Misplaced Pages

OceanAir Linhas Aéreas S.A.

IATA ICAO Call sign O6 ONE OCEANAIR
Founded	30 June 1998; 26 years ago (1998-06-30) (as OceanAir)
Ceased operations	24 May 2019; 5 years ago (2019-05-24) (suspended) 14 July 2020; 4 years ago (2020-07-14) (bankrupt)
Hubs	Rio de Janeiro–Santos Dumont
Secondary hubs	São Paulo–Congonhas
Frequent-flyer program	Programa Amigo
Alliance	Star Alliance (2015-2019; affiliate)
Fleet size	6
Destinations	4
Parent company	Synergy Group
Headquarters	São Paulo, Brazil
Key people	Frederico Pedreira (President) José Efromovich (CEO)
Revenue	US$720 million (2019)
Employees	1,687 (2019)
Website	avianca.com.br

Avianca Brasil S.A. (Portuguese: Avianca Brasil), officially Oceanair Linhas Aéreas S/A, was a Brazilian airline based in Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), which cancelled its operation, prior to cessation of operations, from January to December 2018 Avianca Brasil had 13.4% of the domestic and 7.3% of the international market share in terms of passengers per kilometer flown, making it the fourth-largest airline both in domestic and international traffic in Brazil. The company slots (landings and take-off permits) were redistributed by Anac. An auction on 10 July 2019 raised R$555.3 million, not enough to pay a debt of R$2.7 billion, although Avianca's bankruptcy was not officially decreed.

History

OceanAir

The airline was established on 30 June 1998 as an air taxi company to operate services for oil companies in the Campos Basin. Its name was then OceanAir and began to operate scheduled services in 2002, between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Macaé and Campos. Soon afterwards, it became better known to the public with a scheduled flight (no longer operated) connecting São Paulo–Congonhas Airport in São Paulo and Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro via São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, enabling international passengers from both cities easy access to the country's largest international hub from those cities' more convenient central airports. At the time, OceanAir's fare between São Paulo's airports was cheaper than a taxi and on par with a luxury bus ride.

In 2004, Synergy Group, the owner of the airline, bought the Colombian airline Avianca, which was undergoing judicial reorganization. As a result, OceanAir became a feeder for Avianca's flights into Guarulhos. This partnership between the two airlines increased the flow of passengers between Colombia and Brazil. Synergy Group also bought VIP as part of a strategy to create a continent-wide airline under the Avianca brand. In November 2005, a joint venture formed by OceanAir (49%) and Fondo de Inversiones Sustentables (51%) created a new Peruvian airline called Wayraperú, but the airline suspended operations a few months later until it was re-established later in 2018.

OceanAir started operating international flights in 2007 with three Boeing 767-300ERs and a Boeing 757-200, but by April 2008, the flights were discontinued because of increase in operating costs. Since then, the airline has concentrated its efforts on the Brazilian domestic market only. 5 Airbus A330s and 30 Airbus A320s were ordered in 2010, a contract worth US$ 2,5 billion. With this fleet growth, Efromovich intended to control 15% of the Brazilian air market in the next decade, including routes to Mexico, Colombia, Africa and the United States.

Avianca Brasil

On 9 October 2009, Synergy announced that TACA Airlines and Avianca would merge. This merger increased OceanAir's feeder operations, already implemented with Avianca in São Paulo, to include TACA in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport, Santos Dumont Airport, Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre and Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport in Brasília.

On 26 March 2010, Germán Efromovich announced the rebranding of OceanAir as Avianca Brasil. However, OceanAir Linhas Aéreas remained as the legal name of the airline. This allowed the Synergy group to further align the operations of OceanAir and Avianca. The first aircraft with the new name started operations on 27 April 2010. The only notable differences between the aircraft of Avianca Colombia and those of Avianca Brasil are the latter's Brazilian registrations and a small Brazilian flag under their cockpit windows.

On 10 November 2010, Star Alliance decided to accept AviancaTaca Holding to join the network as a member airline. However, Avianca Brasil was rejected at the time due to its outdated IT platforms and an objection by TAM Linhas Aéreas, which since left Star Alliance to join Oneworld after merging with LAN Airlines. Upon TAM's exit, Avianca Brasil officially joined Star Alliance on 22 July 2015 as an affiliate.

On 11 October 2016, the airline took delivery of the first of 8 Airbus A320neos being leased from GECAS. Independent from Avianca, the airline increased its market share from 3% in 2009 to 14% in 2018, becoming Brazil's fourth-largest carrier.

