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Taca Airlines Update

TACA Airlines now operates as Avianca El Salvador

Taca Airlines (TACA) merged with Avianca in 2013. The merger between Avianca (Colombia) and TACA marked one of the biggest airline mergers in history, as TACA was historically one of the biggest airlines in South America. The merger started in 2009 and lasted for four years, during which time the airline operated as AviancaTACA Holdings. Today, TACA Airlines operates under the Avianca name, as Avianca El Salvador.

About Taca Airlines (Avianca El Salvador)

When it operated as TACA, the airline was the flag carrier of El Salvador, and was the second-oldest continuously operating airline brand based on Central America and the Caribbean, behind Cubana de Aviación. Before the merger, TACA was made up of seven different airlines, that all operated from Central America and South America. These airlines were TACA International Airlines, Aviateca, Regional, Lacsa, Isleńa Airlines, TACA Peru and TACA Regional.

Today, TACA still operates, but as Avianca El Salvador - Avianca El Salvador operated flights still use the IACA and IACO identifiers 'TA' and 'TAI', as well as the call sign 'TACA'. As Avianca El Salvador, the airline currently serves 28 destinations throughout North, Latin, and South America. Avianca El Salvador is one of the seven branded airlines in the Avianca Holdings group of Latin American airlines, which has been in operation for 75 years. The company also provides air and ground cargo transportation services. As well as Avianca El Salvador, the seven air-passenger Avianca subsidiary airlines include:

Avianca Costa Rica

Avianca Ecuador

Avianca Honduras

Avianca Nicaragua

Avianca Perú

Avianca Guatemala

Flight Check-In

Airport Check-In

To check-in at airport counters, passengers must arrive at least 3 hours before flight departure. For domestic destinations, passengers must arrive at the counter 2 hours in advance of departure.

Depending on the airport, self-service check-in kiosks may be available, for a faster and more convenient way to check-in at the airport. Check-in at self-service kiosks is available between 24-hours and 1 hour before flight departure.

Online Check-In

Online check-in is available through the Avianca check-in page. Online check-in opens 24 hours before scheduled flight departure. After checking-in online, passengers can either print their boarding pass or check-in via mobile, whereby the boarding pass will be displayed on a smartphone.

Baggage Allowance

Please note that your free baggage allowance will depend on a number of factors, including ticket fare and the city of departure and arrival. During the Alternative Airlines booking process, your free baggage allowance will be confirmed, and there will also be the opportunity to add extra bags to your booking. However, the following information can be used as a guide.

Checked Baggage

Avianca El Salvador serves destinations throughout North, Latin, and South America.

Economy Class: The fee checked baggage allowance for Economy passengers between these destinations is: 1 piece, up to 23 Kg.

Business Class: The fee checked baggage allowance for Business passengers between these destinations is: 2 pieces, up to 32kg each.

Please note that the sum of length, width, and height of all checked baggage must not exceed 158cm (62 inches).

Carry-On Baggage

All passengers are entitled to one carry-on piece of luggage. On all flights, all hand luggage must weigh no more than 10 kilograms, and have a maximum height of 55 centimeters (22 inches), length of 35 centimeters (14 inches) and width of 25 centimeters (10 inches). Passengers must be able to safely store their hand luggage in the storage bins above the seats.

Economy Class

Within Economy Class, passengers can choose between a number of fare options: Super Promo, Econo and Flexi. While the inflight experience, including facilities and seating, will be the same, passengers will receive additional benefits when purchasing a higher-priced fare, such as pre-seat selection and free cancellations or amendments.

Did you know? When booking flights through Alternative Airlines it is easy to select the perfect Economy fare option for you - more information can be found in our guide to fare families.

Economy Class Facilities

Economy Class offers a wide range of inflight entertainment. On long-haul flights, a personal TV is fitted to each seat.

Meals and beverages will be served - see below for more details.

Economy Class Seats

Economy Class offers comfortable seats with plenty of legroom.

Premium Economy Class

There is no Premium Economy Class option. There is the option to upgrade your Economy Class fare.

Business Class

Passengers who have booked Economy Class can upgrade to Business via the airline's Plusgrade Auction System. Last-minute upgrades can also be made at the airport, if there are seats still available in Business Class. Take a look at our Avianca guide for more information.

Business Class Facilities

Business class passengers can enjoy priority boarding, extra baggage allowance, and a specialist on-board meal experience. A personal touch screen TV can also be found on the back of each seat.

