LANSA (Lineas Aereas Nacionales SA)
Operator Identification
May 1945 to late 1954
Colombia
TYPE: Airline
IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil
HEADQUARTERS: Barranquilla
OTHER NAMES: LANSA (Limitada Nacional de Servicio Aereo) (1945-1947), LANSA (Lineas Aereas Nacionales SA) (1945-1954)
SUBSEQUENT NAME: Avianca (purchased 1951, integrated 1954)
Operator History
In the early post-war years, Colombia given a monopoly to Avianca on commercial aviation. However, a group of pilots, mechanics and private investors under the leadership of Captain Ernesto Recaman, Gabriel Perez Reyna and Rafael Barvo decided to create a new airline venture. The company was incorporated on 5 May 1945 in Barranquilla with a starting capital of 135,000 pesos shared as follows:
- Ernesto Recaman Saravia: 41,600 pesos in cash and 27,400 pesos in negotiable instruments - included the contributions from several Avianca employees who wished to remain anonymous;
- Antonio Yepes: 10,000 pesos in cash;
- Jose del Carmen Gutierrez: 5,000 pesos in cash and 5,000 pesos in negotiable instruments;
- Ligia Castaneda de Artunduaga: 5,350 pesos in cash and 4,650 pesos in negotiable instruments;
- Celmira Cediel: 7,500 pesos in cash and 2,500 pesos in negotiable instruments;
- Charles E. Peebles: 5,250 pesos in cash and 4,750 pesos in negotiable instruments;
- Mauricio T. Obregon: 5,000 pesos in cash;
- Marco Tulio Mendoza: 5,000 pesos in negotiable instruments;
- Zoilo Ruiz: 5,000 pesos in negotiable instruments;
- Ramon Santodomingo: 1,000 pesos in cash.
The acronym LANSA that the enthusiastic pilots had devised stood for "Lineas Aereas Nacionales SA", but lawyer Hernando Padilla considered too ambitious a name for a limited company. Therefore, the name was adjusted to "Limitada Nacional de Servicio Aereo Ltda.". The new airline had the full support of the local government and especially the Governor of Atlantico Department, Alberto Pumarejo and the Secretary of Government Juan B. Hernandez. Similarly, it had the support of several businessmen from Barranquilla: Carlos Parrish, Hendrik Cornelissen and Samuel Hollopeter.
Captain Recaman traveled to the USA to purchase four Avro Ansons, each with a capacity of eight passengers. In the meantime, his colleagues in Barranquilla dedicated themselves to building a 1,400-meter runway near Paseo Colon, complete with a wooden hut for passengers. The airfield was named "Las Nieves" by the time the first plane arrived on 3 September 1945. LANSA's scheduled services began on 24 October 1945, with an inaugural circular flight between Barranquilla, Riohacha, Uribia and Valledupar. These cities, located in the peninsula of La Guajira in Northeastern Colombia, were far from the Avianca route map. In each city, it had been necessary to build a landing strip. The company's first paid passenger was Don Nicolas Mora, a prominent journalist for El Tiempo, which was already the most important newspaper in the country.
New routes were inaugurated from Barranquilla to Medellin, Fundacion, and later Bogota. Following a successful year in 1945, Captain Recaman traveled again to the USA and purchased four Douglas DC3s which joined the Ansons from 18 January 1946. The company structure was changed to a limited company, the capital was increased to 6 million pesos, and the name finally changed to Lineas Aereas Nacionales SA. The network was expanded to cover the whole of Colombia, and by the end of 1946 LANSA was flying 18 Douglas DC3s across the country, becoming the second largest airline after Avianca.
Year 1947 was dedicated to opening international routes, starting on 8 February with a service to Maracaibo, Venezuela in cooperation with Aeropostal (LAV). The runway in Barranquilla was paved and extended to 2,000 meters. Several other airfields were built throughout Colombia, as Avianca refused LANSA the right to land on its airports. As a price war was raging on domestic passenger fares, LANSA's management decided to challenge Avianca's monopoly on the lucrative carriage of air mail. The Colombian government refused to break the exclusive contract it had with the national airline, but accepted to implement passenger fares regulation to end the price war and improve the airlines' financial situation. For instance, Bogota to Medellin or Bogota to Cali round-trip fares were set at 45 pesos.