Bankruptcy

On 10 December 2018, Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy protection, R$ 100 million (US$26 million) was owed to airports and bank debt grew by 50% in 2018, while United Airlines extended a loan of US$456 million to Avianca owner Synergy Group. Total debts amount to 493 million reais (US$127 million), whereas the first half of 2018 generated 175.6 million reais of losses. On 18 April 2019 Azul cancelled its offer to buy Avianca Brasil, but resubmitted the offer on 13 May. On 24 May 2019, ANAC suspended flights of Avianca Brasil, due to security reasons. On 24 June 2019, its suspension was officially written in the official Diary by Anac. On 10 July 2019, the auction generated US$147,32 million or R$555,3 million from Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes and LATAM Brasil, if valid, however the debts are R$2.7 billion.

On 20 August 2019, Star Alliance announced Avianca Brasil's exit from the alliance from 1 September 2019. The departure, however, didn't affect Avianca's membership.

On 14 July 2020, Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy in court.

Corporate affairs

Even though the legal name of the airline remained as OceanAir, it was re-branded as Avianca since it was owned by Synergy Group, which owns Avianca Holdings. The original Avianca of Colombia and Avianca Brasil remained separate legal entities, but in February 2017, it was reported that Avianca Holdings planned to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to fold Avianca Brasil into Avianca Holdings. Its current CEO, Frederico Pedreira, took office in April 2016. José Efromovich, younger brother of Germán Efromovich, President of Avianca Holdings, who had led the company since 2008, took office as chairman of the Board of Directors on the same date.

Destinations

Avianca Brasil operated the following flights at the time of its suspension of operations in May 2019.

The list includes destinations operated under the former name OceanAir.

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
Brazil	Alta Floresta	Alta Floresta Airport	Terminated
	Aracaju	Santa Maria Airport	Terminated
	Belém	Belém/Val-de-Cans International Airport	Terminated
	Belo Horizonte	Belo Horizonte International Airport	Terminated
	Brasília	Brasília International Airport
	Campo Grande	Campo Grande International Airport	Terminated
	Chapecó	Chapecó Airport	Terminated
	Cuiabá	Marechal Rondon International Airport	Terminated
	Curitiba	Afonso Pena International Airport	Terminated
	Florianópolis	Hercílio Luz International Airport	Terminated
	Fortaleza	Fortaleza Airport	Terminated
	Foz do Iguaçu	Foz do Iguaçu International Airport	Terminated
	Goiânia	Goiânia International Airport	Terminated
	Ilhéus	Ilhéus Jorge Amado Airport	Terminated
	Ji-Paraná	José Coleto Airport	Terminated
	João Pessoa	Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport	Terminated
	Juazeiro do Norte	Juazeiro do Norte Airport	Terminated
	Maceió	Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport	Terminated
	Manaus	Eduardo Gomes International Airport	Terminated
	Natal	Augusto Severo International Airport	Airport closed
		Greater Natal International Airport	Terminated
	Navegantes	Navegantes Airport	Terminated
	Passo Fundo	Lauro Kurtz Airport	Terminated
	Petrolina	Petrolina Airport	Terminated
	Porto Alegre	Salgado Filho Porto Alegre International Airport	Terminated
	Porto Velho	Governador Jorge Teixeira de Oliveira International Airport	Terminated
	Recife	Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport	Terminated
	Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport	Terminated
		Santos Dumont Airport	Hub
	Salvador de Bahia	Salvador Bahia Airport
	São Paulo	São Paulo–Congonhas Airport	Hub
		São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport	Terminated
	Vitória	Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport	Terminated
Chile	Santiago	Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport	Terminated
Colombia	Bogotá	El Dorado International Airport	Terminated
Mexico	Cancún	Cancún International Airport	Terminated
	Mexico City	Mexico City International Airport	Terminated
Peru	Lima	Jorge Chávez International Airport	Terminated
United States	Miami	Miami International Airport	Terminated
	New York City	John F. Kennedy International Airport	Terminated

Former codeshare agreements

Avianca Brasil had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

• Aeroméxico
• Air Canada
• Air Europa
• Alitalia
• Avianca
• Avianca El Salvador
• Ethiopian Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• South African Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

Fleet

As of May 2019, the Avianca Brasil fleet included the following aircraft.

