1985 | New Jets and New Destinations | Airbus A300-600

In the late 1970s, various South American carriers were approached by Airbus as potential customers for their new A300 widebody jet. At the time, Airbus was seeking to break into the commercial airliner market which was dominated by Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Colombiana on the other hand, was a firm Boeing customer but the company management was willing to consider the new Airbus jet if the price was right. However, the A300 didn't have the range that Colombiana needed in order to serve long-haul flights to Europe and the airline eventually selected the DC-10 to supplement its 707s on European routes.

Nevertheless, as competition increased and other Colombian air carriers began trying to acquire widebody jets, there was still a need for an aircraft smaller than the DC-10 but larger than Colombiana's 727s to provide increased capacity on flights to the United States (specifically Miami) as well as carry more passengers on the domestic shuttle routes between Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali. A long series of negotiations eventually led to an order for a couple of A300s in 1977 with more orders for the improved A300-600 and the smaller A310 in the mid 1980s. The new jets eventually enabled Colombiana to become the major South American carrier serving the United States. This period also brought the introduction of a new blue and yellow livery that evoked the colors of the Colombian flag, the sky, and the tale of Eldorado (the Golden One) which was often referred via the airline advertising itself as The Airline of Eldorado.