SAHSA
| SAHSA | |
|---|---|
 Boeing 737-217 of the SAHSA |
|
| IATA code : | SH |
| ICAO code : | SHA |
| Call sign : | SAHSA |
| Founding: | 1945 |
| Operation stopped: | 1994 |
| Seat: | Tegucigalpa |
| Home airport : | Tegucigalpa Airport |
| IATA prefix code : | 274 |
| Fleet size: | 7th |
| Aims: | national, international |
| SAHSA ceased operations in 1994. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
SAHSA , full company name Servicio Aéreo de Honduras SA , was a Honduran airline that existed from 1945 to 1994 and was based in Tegucigalpa .
history
SAHSA was founded on November 10, 1944 and began flight operations on October 22, 1945, initially with a single Douglas DC-3 .
In 1953, SAHSA bought TACA de Honduras , a competing company that had existed since 1931, but which continued to operate independently for a few years. Four years later, in 1957, the small airline Aerovias Nacionales de Honduras (ANHSA) , which had been founded in 1950 , was also bought up.
From 1955, two Curtiss C-46 Commando were added to the Douglas DC-3 . After the first Douglas DC-6 was acquired for longer international routes in 1964 , the fleet was supplemented by four used Convair CV-340s and Convair CV-440 Metropolitan for short and medium-haul routes, two of which were added in 1971 from their turboprop version came across Convair CV-580 . The last of a total of 12 Douglas DC-3s were in service until 1993.
On January 21, 1970 Pan American World Airways finally gave up its remaining stake in SAHSA and sold this 38% to TAN Honduras . The connection with the internationally experienced TAN also helped SAHSA to expand and modernize its fleet, which at that time only consisted of aircraft types with piston engines, with the Lockheed L-188 Electra and soon also the Boeing 737-200 , which was the first jet aircraft in Honduras from 1974 in Service were provided.
After the subsidiary ANHSA had been idle for almost 20 years, it was reactivated as a domestic airline in 1980. Equipped with the very modern STOL aircraft type de Havilland Canada DHC-7 , many of the Honduran airfields could be approached with very short runways.
In December 1981, two leased Boeing 727-100s were used, both of which were former Hapag-Lloyd Flug aircraft . From July 1990, three leased, brand-new Boeing 737-400s were added to the fleet.
In 1990 and 1991, a joint external appearance was sometimes carried out as TAN-SAHSA for marketing purposes . Despite partially coordinated flight schedules, both remained officially separate companies.
On November 1, 1991, the two Honduran companies SAHSA and TAN Honduras were merged, with SAHSA becoming the common name.
Due to numerous accidents, their poor safety standards and a serious incident on a flight to Houston in 1993, the company was withdrawn from its operating license for the USA. It collapsed in connection with corruption issues. On January 15, 1994, SAHSA ceased operations.
Destinations
Initially, SAHSA was limited to serving numerous destinations in the Honduran interior. Some routes were extremely short, such as the 28 kilometer connection between Santa Rosa and Gracias (Lempira) -Celaque. The first international routes then led to Belize and San Salvador from 1949 . In 1964 a route to New Orleans could be opened; At this time, the capitals of most Central American countries were also served.
In 1965, 29 domestic destinations were flown to, abroad with Douglas DC-6 also San Salvador, Panama, San Andrés (Colombia) , Guatemala City, Belize and New Orleans.
The 1991 summer flight schedule also included Managua , San José (Costa Rica) , Houston and Miami .
fleet
Fleet at the end of operations
When operations ceased, SAHSA was still using the following aircraft:
- 4 × Boeing 737-200
- 2 × Douglas DC-3 / C-47
- 1 × Lockheed L-188 Electra
Previously deployed aircraft
In addition, SAHSA had previously used the following types of aircraft:
- Boeing 727-100
- Boeing 737-400
- Convair CV-340
- Convair CV-440 Metropolitan
- Convair CV-580
- Curtiss C-46 Commando
- Douglas DC-6
- Fairchild C-82 package
- Piper PA-23 Aztec
Incidents
From its founding in 1945 to the cessation of operations in 1994, SAHSA suffered 12 total aircraft losses. In 4 of them 27 people were killed. Example:
- On January 8, 1981, an engine failure and a defect in the associated generator were found on a Lockheed L-188 Electra operated by SAHSA ( aircraft registration HR-SAW ) at La Aurora airport . The passengers disembarked and the captain decided to fly the machine with only three engines to Tegucigalpa for repairs . Shortly after taking off, the machine crashed into a residential area in Guatemala City and went up in flames. All six crew members - the only occupants - were killed and 38 people were injured on the ground. It turned out that another generator had failed during the initial climb, and the machine was trimmed incorrectly (see also the flight accident of a Lockheed L-188 Electra of the SAHSA ) .
See also
literature
- REG Davies: Airlines of Latin America since 1919. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1997, ISBN 0-85177-889-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Davies, p. 96.
- ↑ rzjets: SAHSA Honduras (English), accessed on May 2, 2020.
- ↑ Jennifer M. Gradidge: The Douglas DC-1 / DC-2 / DC-3: The First Seventy Years, Volumes One and Two . Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2006, ISBN 0-85130-332-3 , p. 187.
- ^ Davies, p. 97.
- ↑ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 1993 . Zurich Airport 1993, p. 207.
- ^ Davies, map p. 100.
- ↑ airline timetable images: SAHSA, 1965 (English), accessed on May 2, 2020.
- ↑ airline timetable images: SAHSA, 1991 (English), accessed on May 2, 2020.
- ↑ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 1993 . Zurich Airport 1993, p. 197.
- ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international . Zurich Airport 1971–1994.
- ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp Aircraft markings 1971 . Zurich Airport 1971, p. 50.
- ↑ SAHSA accident statistics - Servicio Aéreo de Honduras SA , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 1, 2020.
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