Retired fleet

Avianca Brasil had formerly operated the following aircraft:

Frequent-flyer program

Avianca Brasil had a frequent-flyer program called Programa Amigo.

Accidents and incidents

• On August 12, 2010, a Learjet 55C (registered PT-LXO) was damaged in a runway excursion accident at Santos Dumont Airport. The aircraft ran off the end of runway 02R into the Guanabara Bay. The three occupants on board were not injured.

• On March 28, 2014, a Fokker 100 (registered PR-OAF) crashed while landing at Brasília International Airport after the nose landing gear could not be extended due to a hydraulic failure. No one was harmed in the incident. The aircraft was damaged beyond repairs and was written off, however it was later preserved as a Pan Am-themed restaurant at Brasília in August 2020.

• On March 3, 2019, an Airbus A320-200 (registered PR-OCW) suffered a minor runway excursion on landing in heavy rainfall on runway 15 of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport.

See also

• List of defunct airlines of Brazil

References

1. "Avianca Brasil". Star Alliance. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
2. "Avianca Brasil deve demitir cerca de 1 mil funcionários em junho" (in Portuguese). G1. 1 June 2019.
3. ^ "Concessão da Avianca Brasil é oficialmente suspensa pela Anac". Panrotas. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
4. ^ "Anac anuncia suspensão das operações da Avianca Brasil". G1 (in Portuguese). 24 May 2019.
5. "Directory:World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 58.
6. "Demanda e oferta do transporte aéreo" (in Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). 23 January 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
7. "Justiça dá aval para Anac redistribuir slots da Avianca" (in Portuguese). DN. 6 July 2019.
8. Exame Magazine, 18 December 2006
9. Laguna, Eduardo (26 April 2010). "OceanAir passa a se chamar Avianca" (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Valor Online. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
10. Jardim, Lauro (17 March 2010). "Panorama: Radar: Aviação". Veja (in Portuguese). p. 53.
11. "OceanAir agora é Avianca" (in Portuguese). Avianca. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
12. "Will an Azul-TAP partnership skew the alliance dynamics in Brazil as Avianca Brazil joins Star?". CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
13. Leiro, Roberto. "Avianca Brasil Joins Star Alliance". Airways News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
14. "Avianca Brazil". Airliner World (December 2016): 17. 25 November 2016.
15. ^ Richard Pedicini (12 December 2018). "Avianca Brasil Files for Bankruptcy". AIN online.
16. "Brazilian airline Avianca Brasil declares bankruptcy". The Jakarta Post. 12 December 2018.
17. "Azul proposes fresh bid for Avianca Brazil assets | News | Flight Global".
18. "Azul desiste de oferta pela Avianca Brasil e acusa rivais de protecionismo". G1 (in Portuguese). 18 April 2019.
19. "Gol e Latam arrematam direitos de vôo da Avianca em leilão". G1 (in Portuguese). 10 July 2019.
20. "Avianca Brasil to Exit Star Alliance". Star Alliance. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
21. "Avianca Brasil tem falência decretada pela Justiça". G1.globo.com (in Portuguese). 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
22. "Avianca Costa Rica | Book Flights and Save". www.alternativeairlines.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
23. "Avianca Holdings: United Air partnership and Synergy infusion raise more questions than answers". CAPA. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
24. "UPDATE 3-Avianca's majority shareholders arrested in Brazil on accusations of corruption". Reuters. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
25. "Avianca: Mapa de rotas" (in Portuguese). Avianca Brasil. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
26. "Avianca Update" (in Portuguese). Avianca Brasil. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
27. "Profile on Avianca Brazil". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
28. "Nuovo code share per Alitalia, accordo con Avianca Brasil" [New codeshare agreement for Alitalia with Avianca Brazil]. ttgitalia.com (in Italian). 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
29. Dron, Alan (17 June 2016). "Etihad, Avianca Brasil ink new codeshare". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016.
30. "Avianca Brasil Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
31. "Airbus A318 Production List". planespotters.net. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
32. "OceanAir Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
33. "OceanAir fleet". aerobernie.bplaced.net. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
34. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
35. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
36. João Machado. "Interview: Written-Off Fokker 100 to Become Pan Am-Themed Restaurant". Airlinegeeks.com. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
37. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 4 March 2019.

