AeroRepública

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AeroRepública

IATA P5	ICAO RPB	Callsign AEROREPUBLICA
Founded		November 23, 1992
Hubs		El Dorado International Airport
Focus cities		Tocumen International Airport
Frequent flyer program		OnePass
Member lounge		Presidents Club
Alliance		SkyTeam (future subsidiary airline member sponsored by Copa Airlines)
Fleet size		16 (2006)
Destinations		15 (2006)
Parent company		Copa Holdings, S.A.
Company slogan		Pasión por el servicio
Headquarters		Bogotá, Colombia
Key people		Roberto Junguito (CEO)
Website: www.aerorepublica.com

AeroRepública's former logo

MD-80 with previous airline livery

OnePass: AeroRepública's frequent flyer program

AeroRepública's new corporate image

Presidents Club: AeroRepública's lounges

AeroRepública's cargo division

AeroRepública is an airline based at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the second largest air carrier in Colombia. It operates domestic flights around Colombia as well as international flights to Panama; it also operates charter flights to several Latin American and Caribbean countries.

1 History
2 Incidents and accidents
3 Destinations
4 Fleet
5 Alliances
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

The airline was established on November 23, 1992 by founders Amos Gindor and Dr. Alfonso Avila. It started operations on June 19, 1993 with a fleet of 3 Boeing B727-100 aircraft, between Bogotá, D.C. El Dorado International Airport and Cartagena and Santa Marta, as well as the offshore Colombian island of San Andrés. It was the first new airline in Colombia for over 25 years when it began trading in 1993. Plans were announced to begin international services to the USA in 1997, but these have yet to begin.

AeroRepública corporate headquarters was located in Pereira, Colombia. The airline was owned by Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela (33%) and Promotora de Inversiones Superior (at January 2005). It is Colombia's third largest airline holding a 16.1% market share.

On June 1, 2005, Copa Airlines, Panama's flag carrier, announced that it had purchased 90% of AeroRepública after having earlier announced plans to codeshare with them. The airline also announced it was planning to make AeroRepública the second largest carrier in Colombia after the nation's flag carrier, Avianca. It also plans to increase domestic destinations, modernize its fleet, and initiate the airline's first international destinations starting in 2006.

On October 18, 2006 announced that it has signed with GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) a lease agreement for an EMB 190 aircraft to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2007. This agreement increases AeroRepublica's delivery commitments to eight Embraer 190 aircraft through 2007, three of which will be leased through GECAS and five purchased directly form the manufacturer. In addition to these commitments, AeroRepublica has options and purchase rights for twenty additional EMB-190 aircraft through 2011.

AeroRepublica's CEO announced a lay off in order to reduce expenses in its future merger with Copa.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

On 8 January 2005 an AeroRepública McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft overran the runway at Cali's Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport , Colombia, and the landing gear separated. There were no fatalities among the 6 crew and 164 passengers (ref: Flight International, July 2005).

[edit] Destinations

Main article: AeroRepública destinations

[edit] Fleet

The AeroRepública fleet includes the following aircraft (as February 2007):

AeroRepublica's fleet modernization and expansion plan includes firm orders for 4 additional Embraer 190 aircraft (3 signed from GECAS and 1 from manufacturer), as well as options for 20 additional aircraft.