TAN (Transportes Aereos Nacional)

  February 1947 to August 1956

  Brazil

TYPE: Airline

IATA/ICAO CODES: -- / ---

HEADQUARTERS: Belo Horizonte, Brazil

FORMER NAME: Nil

SUBSEQUENT NAME: Real Transportes Aereos (merger in a consortium)

TAN (Transportes Aereos Nacional) was founded in 1946 by Hilton Machado, former pilot of Servicos Aereos Cruzeiro do Sul, and Manuel Jose Antunes, former copilot of Aerovias Brasil along with other two shareholders. It received its operating certificate on 26 February 1947, and the first scheduled flights took off in 1948 from Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Cuiaba using two DC3s. After two years of activities, Sao Paulo was included in the network and the fleet increased to six DC3s.

Between 1949 and 1955, TAN successively purchased and incorporated smaller airlines: Viabras, OMTA, Central Aerea, VASD, and Itau. All these airlines operated in the form of a consortium, which took the name of Consorcio de Transportes Aereos. This consortium was organized as single company on 20 November 1953 under the trade name Nacional. Those acquisitions greatly increased the number of cities served to 74 in 1954, using 28 aircraft. TAN also had an international service to Asuncion. However, the fleet being based on DC3s and Commandos, it was unable to fly longer sectors without stops.

On 2 August 1956, Linneu Gomes, the owner of Real Transportes Aereos, purchased 85% of TAN's shares and added the airline to a consortium formed by Real Transportes Aereos and Aerovias Brasil. The consortium took the name of Consorcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional. The powerful group was able to then fly to the entire Brazilian territory and some international destinations. Though maintaining legal independent identities, because they were controlled by the same person, Linneu Gomes, the three airlines operated jointly and in practice it was Real which controlled the consortium.

October 1955* to October 1961*

TAN operated 10 Commandos. Some were taken over from Itau. After the merger with Real, most continued to be operated in TAN colors.

• Curtiss C-46A-35-CU Commando: PP-AKG
• Curtiss C-46A-55-CK Commando: PP-LDW (I)
• Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando: PP-AKF, PP-ITH / PP-SLK, PP-ITA, PP-ITB, PP-ITC, PP-ITE
• Curtiss C-46D-5-CU Commando: PP-ITI
• Curtiss R5C-1 Commando: PP-AKE