LATAM Colombia

LAN Colombia

IATA ICAO Callsign 4C ARE LAN COLOMBIA
Founded	February 20, 1981[1] (as AIRES)
Commenced operations	1981 (as AIRES) December 3, 2011 (as LAN Colombia)
Hubs	El Dorado International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	LANPASS
Alliance	Oneworld (affiliate)[2]
Fleet size	18
Destinations	31
Company slogan	The Joy of Flying El Encanto de Volar
Parent company	LAN Airlines
Headquarters	Bogotá, Colombia
Key people	Fernando García Poitevin (CEO)
Website	www.lan.com

Airbus A320 in LAN Colombia livery

LAN Colombia, previously Aerovías de Integración Regional S.A. (Acronym: AIRES, lit. airs), is a Colombian airline. It is the second largest air carrier in Colombia.

The airline operates scheduled regional domestic and international services, as well as a domestic cargo service. Its main base is El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá.^[3]

On October 28, 2010, it was announced that 98% of the shares in the previous airline AIRES had been acquired by Chilean carrier LAN Airlines. On December 3, 2011, it started operations as LAN Colombia. It became an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance on 1 October 2013.^[2]

Destinations

Fleet

Boeing 737-700 in the former AIRES livery. This aircraft operated AIRES Flight 8250, which crashed at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport, killing 2 people.

Boeing 737-700 in LAN Colombia livery (2011)

LAN Colombia's fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2014):^[4]

LAN Colombia Fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers	Notes
Airbus A320-200	15	—	174
Boeing 767-300ER	3	—	30/191
Boeing 787-8	0	8	30/217	Deliveries 2016
Total	18	8

Incidents and accidents

• On January 28, 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. 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.^[5]

• On August 23, 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 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.^[6]

• On August 16, 2010, AIRES Flight 8250 crashed on landing at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport, in San Andrés, Colombia, after 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 114 were injured.^[7] One of the injured occupants later died.^[8]

References

1. "Aires History" (in Spanish). Aires.aero.
2. "LAN Colombia to join oneworld Oct. 1". Air Transport World. September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
3. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. pp. 69–70.
4. "LAN Colombia Fleet". ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
5. AIRES Flight 053
6. AIRES Flight 051
7. "Colombia plane crashes after lightning strike". BBC News. 2010-08-16. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
8. "Comunicado de Prensa 06." AIRES. Retrieved on September 15, 2010.

External links

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