Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos
IATA ICAO Callsign
2L[1] BOL BOL[2]
Founded7 November 1977 (1977-11-07)
HubsViru Viru International Airport
Fleet size1
Destinations6
HeadquartersCochabamba, Bolivia[1]
Websitetab-bolivia.com

Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos (abbreviated TAB and also known as TAB Airlines, TAB Aerocarga or TAB Cargo) is a cargo airline which operates civil cargo flights between Bolivia and the United States.

History

A TAB MD-10 at Jorge Chávez International Airport in 2017. This aircraft is the last of its type in commercial service.

TAB was set up in 1977 as a sub-division of the Air Transport Management of the Bolivian Air Force in 1977, originally operating on-demand medium to long-haul heavy cargo flights using a fleet of Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, which were based at El Alto International Airport in La Paz. In 1992, TAB was shut down.

In 1999, the airline was reactivated as a civil company based at Cochabamba, then operating a single military C-130 and a L-382, the civil variant of the preceding. In 1999, TAB moved 84,649 kilograms of cargo, which was increased to over 2 million kilograms in 2000, to 4,176,429 kilograms in 2006.

TAB increased its fleet with the addition of two McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. Currently, the airline is transporting more than 8 thousand tons a year.

In 2014, TAB retired all of its C-130, L-382, DC-10s.[3] It stopped flying most of its DC-10s in 2014, and sold them off to the Bolivian Airforce.[4]

Destinations

As of May 2019, TAB operates scheduled flights to the following destinations:[5]

Country City Airport Notes
 BoliviaCochabambaJorge Wilstermann International Airport
La PazEl Alto International Airport
Santa Cruz de la SierraViru Viru International AirportHub
 PeruLimaJorge Chávez International AirportCharter
 United StatesMiamiMiami International Airport
 VenezuelaCaracasSimon Bolivar International AirportCharter

TAB additionally serves a wide range of charter routes.

Fleet

Current fleet

The TAB fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2023):[6][7]

TAB fleet
Aircraft In
service		 Orders Notes
McDonnell Douglas MD-10-30F 1 — Last commercial operator
Total 1 —

Former fleet

TAB former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Lockheed C-130 Hercules[8] 1 1977 2014 Transferred to the Bolivian Air Force
Lockheed C-382 Hercules 1 1999 2014
Douglas DC-8-54CF 1 1991 1999 Leased from Transconsult Ltd
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10F 1 2007 2014
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F 1 2008 2016

See also

References

  1. 1 2 TAB entry at airlineupdate.com
  2. ↑ "Airline codes and callsigns". airodyssey.net. 2005-01-01. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  3. ↑ "TAB Cargo Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. ↑ "Please verify your request". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  5. ↑ "Tabairlines".
  6. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 7. October 2019.
  7. ↑ "TAB Cargo Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Airframe Details for C-130 #4759". www.c-130.net. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
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