Notícia: Colombia'S Airline Avianca Owner: We Will Need Many Planes (EMBR3)

BOGOTA -(Dow Jones)- Newly merged airlines Avianca SA of Colombia and Grupo TACA of El Salvador will need many planes, businessman German Efromovich, the controlling shareholder of the holding company that now owns both airlines, said Wednesday.

He said the newly merged airlines will expand and operate new routes in Latin America and elsewhere and "we will need many more planes" than both companies were buying separately.

Avianca is in the middle of a renewal of its fleet that could cost as much as $7 billion and Grupo TACA is also in the process of acquiring new jets.

TACA mainly operates jets manufactured by Airbus, a unit of EADS (EAD.FR) and a few jets made by Brazil's Embraer (EMBR3.BR), while Avianca flies Airbus jets as well as jets made by Boeing Co (BA), and a few Fokkers.

-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; 57-310-867-65-42; colombia@dowjones.com