Avianca Brazil
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| Founded | 1998 as OceanAir, rebranded 2010 as Avianca Brazil | ||||||
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| Operating bases | São Paulo | ||||||
| Hubs |
Brasília São Paulo-Guarulhos | ||||||
| Focus cities |
Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont São Paulo-Congonhas Salvador da Bahia | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Programa Amigo | ||||||
| Airport lounge | Avianca VIP lounges | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate)[1] | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Avianca Brazil Cargo | ||||||
| Fleet size | 42 | ||||||
| Destinations | 24 | ||||||
| Company slogan |
Portuguese: 'É por você' English: 'It's for you' | ||||||
| Parent company | Synergy Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | São Paulo, Brazil | ||||||
| Key people | José Efromovich, Director-President | ||||||
| Website |
www | ||||||
Avianca Brazil (Portuguese: Avianca Brasil), officially Oceanair Linhas Aéreas S/A, is a Brazilian airline based in São Paulo, Brazil. It operates passenger services from 25 destinations. Its main bases are Brasília and São Paulo-Guarulhos airports.[2]
Even though the legal name of the airline remains OceanAir, it has been re-branded as Avianca since it is owned by Synergy Group, which owns Avianca Holdings. Avianca (Colombia) and Avianca Brazil remain separate legal entities. Its CEO is José Efromovich, who is the younger brother of Germán Efromovich.
According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between January and December 2014 Avianca Brazil had 8.4% of the domestic and 0.08% of the international market shares in terms of passengers per kilometer flown,[3] making it the fourth largest airline in Brazil, after TAM, Gol, and Azul.
History
OceanAir
The airline was established in 1998 as an air taxi company to operate services for oil companies in the Campos Basin. Its name was then OceanAir and began to operate scheduled services in 2002, between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Macaé and Campos. Soon afterwards, it started to become better known to the public with a flight (no longer operated now) connecting Congonhas Airport in São Paulo and Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro via São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, enabling international passengers from both cities easy access to the country's largest international hub from those cities' smaller but central and more convenient airports. At the time, OceanAir's fare between São Paulo's airports was cheaper than a taxi and on a par with a luxury bus ride.
In 2004, Synergy Group, the owner of OceanAir, bought Avianca, and as a result OceanAir has become a feeder for Avianca's flights into Guarulhos. This partnership between the two airlines has increased the flow of passengers between Colombia and Brazil. In 2004, Synergy Group also bought VIP Ecuador as part of a strategy to create a continent-wide airline under the Avianca brand. In 2006, a joint venture formed by OceanAir (49%) and Fondo de Inversiones Sustentables (51%) created a new Peruvian airline called Wayraperú, but the airline suspended operations a few months later. These airlines make up Synergy Group's aviation interests, and coordination of schedules to feed Avianca's network has been implemented. They will soon all be members of the AviancaPlus Frequent Flyer programme. Synergy Group had a profit of US$3 billion in 2005 and investments of US$100 million in the last months.
OceanAir started its first international operation to Mexico in 2007, with Boeing 767–300 aircraft, but in April 2008 the flights were discontinued. Since then the airline has concentrated its efforts on the Brazilian domestic market. Five Airbus A330 and 30 Airbus A320 aircraft were ordered in 2010, a contract worth US$2,5 billion. With this fleet growth, Efromovich intends to control 15% of the Brazilian air market in the next decade, including routes to Mexico, Colombia, Africa and the United States.[4]
Avianca Brazil
On 9 October 2009, Synergy announced that TACA and Avianca would merge. This merger has increased OceanAir's feeder operations, already implemented with Avianca in São Paulo, to include TACA in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, Santos Dumont Airport and Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre.
On 26 March 2010 Germán Efromovich announced that OceanAir would re-brand as Avianca Brazil. OceanAir Linhas Aéreas remains the legal name of the airline.[5] This way, Synergy group can further align the operations of OceanAir and Avianca.[6] The first aircraft with the new name started operations on 27 April 2010.[7] The only notable differences between the aircraft of Avianca Colombia and those of Avianca Brazil are the latter's Brazilian registrations and a small Brazilian flag under their cockpit windows.
On 10 November 2010 Star Alliance decided to accept Avianca Holding to join the network as a member airline. Avianca Brazil was not included in this. The Brazilian branch was accepted in a later decision, of 13 December 2013. Finally Avianca Brazil joined Star Alliance on 22 July 2015.[8]
Destinations
Avianca Brazil connects flights at São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport and Rio de Janeiro-Galeão/Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport with those of Avianca.
Fleet
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As of November 2015, Avianca Brazil fleet includes the following aircraft:[9][10]
| Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | J | Y | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A318-100 | 10 | – | – | 120 | 120 |
| Airbus A319-100 | 4 | – | – | 132 | 132 |
| Airbus A320-200 | 27 | – | – | 162 | 162 |
| Airbus A330-200F | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Airbus A350-900 | – | 10 | – | – | – |
| Total | 42 | 10 | — | — | — |
| Aircraft | Total | Years of Operation |
|---|---|---|
| Embraer EMB 120 Brasília | 5 | 2001–2008 |
| Fokker 50 | 3 | 2003–2008 |
| Boeing 767–300 | 3 | 2007–2008 |
| Fokker 100 | 9 | 2005–2015 |
Frequent-flyer program
Avianca (Brazil) has a frequent-flyer program called Programa Amigo.
References
- ↑ "Avianca Brasil Joins Star Alliance Network" (Press release). Star Alliance. July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 58.
- ↑ "Demanda e oferta do transporte aéreo" (in Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). 25 May 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Exame Magazine, 18 December 2006
- ↑ Laguna, Eduardo (26 April 2010). "OceanAir passa a se chamar Avianca" (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Valor Online. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ↑ Jardim, Lauro (17 March 2010). "Panorama: Radar: Aviação". Veja (in Portuguese). p. 53.
- ↑ "OceanAir agora é Avianca" (in Portuguese). Avianca. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ↑ About Avianca in Brazil. staralliance.com, retrieved 22 July 2015
- ↑ "Avianaca Brasil Active Fleet". CH-Aviation. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ↑ "Após dez anos Avianca Brasil aposenta Fokker 100" (in Portuguese). Panrotas. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avianca Brazil. |
- Avianca Brazil, formerly OceanAir Photo Archive at airliners.net
- Avianca Brazil, formerly OceanAir History Sketch at Aviação Brasil
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