Viva Air Colombia facts for kids
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| Founded | September 16, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | May 25, 2012 |
| Ceased operations | February 27, 2023 |
| AOC # | 9B2F646F |
| Hubs |
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| Focus cities | Rafael Núñez International Airport |
| Subsidiaries | Viva Air Perú |
| Fleet size | 10 |
| Destinations | 25 |
| Parent company | Irelandia Aviation |
| Headquarters | Rionegro, Colombia |
| Key people | Francisco Lalinde (President and CEO) |
Fast Colombia S.A.S., known as Viva Air Colombia, was an airline from Colombia. It used to be called VivaColombia. This airline was known for offering very low-cost flights. Its main base was in Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia.
Viva Air Colombia was part of a bigger company called Irelandia Aviation. It was the third largest airline in Colombia. Even though it shared the "Viva" name, it was not officially connected to Mexico's Viva Aerobus. However, they did work together on some flights.
Contents
History of Viva Air Colombia
How Viva Air Colombia Started
Viva Air Colombia was created by the Irelandia Aviation group. This group specializes in starting low-cost airlines around the world. Declan Ryan, one of the people who founded the famous airline Ryanair, led this group. Irelandia Aviation owned all of Viva Air Colombia's shares.
In May 2017, Viva Air Colombia started a new airline in Peru called Viva Air Perú. This was part of their plan to grow across Latin America.
In April 2018, the airline changed its name from VivaColombia to Viva Air Colombia. This change was to help them expand more easily in Latin America. They also announced Santa Marta as a new main base in Colombia. This new base opened in October 2018. It offered flights to places like Santa Marta, San Andrés, Bucaramanga, and Pereira. Two airplanes were based there at first.
Challenges and Closing Down
In April 2022, another airline called Avianca wanted to buy Viva Air Colombia. However, the Colombian aviation authority, Aerocivil, was worried. They thought this merger might reduce competition in the country. Even with these worries, talks about the merger continued.
In February 2023, two other airlines, JetSmart and LATAM Colombia, also showed interest in buying Viva Air. Around the same time, Viva Air faced serious money problems. The airline had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also struggled because the merger with Avianca was taking too long. Because of these financial issues, Viva Air had to stop using five of its airplanes. This happened because the company that rented the planes to Viva Air said they hadn't been paid.
On February 23, 2023, Felix Antelo, the President and CEO of Viva Air, stepped down. He said his health was not good. He asked Aerocivil to quickly decide on the Avianca-Viva merger. He warned that the airline was in danger of disappearing. Francisco Lalinde, who was the Vice President of Operations, became the new interim CEO.
On February 27, 2023, Viva Air and its Peruvian branch, Viva Air Perú, stopped all their flights. They grounded all their airplanes. They blamed their financial crisis on Aerocivil's slow decision about the merger. They said the delay forced them to stop operations immediately.
On March 21, 2023, Aerocivil finally said it would approve the Avianca-Viva merger. But they set several conditions. These included refunding or honoring tickets for canceled flights. The new airline also had to give back some flight times at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. They also had to keep Viva Air's low-cost model.
However, on May 13, 2023, Avianca decided not to buy Viva Air. They said Aerocivil's conditions were too strict. They believed these conditions would harm Avianca's finances.
On June 22, 2023, the Superintendency of Corporations announced that Viva Air had begun the process of officially closing down. This was because it was too difficult for the airline to start flying again.
Where Viva Air Colombia Flew
Viva Air Colombia flew to many places until February 2023. Here are some of the cities and countries it served:
| Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
Buenos Aires | Ministro Pistarini International Airport | ||
 Brazil |
São Paulo | São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport | Terminated | |
 Colombia |
Apartadó | Antonio Roldan Betancourt Airport | Terminated | |
| Armenia | El Edén International Airport | |||
| Barranquilla | Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport | |||
| Bogotá | El Dorado International Airport | Hub | ||
| Bucaramanga | Palonegro International Airport | |||
| Cali | Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport | Hub | ||
| Cartagena | Rafael Núñez International Airport | Focus city | ||
| Cúcuta | Camilo Daza International Airport | |||
| Leticia | Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport | |||
| Medellín | José María Córdova International Airport | Hub | ||
| Montería | Los Garzones Airport | |||
| Neiva | Benito Salas Airport | |||
| Pasto | Antonio Nariño Airport | |||
| Pereira | Matecaña International Airport | |||
| Riohacha | Almirante Padilla Airport | |||
| San Andrés | Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport | |||
| Santa Marta | Simón Bolívar International Airport | |||
| Valledupar | Alfonso López Pumarejo Airport | |||
| Villavicencio | La Vanguardia Airport | |||
 Dominican Republic |
Punta Cana | Punta Cana International Airport | ||
 Ecuador |
Quito | Mariscal Sucre International Airport | Terminated | |
 Mexico |
Cancún | Cancún International Airport | ||
| Mexico City | Mexico City International Airport | |||
 Panama |
Panama City | Panamá Pacífico International Airport | Terminated | |
 Peru |
Lima | Jorge Chávez International Airport | ||
 United States |
Miami | Miami International Airport | ||
| Orlando | Orlando International Airport |
Working with Other Airlines
Viva Air Colombia had special agreements with other airlines. These are called interline agreements. They allowed passengers to connect flights between different airlines. Viva Air Colombia worked with:
- Air Transat
- VivaAerobús
Viva Air Colombia's Airplanes
The airplanes that Viva Air Colombia used were:
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 29 | 2012 | 2023 | |
| Airbus A320neo | 12 | 2020 |
Incidents with Viva Air Colombia
- On February 4, 2015, an Airbus A320-200 airplane (registered HK-5051) was flying from Bogotá to Medellín. There were 182 people on board. About 17 minutes after taking off, one of the engines caught fire. The pilot had to make an emergency landing back at El Dorado International Airport. Firefighters quickly put out the fire once the plane was on the ground. The aviation authority, Aerocivil, said that the passengers were not in serious danger.
See also
In Spanish: Viva Air Colombia para niños
- List of airlines of Colombia
- List of low-cost airlines
- Viva Air Perú
