Lansa (acronym for Limitada Nacional de Servicio Aéreo y luego de Líneas Aéreas Nacionales) was an airline company based in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

History

The Beginning

After 1945 the company,

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...

had a complete monopoly over the airline industry. A couple of mechanics and pilots decided to form their own company on May 7, 1945, in the city of

. Captain Ernesto Recaman Saravia was the first company leader of Lansa. His first actions of being the company leader were the purchase of four

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-made Avro Anson 625A aircraft. Each

Avro Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...

had a capacity of a maximum of eight passengers. Lansa built their first airfield, only 2 kilometers away from Paseo Colón. The airfield was named "Las Nieves" which translates to "the snows". It was equipped with a 1400 meter long track next to a wooden shed that served as an air terminal. The first planes were delivered to "Las Nieves" on September 3, 1945.

Outcome

Lansa as a result of its success from its Atlantic coast routes and in Medellin and Bogota, the company then acquired four

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

aircraft after having a successful year in 1946. In that same year, Lansa became a publicly traded company and changing its name to Línea Aéreas Nacionales S.A. After having been 2 years in the airline industry, Lansa accumulated 18 DC-3 aircraft. Its services were extended to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Region, Neiva, Garzón, Popayán and Ipiales in the south of the country of

. In 1948 there were negotiations of acquiring three Martin 202 aircraft, which had a maximum capacity of up to 40 passengers. However those negotiations were never finalized and the deal was off.

Internationalization

Lansa's first international flight was on February 8, 1947, from

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

. In order to expand its international operations, Lansa decided to request routes from Cartagena and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, with the aim of competing directly with Avianca. This was the first major move by Lansa to compete internationally with Avianca. Also that year in 1947, two DC-4s were bought from the Argentine Merchant Air Fleet. Under the direction of Humberto Zimmermann, former Avianca worker, Lansa airmail services were inaugurated on June 22, 1950, then that the National Government awarded him a contract for the transport of mail and parcels.

Decline

The gradual decline of the company after having such great success in its early days was due to several fatal accidents that happened in 1951, the accidents seriously damaged the companies reputation and financial losses. At that point many stockholders came with the choice that to be smart with their money, they would sell their stake to Avianca. Lansa having now majority of its stock being owned by Avianca. lost its fight against Avianca making the entirety of the purpose for the companies formation now defunct. At that point the company became a subsidiary to Avianca. Although Lansa maintained its identity independently for the next three years, in 1954 it completed its integration process in Avianca, which resulted in a definitive cessation of operations and in the transfer of its fleet from DC-3 to Avianca, while the other planes were sold to third parties. The entire companies assets and fleet were liquidated by the end of 1954.

Fleet

* Avro Anson 625A *

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

* Curtiss C-46 (cargo) * Martin 202 (Not operational because it was never bought)

References

External links

{{Airlines of Colombia Defunct airlines of Colombia Airlines established in 1945 Airlines disestablished in 1954 Defunct companies of Colombia 1954 disestablishments in Colombia