The Colombian carrier Avianca continued to honor its heritage and revealed a fourth and fifth retro livery. This time, the airline painted two Airbus A320s with the images of Aviateca, a Guatemalan company launched in 1945 which merged with Avianca in 2009, and Aerogal, an Ecuadorian carrier founded in 1985 that merged and was rebranded as Avianca Ecuador in 2014.

A fourth and fifth retro livery

The current Avianca is the result of the merger of many companies. The Colombian carrier has a long, well-recorded history of acquiring regional airlines and merging them under its wing. To honor that heritage, Avianca has introduced five liveries promoting the airlines that have combined with it to create a more robust and well-known brand across South America.

This month, Avianca released a livery promoting Aviateca’s colors in the 1990s. This Guatemalan carrier, founded in 1945, was acquired by Grupo TACA and merged under the Avianca brand in 2009. The plane painted with this livery is an Airbus A320, registration N398AV.

A few days later, Avianca showed a fifth livery. This time, it was a tribute to AeroGal’s colors in 2000. AeroGal was an Ecuadorian carrier that now operates as Avianca Ecuador. The plane painted was also an Airbus A320, registration N776AV. The livery highlights the iconic yellow iguana on its tail against a blue background of seagulls flying.

What does this mean for Avianca?

In a statement talking about the Aviateca livery, Rolando Damas, Avianca’s Sales Director for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, said,

“We carry with us the legacy of aviation in Latin America, and we are proud to carry the colors of these companies that are iconic in the history of our countries. Today, as an operator, Aviateca is part of the domestic and international connectivity we have in Guatemala, thanks to the more than 190 Guatemalan employees who are part of our Group.”

Meanwhile, Juan Francisco Ortiz, Airport Manager for South America and Country Officer for Ecuador, said that the Aerogal livery celebrates the Ecuadorian origins that are part of Avianca’s Latin American operation.

“Today, we are an important 'player' in domestic connectivity and the largest operator in Ecuador, with an offer of direct flights to 14 destinations on the continent and in the country,” he added.

A review of Avianca’s five retro liveries

The other liveries previously introduced by the Colombian carrier includes one of Avianca itself painted in the classic 1940 livery with a special “100 Años” logo celebrating the 100th anniversary of the company in 2019.

Late last year, after a grueling Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in the United States, Avianca resumed the introduction of retro liveries. The airline first revealed a stunning livery honoring TACA, the Central American company that existed between 1931 and 2009. A couple of weeks later, Avianca introduced a livery promoting Costa Rica’s LACSA. This airline existed between 1945 and 2017.

If you ask me, Avianca’s 1940 and TACA’s liveries are my favorites. If you want to follow them along and maybe catch a great photo, these are the registrations of Avianca’s planes with retro liveries:

1. Avianca 1940: N284AV
2. TACA: N567AV
3. LACSA: N821AV
4. Aviateca: N398AV
5. Aerogal: N776AV.

Which of the five retro liveries introduced by Avianca you like the most? Let us know in the comments below.