Avianca files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Avianca Holdings SA announced this Sunday the beginning of the voluntary reorganization procedures under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

Avianca and its subsidiaries intend to continue operating their businesses as «debtors in possession» under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code during the processing of the Chapter 11 process.

As a result of the company‘s filing for Chapter 11 protection, amounts owed under various debt instruments have automatically accelerated.

Avianca is an airline holding company incorporated in Panama as a result of the combination of Avianca and Taca in February 2010.

The combination of Avianca and Taca was announced and agreed in October 2009 by their respective controlling shareholders who, after obtaining the approval of the antitrust and regulatory authorities, contributed their respective interests in Avianca and Taca to the then new company.

Avianca Holdings S.A. (formerly AviancaTaca Holding S.A.) changed its domicile from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to Panama and adopted its statutes under Panamanian law on March 2, 2011.

In May 2011, it completed its initial public offering on the Colombian Stock Exchange.

Avianca

The was organized in 1919 as SCADTA (Colombian-German Air Transport Society) by a group of Colombian and German investors who were pioneers in the navigation of aircraft in Colombia with Junkers F-13 seaplanes.

In the early 1920s, the company was offering international service to Venezuela and the United States.

During World War II, German investors sold their stake to Pan American World Airways, an American corporation.

In 1940, Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia S.A., or Avianca, was incorporated in connection with the merger of SCADTA and SACO (Colombian Air Service). In 1977 Avianca acquired SAM S.A., a Medellin-based passenger airline.

Then, in 1981, Avianca built and began operating the Puente Aéreo terminal in Bogotá to service domestic routes in Colombia.

The company then remodeled this terminal in 2006 and enjoyed exclusive rights to use it on national routes in Colombia until May 2018, when Operadora Aeroportuaria Internacional, or OPAIN, provided Avianca with the space necessary for its national and international operations to be integrated under a terminal at El Dorado International Airport.

In 2004, its indirect controlling shareholder, Synergy, acquired Avianca, helping it out of its Chapter 11 reorganization.

In 2005, Avianca changed its name to Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A. Avianca. In 2008 Avianca acquired Tampa Cargo, a leading cargo airline in Colombia, and in 2010 it acquired Avianca Eduador, formerly known as Aerogal, which is currently a direct subsidiary of Avianca Holdings SA, and merged with SAM SA, with Avianca as the surviving entity. .

Taca

Taca was organized in Honduras in 1931 as Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos (TACA).

During the 1930s and 1940s, Taca expanded throughout Central America, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. In the 1950s, operations were consolidated into one airline, Taca International, based in El Salvador.

In 1963, the Kriete family acquired a majority stake in Taca. In the 1990s, Taca began acquiring interests in the flag carriers of each of the other Central American countries.

In 1998, Taca modernized its fleet and redesigned its schedule on a dual hub and radio network, with centers in San Salvador and San José. In 1999, Taca launched Avianca Peru, formerly Transamerican Airlines S.A., and added a hub in Lima, Peru.