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| Founded | 1 November 1995 | |||
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| Hubs | Simón Bolívar International Airport | |||
| Focus cities | La Chinita International Airport | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Alturas | |||
| Fleet size | 25+30 | |||
| Destinations | 14 | |||
| Company slogan | Con calidez venezolana (with Venezuelan warmth) |
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| Parent company | SBA Airlines, C.A. | |||
| Headquarters | Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela | |||
| Key people | Francisco González, SBA Airlines President | |||
| Website | SBA Airlines | |||
SBA Airlines, formerly known as Santa Bárbara Airlines prior to 2008,[1] is an airline based in Caracas, Venezuela. It operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main base is Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS), Maiquetía (Caracas), with a hub at La Chinita International Airport (MAR), Maracaibo.
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The airline was established on 1 November 1995 and started operations on 1 March 1996. It wholly owned Islas Airways until September 2006, when it was sold to the canary islander group Grupo SOAC. The airline has confirmed their first Boeing 767-300 in the new livery, from former SmartLynx Airlines and its scheduled delivery is in June to begin flights to Madrid on 20 June 2009.
At first only covered airline flights to Cabimas, Mérida, El Vigía and Santa Bárbara del Zulia. The route to Alberto Carnevalli Airport in Mérida was diverted to El Vigía-Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo International Airport after the crash of Flight 518. Later, the airlines took new destinations which covered the routes to Barquisimeto, Caracas, Cumaná, Las Piedras (Punto Fijo), San Antonio del Táchira and Valencia with a single overseas flight that covered the route Caracas - Oranjestad (Aruba).
Later, the airline opened international routes from Caracas to Barranquilla, Guayaquil, Lima, Madrid, Miami, Quito, Santiago de Compostela, Tenerife and Willemstad.
Privilege is the frequent flyer program for SBA Airlines.
The SBA Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 22.9 years.[2][3] Further aircraft are leased out and are therefore not included in this list.
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Options | Passengers (First/Business/Economy) |
Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 757-200 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 200 | Medium range | 5 Operational Support 1 2 in providing service to Iceland 3 in Miami 2 in Colombia |
| Boeing 767-300 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 270 | Long range | |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 1 | 0 | 270 | Long range | 2 Operational 1 in Hangar 1 in miami 1 Iceland 1 serving in Chile |
| DC9-31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 115 | Short - medium range | Operating domestic flights for partner Aserca Airlines |
| MD-80 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 150 | Short - medium range | Operating domestic flights for partner Aserca Airlines |
| MD-82 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170 | Short - medium range | Operating domestic flights for partner Aserca Airlines |
| MD-83 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 165 | Short - medium range | Operating domestic flights for partner Aserca Airlines |
| ATR 42 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 50 | Short - medium range' |
On 21 February 2008 an ATR 42 propeller aircraft operating the Flight 518 from Mérida to Caracas, went missing shortly after taking off. Forty-three passengers and a crew of three, including two pilots and one flight attendant, were reportedly on board at the time of the accident. The remains of the aircraft were found the following day in a mountain range approximately 10 kilometers North-East of Mérida at an altitude of 12,000 feet (4,000m). No survivors were found.
After the incident, the company started a new public relations program as well as a new marketing iniciative switching the airline's name to SBA Airlines.
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