Avianca has been through a difficult period which has called its business model into question.. Avianca was originally the national airline of Colombia, but it also became the main carrier in Ecuador following its merger with the Ecuadorian national carrier TACA. The company also operated a large number of subsidiaries in Latin America, in Brazil, Peru and El Salvador.
A tiny one for a renaissance
Losing market share to South American low-cost carriers, to the rise of the LATAM group and finally to the Covid crisis, the company had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020. It emerged at the end of 2021becoming the Avianca Group International Limited and adopting a new point-to-point company model. Its main bases are now in Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador.
To complete this new era, the company has just presented its new new corporate image. During a press conference, Adrian Neuhauser, CEO of aviancaexplained that the company had suffered what could be " the biggest airline reinvention in the history of aviation (sic). So today we salute avianca in lower case and bid farewell to the capital "A" of the past.. "
He continued: "It's a brand that honours our history. At the same time, it represents who we are today, a renewed avianca. Friendly, agile, accessible, attentive and cheerful. An avianca that looks you in the eye and calls you by name. An avianca where everyone is welcome and the sky belongs to everyone.. "
The airline is now applying the low-cost model to its short- and medium-haul network. It now uses only one type of aircraft: Airbus A319 or A320. A total of 111 aircraft. On long-haul routes, avianca operates a fleet of 13 Boeing 787-800s. They should eventually be replaced by Airbus A350s.
Daily aircraft use on short/medium-haul routes has risen over the same period from 9.9 hours to 11.4 hours with a denser cab. And the results are paying off!
Between January and September, the company carried almost 23 million passengers, compared with 18.67 million over the same period in 2022This represents a jump of 22.7%. On average, avianca offers 570 daily flights with an occupancy rate of 82,5%. Faster aircraft turnarounds have led to a substantial improvement in punctuality. 87.5% of avianca flights arrived on time in the second quarter of 2023, compared with 78.7% in 2019. According to aviation analyst Cirrus, this is the best result ever achieved by a major international airline!
Madrid, avianca's hub in Europe
Business passengers now have to contend with a low-cost service on board the Airbus A319 and A320, avianca, on the other hand, continues to offer a classic long-haul product. Sa business class, called "XXLIt includes a sleeper seat, two baggage items in the hold, access to the avianca lounge and priority treatment. The Economy product is segmented according to price. The airline also has a Premium class, currently only available on the international network in the Americas..
The new avianca formula has continued to offer Bogota flights to 35 international cities in 22 countries. In Europe, this includes a dense network of routes from Spain, easily accessible for European businessmen. Madrid-Bogota has three daily frequenciesMadrid-Medellin with 4 weekly flights, while Cali (Colombia) and San Salvador are linked by 3 weekly flights. The airline also offers two other daily flights to Bogota, one from London Heathrow, the second from Barcelona.
At Bogota, passengers can find connections to 17 Colombian cities and 24 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
