The airline began to expand in the 1950s with the acquisition of TACA de Honduras in 1953 followed by the regional operator ANSHA in 1957. The primary equipment remained DC-3s and civilianised C-47s and the airline would continue to operate the type into the 1990s! It wasn't until the 1960s that more modern equipment began to arrive though even this was only in the form of a pair of DC-6s and HR-SAP - a single ex-Swissair CV-440 bought in 1966. Worse one of the DC-6s (HR-SAG) was written off less than a month after its purchase when it overran the runway at Tegucigalpa!
The two airlines route networks covered a range of domestic services (still using DC-3s) as well as international routes to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and of course the flagship routes to New Orleans and Miami in the USA. Fleet growth throughout the 1970s was minimal however the single 737 was joined by a pair of ex-All Nippon and Hapag Lloyd 727-100s in 1981. One of the 727s was returned to Hapag Lloyd in 1984 and the two remaining jets formed the core of the fleet throughout the 1980s. In 1987 a second 737-200 arrived.
It appears a mixture of corruption and a poor safety record were the airline's major issues. In fact the airline had picked up the unflattering moniker that SAHSA stood for "Stay At Home Stay Alive"! Its first 737 HR-SHA was written off in a landing accident at San Jose-Juan Santamaria airport in November 1991. All services were suddenly terminated on January 15, 1994 and the majority taken over by its co-owner the TACA group.
References Timetables courtesy of the excellent http://www.timetableimages.com Hengi, B I. Airlines Remembered Magnusson, Michael. Latin Glory: Airlines of Latin america Shaw, Robbie. Boeing 737 Airline Markings 7 Smith, P. R. Boeing 737 Air Portfolios 1
2 Comments
Arturo Aceituno
16/12/2019 05:37:36 am
I served as TAN airlines General Manager for several years TAN onboard service was excellent and its fleet was maintained at Miami International Airport with trained mechanics and other technical personnel with previous employment in airlines such as Pan Am and Eastern Air Lines. The may reason for the termination of its flight operations in my opinion was the limitation of capital to complete in the international market.
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George Fernandez
10/2/2020 07:09:02 am
SAHSA's 737 was my first flight ever at the age of 15 when I left my country of birth, Nicaragua, forever. Do you know where I can get this model? I have looked everywhere and as it has great sentimental meaning, it makes me sad that it may not be available at all. Please advise.
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AuthorI'm Richard Stretton: a fan of classic airliners and airlines who enjoys exploring their history through my collection of die-cast airliners. If you enjoy the site please donate whatever you can to help keep it running: Archives
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