD COLOMBO-ALEMANA De TRANSPORTES AEREOS-SCADTA. Colombia was ripe for the development of civil and commercial aviation as it was growing economically. Linking Barranquilla with Bogota for example, could take up to 14 days by steamers instead of a few hours by plane. The draconian conditions imposed by the treaty of Versailles regulating all aspects of aviation in Germany resulted in German pilots, engineers and technicians being abundant after world war 1 . 2 Junkers F13 were ordered and equipped with floats. the Junkers F13 was the first all metal aircraft ever built which was ideal for the operations in tropical and equatorial America. The first was delivered on 13/4 /1920 and adequately named "Colombia" and soon followed by its sister ship "Bogota". In 1921 SCADTA operated the following routes BARANQUILLA-CALAMAR-MAGANGUE-EL BANCO-GAMARRA-PUERTO WILCHES-BARRANCA BERMEJA-EL DORADO-HONDA-GIRARDOT (connection by train to Bogota) along the Magadalena River BARRANQUILLA-CIENAGA-SANTA MARTA BARRANQUILLA-CARTAGENA In 1923 COSADA a subsidiary was established to fly between BUCARAMANGA and PUERTO WILCHES/BARRANCA BERMEJA with a dornier Komet. the trip which was usually taking 4 to 5 days was reduced to a mere one hour flight. The route was finally opened in March 1926. International expansion followed Maracaibo in 1925, Guayaquil in Ecuador was served from 10/6/1928 and Cristobal (Panama) from 3/4 /1929 . At this point of the review, i would like to stress on the fact that the early 20s saw a rapid development of commercial aviation in Europe, while the US still lagged behind. Sensing that the CEO of SCADTA Peter Paul von Bauer embarked in a bold move by leasing 2 Dornier wal flying boats "the Atlantico "and the "the Pacifico" (from the condor syndicate another thriving German-Brazilian venture) and leading a delegation to the USA to negotiate the opening of air routes between the USA and Colombia. The flying boat took the following route in August 1925: BARRANQUILLA-CARTAGENA-CRISTOBAL-PUERTO LIMON-SAN JOSE DEL NORTE-MANAGUA-AMAPALA-LA LIBERTAD-SAN JOSE DE COSTA RICA-LAKE AMATITLAN-PUERTO BARRIOS-BELIZE-COZUMEL-HAVANA-MIAMI-PALM BEACH (September 1925).Alas, the delegation received a lukewarm welcome and only the department of commerce showed an interest. The delegation returned frustrated to Colombia. This apparent indifference suited Juan Trippe's PAN AMERICAN very well . The economic meltdown of 1929 had far reaching effects on the operations of SCADTA and its future.SCADTA posed a threat to the development and expansion of Pan American Airways and the crisis gave PA. the golden opportunity to step in the Colombian market.Already and he sought the financial help of PAA which extended him a loan of $300,000 with the provision that SCADTA renounces its international services .Peter Paul von Bauer had problems to modernize its fleet, (the FORD company was extremely reluctant to sell him the TRIMOTOR not wanting to antagonize its best client PAA) and he sold 84.49% of its holding to PAN AM for $445,470.82 in a contract which remained secret for many years If the international services were lost, domestic operations thrived as PAN AMERICAN was more than happy to supply the Sikorsky 38 and the Ford 5-AT-A/D/C. In 1926, the company orders 10 Boeing 247, of which 2 will be delivered in November and December 1936. On December 31, 1936 the fleet of SCADTA consisted of : 3 hydroplanes Junkets F13 : ANTIOQUIA/DARIEN/ATLANTICO The un-duplicated routes of the company reached a length of 9000 kms. Alas, European politics caught up, the advent of Nazi Germany, the extremely tight ties of SCADTA (as well as other South American airlines) with Germany , Colombia being at the footsteps of the canal zone and the Roosevelt administration fearing that Nazi agents could bomb the canal fueled an hysteria and pressures were exercised relentlessly on the Colombian government . The eruption of WW2 in Europe in 1939, did not calm things and the Colombian government was forced to nationalize SCADTA and to merge it with its main rival SACO to form what we know today as AVIANCA which was born on 26/10/1939 (date of the announcement of the merger) . In the mean time, all German personnel of SCADTA was sacked and/ or deported and replaced by PAA personnel . Amidst this turmoil the company orders in October 1939 the DC3. PAN AMERICAN retained 64% of the new company On June 14, 1940, in the city of Barranquilla, SCADTA, under ownership by United States businessmen, merged with regional Colombian airline SACO, forming the new Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia S.A. or Avianca. Five Colombians participated in this: Rafael María Palacio, Jacobo A. Corea, Cristobal Restrepo, and Aristides Noguera, as well as German citizens Albert Teitjen, Werner Kaemerer and Stuart Hosie, while the post of first President of Avianca was filled by Martín del Corral. Avianca claims SCADTA's history as its own. In 1946, Avianca began flights to Quito, Lima, Panama City, Miami, New York City and Europe, using Douglas DC-4s and C-54 Skymasters. In 1951, Avianca acquired Lockheed Constellations and Super Constellations. In 1956, the company transported the Colombian delegation to the Melbourne Olympics on a 61-hour trip, stopping only to refuel.[citation needed] During the 1960s, the company built the Avianca Building in Bogotá, designed by the architect Germán Samper, which was inaugurated in 1969 on the south side of Santander Park. In 1961, Avianca leased two Boeing 707s to operate its international routes and on November 2, 1961, it acquired its own Boeing 720s. In 1976, Avianca became the first Latin American airline to continuously operate the Boeing 747-100. Three years later, it started operations with more 747s, including two Combi aircraft, mixing cargo and passenger operations.[citation needed] In 1981, Avianca undertook the construction of a new exclusive terminal called the Terminal Puente Aéreo, which was eventually inaugurated by President Julio César Turbay Ayala. Avianca's original purpose for the terminal was for flights serving Cali, Medellín, Miami and New York.