Colombian air travel giant AviancaTaca announced plans Wednesday to renew its fleet with 15 new aircraft.
AviancaTaca, the Bogota-based parent company to both Avianca and TACA airlines, will be replacing current planes with a new ATR 72-600 model, designed and built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturers ATR. The new aircraft, capable of carrying up to 72 passengers, are to be purchased in a bid to make the airlines short-haul flights more efficient.
The renewal will cost the company $700 million with each single aircraft carrying a price tag of $23.4 million.
The CEO of AviancaTaca, Fabio Villegas Ramirez, claimed the scheme was aimed at a “commitment to connecting regions within strategic markets such as Colombia and Central America.”
The CEO of ATR, Filippo Bagnato, stated “this is certainly a major contract for ATR. We are signing with a provider of air transport and reputable leader in the Americas.”
AviancaTaca, soon to be renamed Avianca, controls Colombia’s two largest major commercial airlines, among others, making it the third largest airline holding company in all of Latin America. It also has Latin Americas second largest fleet, spanning its reach throughout the Americas and Europe.