SACO (Colombia)

SACO
(Servicio Aéreo Colombiano)

IATA ICAO Call sign - - SACO
Founded	June 15, 1933
Commenced operations	June 27, 1933
Ceased operations	June 14, 1940 (merged with SCADTA to form Avianca)
Alliance	Pan Am
Headquarters	Bogotá, Colombia

The Colombian Air Service (Spanish: Servicio Aéreo Colombiano, SACO), was an early Colombian airline. Founded in 1933, in 1940 SACO merged with the Colombo-German Air Transport Company (Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos, or SCADTA); the new company was named Avianca (Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia).[1] Avianca still operates to this day, and claims SCADTA's history as its own, thus making it the second-oldest airline in the world.

History

On June 23, 1934, Ernesto Samper arrived in Bogotá with three Curtiss Kingbird and four American aviators hired to operate them. With these aircraft, the SACO expanded its operations to other cities, Bucaramanga, Cartago, Montería and Cartagena.

Accidents and incidents

On June 24, 1935, a Ford Trimotor of SACO collided during take off with another Ford Trimotor of SCADTA at Medellín, Colombia. 15 people were killed, including the world-famous tango singer Carlos Gardel.[2] After the accident, the SACO airline stopped operating for some time, while it was reorganized and new aircraft were acquired.

See also

• 1935 in aviation
• Avianca
• List of defunct airlines of Colombia

References

1. Burden, William Armistead Moale. The Struggle for Airways in Latin America (reprint), p.73. Arno Press, New York, 1977. ISBN 0-405-09716-6
2. Todotango.com page describing the collision resulting in the death of Carlos Gardel Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 28 December 2008.