External links

• Avianca Brasil, formerly OceanAir History Sketch at Aviação Brasil

• Brazil
• Aviation
• Companies
• Transport

v t e Airlines of Brazil
Mainline	Azul Gol LATAM Brasil
Regional	Affiliated Azul Conecta MAP Independent Abaeté Apuí Voepass
Charter	Avion Express Brasil Dux Express Flapper Placar Sideral Total Linhas Aéreas
Cargo	ASAS Azul Cargo Braspress Dux Express Gollog LATAM Cargo Brasil Levu Air Cargo Modern Logistics Sideral Total Cargo Total Express
Non-scheduled	Aerosul Amazonaves ASTA Dugomes Air Manaus Aerotáxi RICO Taxi Aéreo
Executive	Global Líder TAM Executiva Piquiatuba
Defunct	Abaeté (1994-2012) ABSA Cargo Aero Geral Aerolloyd Iguassú Aeronorte Aerovias Brasil Aerovias Minas Gerais Air Minas Air Vias América Air Arco-Íris Arruda ATA Brasil Avianca Brasil BETA BRA Brasil Central Brasmex Brava Linhas Aéreas Central Aérea COLT Cargo Condor Syndikat Cruiser Cruzeiro do Sul ETA Digex Aero Cargo Flex Fly Flyways Frigopar GENSA Helisul Interbrasil STAR Itapemirim (1990-2000) Itapemirim (2020-2022) Itaú LAB Linhas Aéreas Paulistas LATB Litorânea Aero Táxi Lóide Aéreo Nacional Mais MTA Master Top Airlines Meridional Meta NAB Nacional (1946-1961) Nacional (2000-2002) Natal NHT Noar Nordeste NYRBA do Brasil OceanAir OMTA Panair Pantanal Paraense Passaredo PENTA Presidente Promodal Puma Air Real Rico Linhas Aéreas Rio Linhas Aéreas Rio Sul Rota do Sol Sadia SAVAG Serviços Aéreos Condor SETE Skymaster Sol Sterna Syndicato Condor TABA (1945-1950) TABA (1976-1999) TAC TAF TAL TAM Express TAM-Meridionais TAS TASA TAVAJ TCA TCB TEAM Transair International Transbrasil Transcontinental TRIP TwoFlex Universal VAB Varig Varig Logística VASD VASP VASPEX Via Brasil Viabras Voe Minas Gerais VOTEC Webjet Whitejets Wright

