S3 BBR Frequent-flyer program Privilege Headquarters Caracas, Venezuela Fleet size 7 | BBR SANTA BARBARA Destinations 5 Founded 13 June 1995 | |
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Hubs Simón Bolívar International Airport Focus cities La Chinita International Airport Hub Simón Bolívar International Airport Profiles | ||
Servicio a bordo de sba airlines santa barbara airlines
Santa Bárbara Airlines C.A, doing business as SBA Airlines and formerly as Santa Bárbara Airlines prior to 2008, is an airline with its headquarters on the third floor of the Edificio Tokay in Caracas, Venezuela. It operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main base is Simón Bolívar International Airport, Maiquetía (Caracas), with a hub at La Chinita International Airport, Maracaibo.
Contents
History
The airline was established on 1 November 1995 and started operations on 1 March 1996. It wholly owned Islas Airways until September 2006, when Islas was sold to the Canary Islands company Grupo SOAC.
At first it only covered airline flights to Cabimas, Mérida, El Vigía and Santa Bárbara del Zulia. The route to Alberto Carnevalli Airport in Mérida was diverted to El Vigía-Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo International Airport after the crash of Flight 518. Later, the airline took new destinations which covered the routes to Barquisimeto, Caracas, Cumaná, Las Piedras (Punto Fijo), San Antonio del Táchira and Valencia with a single overseas flight that covered the route Caracas - Oranjestad (Aruba).
Later, the airline opened international routes from Caracas to Barranquilla, Quito, Lima, Madrid, Miami, Santiago de Compostela and Tenerife.
Frequent flyer program
Privilege is the frequent-flyer program for SBA Airlines.
Proposed merger
SBA and Aserca Airlines have a proposed merger in place.
Destinations
SBA serves the following as of September 2014:
SBA previously also served New York City and Lima in the region, and Funchal, Madrid and Tenerife in Europe.
Current Fleet
As of April 2016 the SBA Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Previously Fleet
Over the years, SBA Airlines has operated the following aircraft types
Accidents and incidents
On 21 February 2008 an ATR 42 turboprop airliner operating Flight 518 from Mérida to Caracas, went missing shortly after taking off. Forty-three passengers and a crew of three, including two pilots and one flight attendant, were reportedly on board at the time. The remains of the aircraft were found the following day in a mountain range approximately 10 kilometers north-east of Mérida at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,700 m). No survivors were found.
After the accident, the company started a new public relations program as well as a new marketing initiative, switching the airline's name to SBA Airlines.