SBA Airlines

SBA Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
S3 BBR SANTA BARBARA
Founded 1 November 1995
Hubs Simón Bolívar International Airport
Focus cities La Chinita International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Privilege
Fleet size 7
Destinations 5
Company slogan Con calidez venezolana
(with Venezuelan warmth)
Parent company SBA Airlines, C.A.
Headquarters Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela
Key people Francisco González, President
Website sbairlines.com

Santa Bárbara Airlines C.A, doing business as SBA Airlines and formerly as Santa Bárbara Airlines prior to 2008,[1] is an airline with its headquarters on the third floor of the Edificio Tokay in Caracas, Venezuela.[2] It operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main base is Simón Bolívar International Airport, Maiquetía (Caracas), with a hub at La Chinita International Airport, Maracaibo.

History

Former Santa Bárbara Airlines Boeing 767 at Madrid Barajas airport

The airline was established on 1 November 1995 and started operations on 1 March 1996. It wholly owned Islas Airways until September 2006, when Islas was sold to the Canary Islands company Grupo SOAC.

At first it only covered airline flights to Cabimas, Mérida, El Vigía and Santa Bárbara del Zulia. The route to Alberto Carnevalli Airport in Mérida was diverted to El Vigía-Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo International Airport after the crash of Flight 518. Later, the airline took new destinations which covered the routes to Barquisimeto, Caracas, Cumaná, Las Piedras (Punto Fijo), San Antonio del Táchira and Valencia with a single overseas flight that covered the route Caracas - Oranjestad (Aruba).

Later, the airline opened international routes from Caracas to Barranquilla, Quito, Lima, Madrid, Miami, Santiago de Compostela and Tenerife.

SBA Airlines Boeing 767-300 at Caracas airport

Frequent flyer program

Privilege is the frequent-flyer program for SBA Airlines.

Proposed merger

SBA and Aserca Airlines have a proposed merger in place.

Destinations

SBA serves the following as of September 2014:

SBA previously also served New York City and Lima in the region, and Funchal, Madrid and Tenerife in Europe.

Fleet

Current Fleet

As of April 2016 the SBA Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[3][4]

SBA Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Boeing 757-200ER
2
0
 24 154 178 To be transferred to PAWA Dominicana
Boeing 767-300ER
3
0
 18 224 242
McDonnell Douglas MD-83
2
0
 0 152 152 Leased from Aserca Airlines
Total 7 0

Previously Fleet

Over the years, SBA Airlines has operated the following aircraft types

SBA Airlines Historical Fleet
Aircraft Total Notes
ATR 42
14
Boeing 757-200ER
9
Boeing 767-300ER
7
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
2
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
2
Total 34

Accidents and incidents

On 21 February 2008 an ATR 42 turboprop airliner operating Flight 518 from Mérida to Caracas, went missing shortly after taking off. Forty-three passengers and a crew of three, including two pilots and one flight attendant, were reportedly on board at the time. The remains of the aircraft were found the following day in a mountain range approximately 10 kilometers north-east of Mérida at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,700 m). No survivors were found.

After the accident, the company started a new public relations program as well as a new marketing initiative, switching the airline's name to SBA Airlines.

References

  1. ↑ "English page." SBA Airlines
  2. ↑ "Oficinas." SBA Airlines. Retrieved on January 17, 2012. "Calle 3B, Edificio Tokay, Piso 3, La Urbina."
  3. ↑ "Nuestra Flota" [Our Fleet]. sbairlines.com (in Spanish). Santa Barbara Airlines C.A. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "SBA Airlines Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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