Avianca Costa Rica S.A., using callsign asLACSA (Spanish: Lineas Aéreas Costarricenses S.A.), minority owned by theSynergy Group, is thenational airline ofCosta Rica and is based inSan José. It operates international scheduled services to over 35 destinations in Central, North and South America.[2] The airline previously used theTACA/LACSA moniker when it was a subsidiary ofGrupo TACA. Since May 2013, following Avianca's purchase of Grupo TACA, Avianca Costa Rica became one of seven nationally branded airlines (Avianca Ecuador,Avianca El Salvador, etc.) operated byAvianca Group ofLatin American airlines.
Apostage stamp issued to commemorate LACSA’s 20th anniversary
LACSA was formed on October 17, 1945, with the help ofPan American World Airways, and started operations on June 1, 1946, usingDouglas DC-3s for local services within Costa Rica,[3] operating as an affiliate of Pan Am.[4] The airline was designated as Costa Rica'sFlag carrier in 1949[3] and wasnationalized in 1958.[5]
LACSA operated theDouglas DC-6B four-engined piston airliner from 1960 until 1976 on their regular passenger, and eventually freight, scheduled flights to Miami International Airport. The airline introduced the first of theirBAC One-Eleven twin-engined jet airliners onto their Caribbean passenger route network in April 1967.[6]
The airline also operated a subsidiary in theCayman Islands,Cayman Brac Airways (CBA) Ltd.,[7] which it sold a 51% controlling interest in the late 1960s to the Cayman Islands government, which in turn used the air carrier to formCayman Airways. LACSA servedGrand Cayman for many years as an intermediate stop on its services between San José, Costa Rica and Miami.[8]
Beginning in 1998, TACA/LACSA was one of the member airlines comprising theTACA Airlines alliance along withAviateca, Nica,Isleña Airlines, and five other regional airlines.[9][10] In 2008, a new fleet ofEmbraer 190 jets was introduced.[11] Also in 2008 a new TACA logo was introduced,[12] followed by a new fleet of Embraer 190 airplanes registered in Costa Rica and operated under theLACSA code. In October 2009,Avianca and TACA announced their merger plans to be completed in 2010. By May 28, 2013, the airlines began operating as a single commercial brand using theAvianca name.[13]
This same timetable states that all international flights were being operated withBritish Aircraft CorporationBAC One-Eleven twin jets at this time with the exception of the San José-San Andres Island route which was being flown with aConvair 440 propliner.
On 23 May 1988,LACSA Flight 628, a leasedBoeing 727-100 (registered TI-LRC), operating the route San José-Managua-Miami, collided with a fence at the end of the runway in theJuan Santamaría International Airport, crashed at a nearby field next to a highway, and caught fire. The excess of weight in the front part of the airplane was the cause of the accident. There were no fatalities out of the 24 occupants.[27]
On 11 January 1998, LACSA flight 691,[28] anAirbus A320-200, veered off a runway atSan Francisco International Airport during the takeoff roll. The aircraft left the runway at full speed, coming to rest in a field of mud. The runway was closed after the incident, reducing take-off capacity by 50 percent, leading to massive delays at the airport. None of the 122 passengers on board the aircraft sustained injuries, and stayed at a hotel until another aircraft could transport them to their destination,San José, Costa Rica. The cause of the incident was not determined.[29]
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