The Vickers Viscount turboprop passenger airliner followed in order to expand its route network around the Americas. On 28 December 1966, TACA Airlines entered the jet age when it inaugurated their first jet, a BAC One Eleven (which was a popular twin jet airplane at the time with other airlines in Latin America). The aircraft model was used until June 1, 1988, when it was phased out in favor of the Boeing 737-200 aircraft. The Lockheed L-188 Electra four engine turboprop airliner was operated from 1976 by TACA Air Cargo including freight flights to Miami, Florida. Until 1980, TACA was owned by a United States company and had its corporate headquarters in New Orleans (due to the civil war raging in El Salvador) under the administration of the Kriete Family of El Salvador, who owned a minority stock and ended up buying all the shares. The airline also made several upgrades in the fleet during the 1980s, by substituting the much older turboprops and One Eleven airliners with more efficient aircraft, such as the 737-300 and Boeing 737-400 of the Boeing 737 Classic series and its predecessor, the Boeing 737-200 Advanced. Between 1940 and 1995, TACA bought the majority shares of the flag carrier airlines of Guatemala (AVIATECA), Costa Rica (Lacsa), and Nicaragua (NICA), consolidating operations under a new brand name, Grupo TACA. In the 1990s, TACA Airlines became the launch customer and principal users of the Airbus A320 model in Latin America. These aircraft were substitutes for the aging Boeing 737-200 and the 737-300/-400 series aircraft that were on the fleet, which were gradually retired until 1999. In 1992, TACA signed a strategic alliance with Panama-based Copa Airlines, and the airline began flying to Tocumen International Airport, making it the first flight connection center in Latin America. As a consequence, Tocumen airport became the "Hub of the Americas" and the integration of several Latin American airlines to the alliance, such as LACSA, Aviateca, and NICA took place. The alliance ended in 1998 after the six-year period established in the agreement expired. Then in 2001, having its main hubs in San Salvador, El Salvador, and San Jose, Costa Rica, the airline set an operations base at Lima, Peru, its first base in South America, causing as a consequence the founding of TACA Peru, of which TACA had 49% shares at.