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| Founded | 1945 | |||
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| Hubs | El Alto International Airport Viru Viru International Airport El Trompillo Airport |
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| Focus cities | Trinidad Rurrenabaque |
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| Fleet size | 11 | |||
| Destinations | 4 Regular Service Charter Routes (by request) |
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| Parent company | Bolivian Air Force | |||
| Headquarters | La Paz, Bolivia | |||
| Website | www.tam.bo | |||
TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar (Military Air Transport) is an airline based in La Paz, Bolivia. It is the civilian wing of the Bolivian Air Force, operating passenger services to remote towns and communities in the North and Northeast of Bolivia.
A similar airline serving the Beni Department with small planes is Línea Aérea Amaszonas,[1] using smaller planes than TAM.
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TAM begins operations on June 15, 1945 with the acquisition of new planes Douglas C-47s. In 1955, the squadron of the Bolivian Air Transport normed TAM to begin activities with commercial character.
"El Grupo Aéreo "71" (the Air group "71") known by the civil populace as Transporte Aéreo Militar (TAM), is an essential part of the structure of the Bolivian Air Force and the fundamental element for the development and integration of the populations in the distant parts of the national territory."
—TAM website, Historical summary/review.[2]
The original name (from 1944) was "El Escuadrón de Transporte Aéreo" (ETA). In 1953 the name was changed to Transporte Aéreo Militar. This heritage is reflected in the words "Grupo Aéreo 71" appearing as part of the TAM logo.
TAM has services from La Paz and Santa Cruz (in eastern Bolivia) to many towns in the Beni Department and between towns in the Beni area. Major destinations include Trinidad (capital of the Beni Department) and Rurrenabaque (on the Beni River).[3] In Santa Cruz TAM uses both airports of Santa Cruz: El Trompillo Airport and Viru Viru International Airport.
With its Fokker F27 (with 44 seats) and other smaller planes TAM supports the connection between the small towns and villages in the Departamentos Beni and Pando. The runways of those towns are grass- and mud-fields that are unsuitable for larger aircraft. For example Boeing 727s, used by AeroSur (Bolivia), are not able to land or take off from these fields.
As an example TAM's focus is on Rurrenabaque (popularly known as Rurre and a popular tourist destination) indirectly serving Reyes (close to Rurre by road) and San Borja ("within reach" by road from Rurre). Itineraries from the TAM timetable of 2006/2007 include:
The TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar fleet (NOV/2008) consists of:
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
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