1920 | Colombiana's Early Years | Junkers F.13

Compañía Colombiana de Aviación S.A., generally just referred to as Colombiana, was formed by a group of Colombian businessmen in 1920 to initiate air services in Colombia. Backing from German investors led to the airline's first aircraft being the Junkers F.13. This type served with the airline for several years in both floatplane and landplane variants before being replaced by newer aircraft during the 1930s.

The initial use of floatplanes made it easier for the airline to operate, since Colombia (along with most countries at the time) had very rudimentary aviation infrastructure. However, once more airports were built in various parts of the country, the company replaced most of its floatplanes with land-based aircraft and its hub of operations shifted away from the coastal/river regions to the more mountainous cities of Colombia.

Colombiana's first livery aligned with the bare metal fashion of the era with the main difference being that the top of the fuselage was painted yellow to aid in identifying the aircraft from the air if it were to go down in the remote regions of Colombia. The company's first logo was a symbolic Condor with the name of the company written in Spanish across its wings. This basic livery lasted in various forms until the early 1950s.