v t e Members of the International Air Transport Association
Africa and the Middle East Region Africa World Airlines AfriJet Air Algérie Air Arabia Air Botswana Air Burkina Air Cairo Air Madagascar Air Mauritius Air Peace Air Seychelles Air Tanzania Airlink Allied Air AlMasria Universal Airlines ASKY Airlines Badr Airlines Camair-Co Congo Airways DHL International Aviation ME Egyptair Emirates Ethiopian Airlines Etihad Airways Fly Baghdad Flydubai FlyEgypt Flynas Gulf Air Iran Air Iran Airtour Iran Aseman Airlines Jazeera Airways Jordan Aviation Kam Air Kenya Airways Kuwait Airways LAM Mozambique Airlines Mauritania Airlines Middle East Airlines Nesma Airlines Nile Air Nouvelair Oman Air Overland Airways Precision Air Qatar Airways Royal Air Maroc Royal Jordanian RwandAir Safair Saudia South African Airways Syrian Air TAAG Angola Airlines Tassili Airlines Tunisair
Asia-Pacific Region Air Calédonie Air India Air New Zealand Air Niugini Air Tahiti Air Tahiti Nui Aircalin All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Bamboo Airways Bangkok Airways Batik Air Batik Air Malaysia Biman Bangladesh Airlines Cambodia Angkor Air Cebu Pacific Fiji Airways Garuda Indonesia IndiGo Japan Airlines Japan Transocean Air Jeju Air Jin Air Korean Air Lao Airlines Malaysia Airlines Myanmar Airways International Nippon Cargo Airlines Pakistan International Airlines Philippine Airlines Qantas Royal Brunei Airlines Scoot Singapore Airlines Solomon Airlines SpiceJet SriLankan Airlines T'way Air Thai Airways International Thai Lion Air Thai Smile VietJet Air Vietnam Airlines Virgin Australia Vistara
China and North Asia Region Air Changan Air China Air Guilin Air Koryo Air Macau Beijing Capital Airlines Cathay Pacific China Airlines China Cargo Airlines China Eastern Airlines China Express Airlines China Postal Airlines China Southern Airlines EVA Air Fuzhou Airlines GX Airlines Hainan Airlines Hebei Airlines Hong Kong Airlines Hong Kong Express Juneyao Air Kunming Airlines Loong Air Lucky Air Mandarin Airlines MIAT Mongolian Airlines Okay Airways Ruili Airlines SF Airlines Shandong Airlines Shanghai Airlines Shenzhen Airlines Sichuan Airlines Suparna Airlines Tianjin Airlines UNI Air Urumqi Air West Air XiamenAir YTO Cargo Airlines
Europe Region Aegean Airlines Aer Lingus Aeroflot Air Astana Air Austral airBaltic Air Caraïbes Air Corsica Air Dolomiti Air Europa Air France Air Malta Air Moldova Air Montenegro Air Nostrum Air Serbia AirBridgeCargo AlbaStar Amapola Flyg Amelia (Regourd Aviation) APG Airlines Arkia ASL Airlines Belgium ASL Airlines France ASL Airlines Ireland Atlantic Airways Austrian Airlines Azerbaijan Airlines Azores Airlines Belavia Binter Canarias Braathens Regional Aviation British Airways Brussels Airlines Bulgaria Air Cargolux Carpatair Challenge Airlines IL CityJet Condor Corendon Airlines Corsair International Croatia Airlines Cyprus Airways Czech Airlines DHL Air UK Eastern Airways Edelweiss Air El Al EuroAtlantic Airways European Air Transport Leipzig Eurowings Finnair FlyOne Freebird Airlines French Bee Georgian Airways Hi Fly Iberia Iberojet Icelandair Israir ITA Airways KLM La Compagnie LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa Cargo CityLine Luxair Martinair MNG Airlines Neos NordStar Nordwind Airlines Olympic Air Pegas Fly Pegasus Airlines Portugália Airlines Poste Air Cargo Privilege Style Qazaq Air Rossiya Airlines RusLine S7 Airlines SATA Air Açores Scandinavian Airlines SCAT Airlines Silk Way West Airlines Smartavia Smartwings Somon Air SunExpress Swiss International Air Lines TAP Air Portugal TAROM TUIfly Turkish Airlines Ukraine International Airlines Ural Airlines Utair Uzbekistan Airways Virgin Atlantic Volotea Vueling Wamos Air White Airways Widerøe World2Fly
The Americas Region ABX Air Aerolíneas Argentinas Aeromar Aeroméxico Air Canada Air Transat Alaska Airlines American Airlines Atlas Air Avianca Avianca Costa Rica Avianca Ecuador Avianca El Salvador Azul Brazilian Airlines Bahamasair Boliviana de Aviación Cargojet Caribbean Airlines Copa Airlines Copa Airlines Colombia (Aero República) Cubana de Aviación Delta Air Lines Eastern Airlines FedEx Express Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes Hawaiian Airlines JetBlue LATAM Airlines Group LATAM Brasil LATAM Cargo Brasil LATAM Cargo Chile LATAM Colombia LATAM Ecuador LATAM Paraguay LATAM Perú Mas Air National Airlines Paranair Polar Air Cargo Ravn Alaska Sky Airline United Airlines UPS Airlines Voepass Linhas Aéreas Volaris WestJet

v t e Members of Star Alliance
Current members	Founder members Air Canada Lufthansa Thai Airways International United Airlines Full members Aegean Airlines Air China Air India Air New Zealand All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Austrian Airlines Avianca Brussels Airlines Copa Airlines Croatia Airlines Egyptair Ethiopian Airlines EVA Air LOT Polish Airlines Shenzhen Airlines Singapore Airlines South African Airways Swiss International Air Lines TAP Air Portugal Turkish Airlines Affiliate members Air Canada Express Jetz Rouge Air India Express Air Japan Air New Zealand Link Airlink ANA Wings AJet Avianca Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Express Guatemala Honduras Copa Airlines Colombia Lufthansa Regional Olympic Air TAP Express Uni Air United Express
Joint partners	Intermodal Deutsche Bahn Connecting Juneyao Air
Former members	Adria Airways Ansett Australia Blue1 British Midland International Continental Airlines Mexicana de Aviación Scandinavian Airlines Shanghai Airlines Spanair TAM Brasil Paraguay US Airways Varig

• Avianca
• Defunct airlines of Brazil
• Airlines established in 1998
• Airlines disestablished in 2019
• Companies based in São Paulo
• Former Star Alliance affiliate members