In 1948, LANSA led a campaign for the government to consider the formation of a National Aerodrome Corporation, so that it would be the government itself and not airlines that would manage airport infrastructure. Showing the way, LANSA opened its Barranquilla airport to other airlines in May 1948. However it was not until the mid-1950's that the government took action on the issue by creating ECA, the Colombian Aerodrome Company. LANSA's General Shareholders Meeting held on 31 August 1949 appointed Hernando Padilla as the new General Manager, and decided to pay 4 cents per month of dividends per share, the company having earned a million pesos in the preceeding year. Construction of the San Luis de Cucuta airport was also announced, supported 25% by LANSA and 75% by the local citizens. The airport was inaugurated on 25 November 1949. After receiving the national air safety award for three consecutive years, LANSA lost its first DC3 on 25 November 1949 in Cerro Matanzas with the loss of 9 lives, and a second one on 24 May 1950 in the Galeras Volcano where all but one of the 27 souls onboard died.
The growth in passenger volume was such that 534,000 passengers were transported in 1950. Upon completing five years of operations, the cargo market decreased, both due to Avianca's competition and the entry of several specialized operators. LANSA also operated ten owned airports, which caused its operating costs to be very high. Finances began to fail. The Board of Directors hired Carlos Escallon as the new General Manager to face this difficult situation. By then, the advertising campaigns "Colombia Vuela LANSA" and "Get to Know Colombia with LANSA" were launched. On the domestic front, services were increased and the construction of the Simon Bolivar airport in Santa Marta was completed. Three Commandos dedicated to the transportation of cargo, with a capacity of six tons, were purchased. The first Commando arrived in Barranquilla on 31 May 1950.
On the air mail front, the government finally awarded LANSA its first mail contract. The Board of Directors immediately contracted the services of Humberto Zimmermann, a pioneer in commercial aviation who had worked most of his life handling airmail for SCADTA since 1927. Zimmermann, together with his German colleagues, had been fired from Avianca in 1940. Under his management, LANSA's mail services were inaugurated on 22 June 1950. A series of airmail stamps was printed in bright colors and a contract was signed with the KLM to transport the mail to Europe and the world, using the service that it operated through its Netherlands Antilles Division (KNILM) from Barranquilla to Curacao.
With the aim of expanding internationally, it was decided open a service to Havana, Cuba and onwards to Miami, FL, in direct competition with Avianca. Two Douglas DC4s purchased from Argentina for this purpose arrived on 22 July 1950 and were refurbished in Miami with new luxury chairs and interiors. Under the pressure of Pan Am's Juan Trippe and Avianca, the CAB denied LANSA the right to operate into Miami. Seeking an alternative way to operate into the USA, Carlos Escallon made agreement with National Airlines, Eastern Air Lines and Delta to transport LANSA passengers from Havana to Miami, Atlanta, Washington, and New York with cheaper rates. The route was officially inaugurated on 1 December 1950. However, the route turned out not to be profitable and had to be canceled some time later.
On the domestic market, competition was increasing and the financial situation became dire when Banco Comercial Antioqueno decided to cancel LANSA's credit lines. The Board of Directors called back Captain Ernesto Recaman to General Management to confront the situation. Three accidents occurred in the first months of 1951. On 31 January, a DC3 freighter crashed near Madrid, but the two pilots were unharmed. On 14 February, Commando HK-333 crashed in Cali, killing the two pilots. And on 21 March, a passenger DC3 flown by Captain Carlos Barvo crashed in Hato Nuevo, killing all 29 aboard. As LANSA was indistress, Avianca jumped on the opportunity and made a proposal to purchase the company's shares and assets. A group of LANSA shareholders decided to sell their shares to Avianca, while the latter slowly acquired all public shares floating on the market. Despite some resistance, by the end of 1951, LANSA had become a subsidiary of Avianca
LANSA continued to operate independently at first, trying to maintain its image and survive. Only in 1954, LANSA, under the leadership of Sabas Pretelt, was the integration process into Avianca completed. The entire fleet of Douglas DC3s joined Avianca, while the DC4s were sold in the USA and the Commandos to LIDCA, a new cargo company. Most of the LANSA executives went on to occupy upper management positions in Avianca.
Commando Operations
May 1950* to 1954*
LANSA purchased three Commandos in 1950. All were operated as freighters on domestic routes, with a 6-ton cargo capacity. One crashed on 14 February 1951, while the two others were sold to LIDCA during the fleet merger process with Avianca.
Last edited: 06/12/2020