TAN (Transportes Aereos Nacionales)

  August 1947 to 1991

  Honduras

TYPE: Airline

IATA/ICAO CODES: TX / TAN

HEADQUARTERS: Tegucigalpa

OTHER NAMES: TAN (Transportes Aereos Nacionales), TAN Airlines

SUBSEQUENT NAME: SAHSA (Servicio Aereo de Honduras) (merger)

TAN was formed in August 1947 by Cornell N. Shelton and R. C. Forsblade using capital provided by Honduran industrialist Miguel Brooks Sr. Operations initially centered around charter cargo flights between Tegucigalpa and Miami, FL using Commandos. It expanded to scheduled passenger and cargo services in August 1950, weekly and then twice-weekly to Miami, FL, New Orleans, LA and Havana, Cuba. Service to San Pedro Sula and San Salvador started in late 1951, and these were added to the Miami route by the US CAB in August 1952. The network extended south to Managua, Nicaragua in June 1954, and later to Guayaquil, Ecuador and Lima, Peru. Between March 1953 and March 1956, passengers carried increased tenfold.

In the mid-1950's, the CAB started expressing concerns regarding fifth-freedom passengers - those carried from the USA to destinations beyond Honduras - and regarding the true company ownership. Most of the capital was attributed in the form of bearer's shares and thus unverifiable, but it seemed that the true beneficial owners were mostly Shelton and a Taiwanese citizen called L. K. King. The first problem was overcome by using an interchange system for through passengers. The second problem was solved in March 1965 when Shelton died and his shares were transferred to his daughter Patricia S. Spohrer, who held dual Honduran/US citizenship.

In 1967, TAN and Nicaraguan airline LANICA agreed to operate LANICA's single BAC One-Eleven on a joint basis. Later, in March 1973, TAN acquired a DC6A freighter for its Tegucigalpa to Miami, FL route. It was operated until its sale in September 1979.

In February 1970, TAN acquired Pan Am's 38% holding in SAHSA. A Boeing 737-200 was incorporated into the fleet in May 1974. In October 1989, the company experienced its worst accident when a Boeing 727 crashed on approach to Toncontín Airport, killing 131 occupants on board. On 1 November 1991, TAN merged with SAHSA, adopting the latter name.

1947* to 1967*

TAN operated a total of eleven Commandos, both in cargo and passenger configurations. Five of them were in use by the mid-1950's, forming the mainstay of the fleet. They were replaced by DC6s and DC7Bs in the late 1960's.

• Curtiss C-46A-10-CU Commando: XH-TNE (II)
• Curtiss C-46A-55-CK Commando: XH-TNA / HR-TNA
• Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando: XH-TNB / HR-TNB, XH-TNC (I), XH-TNF (II)
• Curtiss C-46A-60-CS Commando: XH-TNF (I)
• Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando: XH-TNC (II) / HR-TNC, XH-TNE (I)
• Curtiss C-46D-20-CU Commando: XH-TND (I)
• Curtiss R5C-1 Commando: XH-TND (II) / HR-TND, XH-TNG