Aerotáxi Abaeté (ATA), known as Abaeté Aviação, is a domestic subregional airline and air taxi headquartered in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Although the company was established in 1979, it was not authorized to operate regular flights until 2020.
History
Aerotáxi Abaeté (1979-2020)
Establishment
The history of Abaeté Aviação dates back to February 19, 1979, when Bahian pilots Milton Tosto and Jorge Mello created Aerotáxi Abaeté (ATA), with the aim of providing air service in locations that were not served by commercial aviation. His first plane was a single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee, registration PT-DSM (MSN 28R-7135092), used to transport passengers and cargo between the capital and cities in the interior of Bahia.[2]
In 1985, it acquired Atlanta Táxi Aéreo, expanding its operations.[3]
In 2006, Abaeté added a third Embraer Bandeirante to the commercial fleet and began flying between Salvador and Barreiras, extending the route to the federal capital Brasília. However, two years later, due to the Great Recession, which resulted in increased costs and uncertainty about the future, the airline decided to optimize its operations, withdrawing one of the three planes and maintaining flights only to Bom Jesus da Lapa and Guanambi.
In February 2012, after reporting monthly losses of R$100 thousand (US$57,000), Abaeté Linhas Aéreas announced the suspension of its regular commercial operations. The operations of its parent company, Aerotáxi Abaeté, however, were not affected.[5]
Abaeté Aviação (2020-present)
After an eight-year hiatus following the end of Abaeté Linhas Aéreas, in 2020, Aerotáxi Abaeté (ATA), with changes to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulations (RBAC), became able to carry out regular passenger flights with aircraft with up to 19 seats. Authorization was granted by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) on March 6, 2020, through an ordinance published in the Diário Oficial da União (DOU), the official journal of the federal government of Brazil.[6]
On October 2, 2020, Aerotáxi Abaeté presented its visual and commercial identity, changing its name to Abaeté Aviação. The announcement was made both through the airline's social networks and its managing partner, Tiago Tosto, who signaled that news was coming, generating speculation about the return of regular commercial flights.[7]
Cessna 208 Caravan reg. PT-OGK, used on regular commercial flights
On October 24, 2020, Abaeté Aviação confirmed the launch of regular commercial flights, starting the sale of its first destination from Salvador da Bahia, the tourist city of Morro de São Paulo, with a daily flight starting on December 18, 2020, that will be operated by its fleet of single-engine turboprops Cessna 208 Caravan.[8]
On November 4, 2020, Abaeté Aviação was announced as the newest associate member of the Brazilian Association of Airlines (ABEAR), along with two more subregional airlines, ASTA Linhas Aéreas and Rio Madeira Aerotáxi (RIMA).[9]
On April 14, 2021, Abaeté Aviação announced its intention to fly to three more destinations in the interior of Bahia, Boipeba, Maraú (from December 17, 2021)[10] and Mucugê (from June 17, 2021).[11] It also announced the hiring of Héctor Hamada, former CEO of MAP Linhas Aéreas, as its new chief executive officer.[12]
In June 2021, the regional airline received the IATA Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) certification, a voluntary program that is based on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), developed to verify internal controls and operational management of smaller airlines.[13] At the same time, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) announced Abaeté Aviação as its new member.[14]
On December 14, 2023, Abaeté launched the route between Salvador da Bahia and Boipeba, which became its fifth regular destination in the interior of Bahia. With a panoramic view of the beautiful Bahian coastline, the flight lasts just 25 minutes and is operated twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays in codeshare with GOL Linhas Aéreas.[17]
On February 19, 2024, Abaeté Aviação celebrated its 45 years of history, highlighting the transformations that have been taking place in recent years, moving from an air taxi company to an important subregional airline that is expanding its horizons and operations in Bahia.[18][19]
Aviation services
In addition to commercial and private flights, Abaeté Aviação also offers fixed-base operator (FBO) aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, handling, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, fractional ownership, aircraft maintenance and similar services in its hangar located at Salvador International Airport, providing support services to general aviation operators at a public-use airport. The hangar has two VIP rooms that have a meeting room and other amenities available 24 hours a day.[20]
Destinations
As of April 2024, Abaeté Aviação operated scheduled services to the following destinations in Brazil:[21]
On October 23, 2024, the Embraer EMB 121 Xingu, registration PT-MBU, which was on a repositioning flight between Florianópolis and the airline's base in Salvador da Bahia, with a technical stop in Belo Horizonte, with 5 people on board, crashed in a forested area near the city of Santa Branca, in São Paulo. There were no survivors. The five people on board were a pilot, the co-pilot, a mechanic, a doctor and a nurse, all employees of Abaeté Aviação. The aircraft had previously carried out an aeromedical evacuation flight.[29]