Business Class Seating

Business class is in a separate cabin for privacy, quiet, and comfort. Seating can recline to a sleeping position. Amenities also include a pillow and blanket, shoe bags, travel kit, seat and light controls, USB ports, and an international plug socket for charging devices.

Business Class

There is no First Class option - Business Class is the airline’s premium product.

In-Flight Entertainment

The airline offers a variety of multimedia content including games, movies, popular TV shows, and music.

On international flights (aircraft depending) a personal television screen is mounted on the back of each seat in Economy as well as Business class. On aircraft where this service is not available, passengers can download the airline’s app, called ‘Avianca Entertainment’, which can be used to stream entertainment onto personal devices, such as tablets, mobile phones, or laptops. Power outlets are available to charge personal devices.

Is WiFi Available?

Avianca El Salvador passengers can enjoy high-speed WiFi during their flight. Prices and plans will be displayed on your digital device when you connect to the 'Avianca' network when on-board. But please note that the WiFi service is subject to availability depending on the aircraft and flight route.

In-Flight Meals

Business Class Meals

Passengers can choose from a varied selection of 2 or 3 main meal options, as well as desserts, and a variety of beverages, including wines, coffees, liquors and soft drinks.

Economy Class Meals

Beverages (non alcoholic) will be available for all passengers. The flight time will determine what meals will be provided, but as a general rule, meals will be served on international flights that are longer than an hour. Depending on the flight time, the following meals will be served:

Breakfast, on flights operating between 3:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Lunch or Dinner, on flights operating between 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.

Special Meals

When you make your booking through Alternative Airlines, you can select a meal option at the time of booking, or you can contact our customer service team before you fly. Special meals are available to pre-order on all international flights and will require at least 24 hours notice to order.

Asian Vegetarian, Baby Meal, Bland Meal, Child Meal, Fruit Platter, Gluten Free, Hindu, Kosher, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Salt, Muslim Meal, Diabetic, No Lactose, Oriental Vegetarian, Raw Meal, Seafood Meal, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Jain, Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo.

Fleet

The Avianca El Salvador fleet currently consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2019):

Destinations

This is a list of current TACA Airlines destinations, which are now operated by Avianca El Salvador (as of 2019):

Avianca El Salvador Frequent Flyer Programme

LifeMiles

Avianca El Salvador passengers can gain LifeMiles, which is the frequent flyer program operated by Avicanca. After joining, passengers can earn and redeem miles and take advantage of an array of benefits depending on mile accumulation - the levels of membership (based on miles flown) include: LifeMiles Silver, Gold Elite and Diamond. LifeMile members earn qualifying miles when flying on an Avianca/Avianca subsidiary flight, or when flying with Star Alliance airline partners.

Collecting LifeMile Points

When making a Avianca El Salvador booking through Alternative Airlines, passengers can select ‘LifeMiles' as their chosen frequent flyer programme during the flight booking process, and simply type in their personal membership number. More information on how to do this can be found here.

Airline Alliance

Star Alliance

Avianca is a member of the Star Alliance, one of the world’s leading airline alliances. Depending on frequent flyer membership, the alliance offers qualifying passengers entry to more than 1,000 VIP lounges worldwide, while connecting over than 1,316 destinations in more than 192 countries. Gold Elite and Silver Star Alliance members (or equivalent LifeMile members) also have access to a variety of add-ons, such as priority check-in and priority baggage handling.

Codeshare Agreements

Under the airline's codeshare agreements, some flights will be ticketed and owned by Avianca El Salvador, but the flight will actually be operated by a codeshare partner airline. Avianca El Salvador has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

• Avianca (parent company)
• Cubana de Aviacion
• Iberia
• Lufthansa

Hub Airport

Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport

Avianca El Salvador is based at Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport, the main airport serving San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. The airport is one of the busiest airports in all of South America. It has has been in an expansion period since 2014 - when the airport has been fully expanded in 2032, it's estimated to be able to carry 6.6million passengers per year. Since TACA Airlines merged with Avianca and became Avianca El Salvador, the airline has continued to use Monseńor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport as its hub airport.

SAL is also a hub for Volaris Costa Rica and Volaris El Salvador, and other airlines that fly to the airport include Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Copa Airlines, American Airlines, Iberia, Interjet, and Air Transat.

Image credit: Mauricio G. Campos

Alternative Airlines

Please click on the logos below to find out more about airlines that fly similar routes to TACA Airlines: