GCA Airlines explained

Airline:Gran Colombia de Aviación
Iata:9A
Icao:GCA
Callsign:GRAN COLOMBIA
Founded:August 17, 2017
Commenced:November 29, 2019
Ceased:April 25, 2022
Fleet Size:5
Destinations:7
Parent:Avior Airlines
Headquarters:Cali, Colombia
Key People:Jorge Luis Añez (CEO)

Gran Colombia de Aviación S.A.S., operating as GCA Airlines, was a Colombian airline subsidiary of Avior Airlines. It was registered at Ibague, based in the city of Cali and with a hub at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in the city of Palmira that provided its services to the city from Santiago de Cali.

History

GCA Airlines was registered with the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Ibague on August 17, 2017, and permits were also requested from the Colombian Civil Aeronautics on August 30 of the same year in order to have its constitution as a transportation company approved, along with several national and international routes.[1] On that occasion, Civil Aeronautics approved its constitution as well as all the requested routes except for the Cali - Valencia route, which was postponed.

Initially, in the request submitted to Aerocivil, the Perales Airport in the city of Ibague was conceived as the airline's hub, but the delay in the modernization works of the airport limited progress in its certification, prompting the request for the transfer to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport.[2]

Although the Cali - Valencia route was postponed, it was reconsidered and approved by Aerocivil considering that it is a Colombian airline and the current restriction only applies to Venezuelan airlines until the moment in which reciprocity and equitable access issues are normalized the markets.

On July 11, 2018, the airline’s first aircraft arrived at El Dorado International Airport, a Boeing 737-400 that was later moved to Cali to start the certification procedures before the Civil Aeronautics. On November 29, 2019, the airline commenced operations with a flight between the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, and the Rafael Núñez International Airport in the city of Cartagena.[3]

On April 25, 2022, GCA Airlines had suspended their operations due to financial difficulties.[4] [5] The airline was completely folded in January 2023.[6]

Destinations

By June 2021, GCA Airlines flew to the following destinations:

CountryCityAirportNotesRefs
BarranquillaErnesto Cortissoz International Airport
BucaramangaPalonegro International Airport
CaliAlfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport
CartagenaRafael Núñez International Airport[7]
CúcutaCamilo Daza International Airport
PereiraMatecaña International Airport[8]
San AndrésGustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport

Fleet

, GCA Airlines operated the following aircraft:[9]

GCA Airlines fleet
AircraftIn
service
OrdersPassengersNotes
CYTotal
Boeing 737-4002212132144
Fokker 503 -  - 5050Never entered service
Total52

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Aerocivil authorized a Venezuelan capital airline to operate from Ibagué. August 22, 2018. Revista Dinero. August 31, 2017.
  2. Web site: Minutes of the evaluation group for commercial air projects. September 4, 2017. 22 August 2018.
  3. News: GCA Airlines starts flying!. Spanish. November 28, 2019. Torre Eldorado. November 28, 2019. November 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119211325/https://torreeldorado.co/nace-gca-airlines/. dead.
  4. Web site: Colombia's GCA Air suspends flight operations. Ch-aviation. April 25, 2022.
  5. Web site: What happened to the flights of Gran Colombia de Aviación – GCA Airlines?. Nlarenas.com. July 4, 2022.
  6. Web site: Colombia's GCA Air folds, returns B737. Ch-aviation.com. February 1, 2023.
  7. News: The new airline that will start operating route Cali-Cartagena. aerolatinnews.com. November 20, 2019. El Espectador.
  8. Web site: GCA Airlines Offers New Route From Pereira. Spanish. June 2, 2021. Torre Eldorado.
  9. Web site: GCA Airlines Fleet Details and History. Planespotters.net. April 24, 2021.