A new entrant into the South and North American airline market is TACA Airlines, now known as Grupo TACA. The new named airline is the alliance of the main airlines in Central America: Aviateca, Lacsa, Nica and Taca. Grupo TACA airline’s route structure includes the United States, Toronto, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. It is the biggest airline in Central America which provides cheap airfares and great discounts on its airline tickets; serving every major city and destination in the region. They also continue to operate flights under the Aviateca and LACSA names, though nowadays, those flights are practically indistinguishable from mainstream TACA airline’s flights.

If you are a frequent air traveler and you shuttle to and from just about anywhere in Latin America, you must have likely benefited from TACA Airline’s largesse of cheap airfares and discounts on its air tickets since they're pretty much everywhere in the news and advertisements, and have really grown themselves into a ubiquitous American airline, moving strongly into both North and South America with a number of new routes and gateways. If you are going to do much flying in Latin America, you are probably going to fly a TACA airline among the first three airlines you will fly and you will then get to have your own share of cheap airfares.

TACA airline has two main alliances: American Airlines in the U.S. and TAM airlines in Brazil - essentially hooking them up through cooperative arrangements with two of the biggest airlines in the hemisphere. In some cases, you may book a cheap flight to South or Central America on American Airlines, check in with American Airlines, and actually end up boarding a TACA airline’s flight because of cooperative code-share agreement between them. Such is the nature of flying in the 21st century.

TACA Airline’s in-flight service is among the best in air services. Dirt cheap airfares have made food to be offered for sale on TACA airline’s flights but still at very deep discounts. The airline’s food is available for purchase in economy class on all TACA flights lasting more than two hours. Breakfast like sandwiches, fruit, pastries; and lunch like sandwiches, desserts cost US$5 each.

There is no meal charge for children flying unaccompanied, as the cost of their meal is already included in their cheaply sold airfare. However, chips or pretzels, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages are offered free of charge on all long-haul flights. TACA airline does not offer special meals in either business or economy class on any flights for passengers who have already bought its dirt cheap airfares so you may do well to bring your own meals on board. TACA Airline’s flights always leave within 10 minutes of their scheduled departure times and arrive on time too. The flight attendants are just too pleasant, efficient and bi-lingual while the pilots are all-too courteous even with normal flight announcements.

TACA, which stands for Transportes Areos del Continente Americano or American Continent Air Transport, flies to 34 cities in 19 countries in the Western Hemisphere. TACA Airline serves ten major cities in the United States; Toronto, Canada; Mexico City; all of Central America; and business and tourist destinations in South America and the Caribbean. These destinations make good connections throughout Central America with a nice hub in San Salvador. In the United States, TACA Airline operates in the following cities: Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York, and San Francisco. In many of these cases, its one daily direct flight to San Salvador, and you can connect there to anywhere else in Central America.

If you are a passenger with preference for pre-assigned seating, you are luck because this is available on TACA airlines and travelers can also request seats by calling TACA Reservations Office hotlines. Check-in time for TACA airlines is recommended to be made at least three hours prior to their scheduled flight departure. TACA airline is generally efficient and courteous even for the cheap airfares they offer new and existing passengers. The airline’s planes are very modern and very well maintained; safe on most or all flights, and always on time too. It is all passengers ask for and they get even more with TACA airlines.