Avianca Costa Rica on 17 October 1945 by Pan American World Airways, the Costa Rican government and Costa Rican private interests. It started operations on 1 June 1946 and was designated the national carrier in 1949. Its domestic network was transferred to its wholly owned subsidiary Sansa in September 1959. LACSA operated the Douglas DC-6B four-engined piston airliner from 1960 until 1976 on their regular passenger, and eventually freight, scheduled flights to Miami International Airport. The airline introduced the first of their British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven twin-engined jet airliners onto their Caribbean passenger route network in April 1967. The airline also operated
Sun Country Airlines Sun Country also provided ad-hoc charter lift. In 1989 Sun Country became a member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and flew many charters to support the Desert Storm operation from 1990 to 1991. After earning profits of $9.7 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1991, the airline acquired additional Boeing 727 and DC-10 aircraft. In the mid 1990s, Mark Travel Group, led by Bill LaMacchia, Jr., acquired Sun Country and began changing the focus of the airline. As the DC-10 aircraft aged and required expensive maintenance, the airline gradually reduced the fleet, ultimately retiring the final