TAESA Lineas Aéreas

TAESA(Transportes Aéreos Ejecutivos S.A.) was a low costairlinewith its headquarters in No. 27 of Hangar Zone C on the grounds ofMexico City International AirportinMexico City,Mexico.

Transportes Aéreos Ejecutivos, SA

IATA ICAO Call sign GD TEJ TRANSEJECUTIVOS
Founded	April 27, 1988
Ceased operations	February 21, 2000
Hubs	Mexico City International Airport
Focus cities	Monterrey Guadalajara Tijuana
Fleet size	30
Destinations	40
Headquarters	Mexico City,Mexico
Key people	Alberto Abed Schekaiban Carlos Salinas de Gortari
Employees	4,000 (in 1994)
Website	taesa.mx

History

A former TAESABoeing 737-500at Las Vegas in 1992

A TAESABoeing 757in 1993

The airline, owned byCarlos Hank Gonzálezlegally represented by Alberto Abed Schekaiban, was established on April 27, 1988, operating executive business aircraft and later on in 1989 received their firstBoeing 727-100which was used to launch regularly scheduled passenger service.TAESA began growing rapidly using 727s in airline service. In 1991, they received their firstBoeing 757-200and became the first commercial airline in Mexico to operate this aircraft type. Also in 1991, severalBoeing 737-300swere added with additional 757s and a soleBoeing 767-300being added as well to a fleet ofBoeing 737-200/300/400/500 jetliners. TAESA was at that time the firstBoeing 737-500operator in Latin America.During the first half of the 1990s, TAESA was quite successful flying cargo forDHLand Serpaprosa with theirBoeing 727-100Cs.Also during this time, several 737s were leased toGaruda Indonesiato make Asian flights. Meanwhile, they won charter contracts from companies such as Apple Vacations. By 1992, the airline was operating many charter flights to cities in Canada, Europe and the USA.In the domestic market, TAESA started a fare war with the main carriers,AeroméxicoandMexicana.

In 1995, TAESA launched "crediTAESA", a program that allowed its passengers to fly with a minimumdown paymentand 12 monthly repayments. The airline also launched a simple frequent flyer program in that year, which rewarded travelers with one free ticket per every five booked.A large percentage of ticket sales were made at shopping malls and supermarkets, where TAESA held booths.At its peak, TAESA had a market share of 27% of the Mexican domestic airline market.

After the 1995 downturn in the Mexican economy, they removed newer model jetliners in favor of older Boeing 727-100 and727-200aircraft and also addedDouglas DC-9-15s,McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30sand later a pair ofAirbus A300B4s.

TAESA was the first Mexican airline to fly scheduled passenger service toJapanwith two flights a week operated during a four-month time period in 1995.

The airline was having regulatory and maintenance issues for quite some time with a constant anti-labor politics after the accident ofFlight 725resulted in the suspension of its license, hastening the airline's demise.The airline had over 43 serious violations of Mexican aviation safety laws upon its suspension in 1999.

After the accident ofFlight 725,the airline went through a huge inspection on behalf of theMexican General Directorate of Civil Aeronauticsand was subject to comply certain security issues to resume operations. However, unable to repay debts of US$400 million, the airline declared bankruptcy on February 21, 2000.A last-minute deal with potential investors, includingContinental Airlines,to buy TAESA ultimately failed.

Some of the staff, assets, and routes were taken over byLíneas Aéreas Azteca,which was established on 9 May 2000 and started operations on 1 June 2000, inheriting TAESA's domestic services, but operating them with modernBoeing 737-700aircraft.

TAESA was one of Mexico's first low-cost carriers. World bo xing championJulio César Chávezwas one of TAESA's share-holders; he used to advertise the airline during his bo xing fights, having TAESA's name and logo emblazoned on his trunks.

Affiliates

• Aviación del Noroeste
• LaTur
• NSW New Southways- Cargo division
• Puebla Air Lines

Destinations

TAESA served the following cities in Mexico:

• ACA –Acapulco,Guerrero, Mexico – Alvarez International
• AGU –Aguascalientes,Aguascalientes – Lic. Jesús Terán Peredo International
• BJX –León/Guanajuato,Guanajuato, Mexico – Del Bajio
• CEN –Ciudad Obregón,Sonora, Mexico
• CUN –Cancun,Quintana Roo, Mexico
• CUU –Chihuahua,Mexico – General Roberto Fierro Villalobos
• CJS –Ciudad Juarez,Chihuahua, Mexico – Abraham Gonzalez International
• CUL –Culiacan,Sinaloa, Mexico - Bachigualato Federal
• CZM –Cozumel,Quintana Roo, Mexico
• GDL –Guadalajara,Jalisco, Mexico – Miguel Hidalgo International
• HMO –Hermosillo,Sonora, Mexico – General Ignacio Pesqueira Garcia
• LOM -Lagos de Moreno,Jaliso, Mexico - Francisco P.V. y R.
• MID –Mérida,Yucatán, Mexico – Mérida International
• MEX –Mexico City,Distrito Federal, Mexico – Benito Juarez International
• MTY –Monterrey,Nuevo León, Mexico – Escobedo
• MLM –Morelia,Michoacan, Mexico – General Francisco J. Mujica
• PVR –Puerto Vallarta,Jalisco, Mexico – Gustavo Diaz Ordaz
• SLW –Saltillo,Coahuila, Mexico – Plan de Guadalupe International
• TAP –Tapachula,Chiapas,Mexico – Tapachula International
• TIJ –Tijuana,Baja California, Mexico – General Abelardo L. Rodríguez
• TRC –Torreon,Coahuila, Mexico – Francisco Sarabia
• UPN –Uruapan,Michoacan, Mexico – Lic. Ignacio Lopez Rayon International
• ZCL –Zacatecas,Zacatecas, Mexico – La Calera

Airports served in the United States:

• EGE – Vail/Eagle, CO, USA – Eagle County Regional
• IAD – Washington, VA, USA – Dulles Airport
• JFK – New York, NY, USA – John F. Kennedy International
• LAS – Las Vegas, NV, USA – McCarran Airport
• LAX – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Los Angeles International
• LRD – Laredo, TX, USA – International
• MIA – Miami, FL, USA – Miami International
• OAK – Oakland, CA, USA – Oakland International
• ORD – Chicago, IL, USA – O'Hare International

Airports served in Puerto Rico:

• BQN – Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – Rafael Hernandez Airport

Airports served in Japan:

• NRT – Tokyo, Japan – Narita Airport

Airports served in Germany:

• SXF – Berlin, Germany – Schönefeld Airport
• FRA – Frankfurt, Germany – Rhein – Main International
• CGN – Köln, Germany – Köln Bonn
• DUS – Düsseldorf, Germany – Düsseldorf
• LEJ – Leipzig, Germany – Leipzig Airport
• MUC – Munich, Germany – Franz – Josef Strauss

Codeshare agreements

TAESA operatedcode sharingservices with the following airlines:

• Aviación del Noroeste
• Aviacsa
• LaTur
• Puebla Air Lines
• Servicios Aéreos Rutas Oriente

Fleet

TAESA's aircraft were in an all-economy configuration. Their commercial fleet throughout its history included the following airplanes:

TAESA fleet

Aircraft	Total	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Airbus A300B4-200	2	1995	1998
ATR 42-320	3	1992	1996
Boeing 727-100	14	1989	2000
Boeing 727-200	2	1994	2000
Boeing 737-200	5	1993	2000
Boeing 737-300	19	1991	2000
Boeing 737-400	2	1992	2000
Boeing 737-500	5		1996
Boeing 757-200	7	1991	2000	One acquired from Sterling later becameTrump Force One.
Boeing 767-300ER	1	1992	1995	Transferred toAir Europe
Fokker F27 Friendship	1	1993
Lockheed JetStar	1	Un­known	Un­known
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14	2	1995	2000	Leased fromIntercontinental de Aviación
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15	3
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31	1	1998	1999	Written off asFlight 725
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30	2	1995	1997
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF	1	1998	2000
McDonnell Douglas MD-83	1	1992	1992	Transferred toCompass Airlines
McDonnell Douglas MD-87	2		1997

Accidents and incidents

Various incidents damaged the airline's image:

• On June 18, 1994, while theUnited Stateswas hosting the World Cup, aLearjet 25crashed into trees while approachingDulles International Airportfrom the south. All 12 on board were killed in the accident. The cause was ruled aspilot errordue to an inexperienced crew.
• In April 1997 aMcDonnell Douglas DC-10sustained damage in a landing inSanto Domingo.
• On November 9, 1999,TAESA Flight 725covered theTijuana–Mexico Cityroute with a stop inUruapan,Michoacán,Mexico.AMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-31used to fly this route. Flight 725 went down a few minutes after leaving theUruapan International Airporten route toMexico City.18 people were killed in the accident, which prompted inquiries regarding theairline's safetyand maintenance procedures.

See also

• List of defunct airlines of Mexico

External links

• TAESA(Archive)
• rzjets Data
• Timetables at Airtimes
• Timetable Images
• AirSafe accident report
• Accident reports
• TAESA pictures in AirlinersNet
• TAESA fleet