TACA Airlines History
TACA airlines is the combination of regional airlines in North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean that all fly under the TACA brand name. Regional presence includes airlines from El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Peru. TACA stands for Transportes Aereos del Continete Americano and is headquartered in El Salvador. Routes include 39 destinations with a special focus on Central and South America.
Founding
TACA was founded in 1931 by Lowell Yerex from New Zealand as a cargo carrier primarily providing mail services in Honduras. By 1933, Yerex had started TACA's international expansion through new routes to San Salvador. By 1934, TACA was flying into Nicaragua and Guatemala. Over the next several years, TACA solidified their international presence by purchasing airlines in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Conflict
In 1940, controlling interest in TACA was sold to American Export Lines, which put them in direct competition with Pan American Airlines. TACA was forced out of Guatemala because the dictator chose Pan Am over TACA. TACA also was in conflict with Pan Am over flights to the United States and the Caribbean.
Strategy
Lowell Yerex started a new airline, the British West Indies Airline in Trinidad and entered into a joint venture in Brazil called Inter-American Airlines. By selling large interest in Inter-American Airlines to United States investors including Trans World Airlines (TWA), TACA was able to fly into Miami.
Leadership Change
In 1945 Benjamin Pepper replaced Lowell Yerex as chairman of TACA. The next few years saw the decline of TACA's international presence as Pan Am took market share and divisions of TACA were shut down including the Honduran and Nicaraguan divisions. In 1947, leadership changed again and Paul Richter was appointed to lead TACA.
Slow Growth
During the 1950's and 1960's, TACA slowly regained its footing and had slow, but steady growth by focusing on cargo businesses. By 1989, TACA was strong enough to regain control of the Central American market though purchases in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Current
TACA continued it's growth strategy through strategic cooperation with other airlines on purchases and routes, including a tourist plan from Central America to New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, TACA is the largest regional carrier in Central America and has flights throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
