Transportes Aéreos da Bacia Amazônica (TABA) came about following the Brazilian government's decision to divide the country into five different regions on November 11, 1975. By doing this, it allowed for the creation of five new regional airlines. Of the five new airlines, TABA – Transportes Aéreos da Bacia Amazônica S/A - was the first to become operational on April 29, 1976. Its operational territory comprised the northern and central-western regions of Brazil. Specifically, it covered the Brazilian states of Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Rondônia, Roraima, and parts of Pará and Mato Grosso.

45573340472_c2804a54b3_k
TABA started with Beechcraft D-18S/H-18S planes. Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons.

The history of TABA can be traced to Marcílio Jacques Gibson who owned Norte Táxi Aéreo based in Belém. Gibson used his air taxi service to fill a void left following the collapse of Paraense Transportes Aéreos in 1970. Gibson's was the only air service in the states of Pará and Amapá, offering flights to locations that were no longer being served by other airlines.

TABA started flying with Beechcraft D-18S/H-18S planes

On the routes, he used nine-passenger Beechcraft D-18S/H-18S aircraft before adding a Curtiss C-46 Commando and a Fairchild Hiller FH-227B to his fleet. Building upon what he already had, the newly created TABA grew larger by acquiring a few Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante 21 twin-engine passenger turboprops.

TABA_BAe_146-100_Groves
TABA had two leased BAe 146-100s. Photo: Clinton Groves via Wikimedia Commons.

By 1980 TABA was flying to 34 cities in Brazil with a fleet of ten Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante and four Fairchild Hiller FH-227B's. In 1983 TABA received two Aerospace BAe 146 that it used to fly a trunk-route between Belém-Val de Cães/Itaituba/Alta Floresta/Cuiabá/Vilhena/Ji-Paraná/Porto Velho. However, the BAe 146s proved expensive to operate and maintain, forcing TABA to end its lease contract after just two years.

TABA starts flying to other regions in Brazil

Following the Brazilian government's decision in 1991 to remove geographic restrictions placed on regional airlines, TABA began flying to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and Belo Horizonte-Pampulha, linking the two cities to its established routes in the Amazon Basin.

At the same time, TABA modernized its fleet, replacing the Fairchild Hiller FH-227B with Canadian-built Bombardier Dash 8-300s. In 1992 TABA became the first regional airline to offer international flights with its inaugural service to Georgetown, Guyana. Between 1993 and 1995, TABA added two Fokker 100s to its fleet but had to give them back to the leasing company because of economic difficulties.

In attempting to replace the services offered by the Fokker's TABA chartered a Boeing 727-200 owned by Brazilian air charter operator Air Vias. The charter company went broke in 1995, and all Boeing 727-200 flights ceased. Facing even more economic problems, TABA returned its Dash 8-300s to the lessor in 1996. Things never managed to get back on track, and by 1999 TABA ceased flying.

The historical TABA fleet

According to the aviation data and statistics website, ch-aviation Transportes Aéreos da Bacia Amazônica operated a fleet of the following aircraft:

  • 7 x Beechcraft D-18S/H-18S
  • 1 x Curtiss C-46 Commando
  • 11 x Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante's
  • 8 x Fairchild Hiller FH-227Bs
  • 2 x British Aerospace 146s
  • 3 x DHC-8-300s
  • 2 x Fokker R100s
  • 1 x Boeing 727-200 chartered from Air Vias