Avianca announced a major expansion in Colombia by adding thirteen new connections to its network of destinations, with a major focus on Medellín/José María Córdova (MDE) and Cali (CLO).
The holding company is looking to add more connections as it reactivates some pre-pandemic destinations, with the intention of strengthening its network to the south and north of the American continent. The airline will focus its expansion to secondary markets in Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Recently, as a result of the continued support of its creditors, Avianca Holdings filed a motion with the Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of the terms of its $1.6 billion Chapter 11 exit financing commitment letter.
As a result of its proposed plans, the company announced flights from Cali (CLO) to New York (JFK) in the United States; Cancun (CUN) and Mexico City (MEX); Quito (UIO) in Ecuador; and San Jose (SJO) in Costa Rica.
It will also add flights from Medellín/José María Córdova (MDE) to Aruba (AUA); Mexico City (MEX); Orlando (MCO) in the United States; San José (SJO) in Costa Rica and Quito (UIO) and Guayaquil (GYE) in Ecuador.
In addition, it will connect Bucaramanga (BGA) with Miami (MIA) and from Bogotá (BOG) it will launch a direct flight to Toronto (YYZ).
The company did not disclose the frequencies and start of operations of these 23 new links, although they will be announced during the remainder of 2021.
The following routes have recently been inaugurated: Medellin-Cancun, Medellin-Punta Cana, Cali-Orlando, and Pereira-Santa Marta.
This increased growth in Colombia in cities other than Bogota is due to the persistent operational limitations of the air terminal at El Dorado International Airport, due to the high influx of state and non-scheduled aviation, as well as infrastructure limitations.
In addition, recently, between June and July, the authority has declared 92 times the Ground Delay Program affecting more than 465,390 passengers in the industry on more than 3,500 flights.
Despite this challenging situation, Avianca is determined to maintain its competitive position in Bogota and to work together with authorities and operators to provide customers with quality service.
Manuel Ambriz, Avianca’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: «Launching these 23 new routes demonstrates that we want to continue growing in a sustainable manner and that we have the firm intention to remain the airline with the most robust route network in our region. We know that our customers want more destinations and more frequencies. We will continue to adapt our offer to give our customers what they really value: competitive prices, a tailored product, the best network and reliable service.
The other ten missing links mentioned by Manuel Ambriz are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ecuador.
Details of each route
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| From | A | Competition |
| Santiago de Cali (CLO) | Cancún (CUN), México | Wingo (2 weekly flights) |
| Santiago de Cali (CLO) | Ciudad de México (MEX) | No Competition |
| Santiago de Cali (CLO) | Quito (UIO), Ecuador | No Competition |
| Santiago de Cali (CLO) | San José (SJO), Costa Rica | No Competition |
| Santiago de Cali (CLO) | Nueva York (JFK), United States | American Airlines (7 weekly flights) |
| Medellín (MDE) | Aruba (AUA) | No Competition |
| Medellín (MDE) | Ciudad de México (MEX) | Aeromexico (7 weekly flights), Viva (3 weekly flights) |
| Medellín (MDE) | Orlando (MCO), United States | Spirit Airlines (7 weekly flights), Viva (5 weekly flights) |
| Medellín (MDE) | San José (SJO), Costa Rica | No Competition |
| Medellín (MDE) | Quito (UIO), Ecuador | No Competition |
| Medellín (MDE) | Guayaquil (GYE), Ecuador | No Competition |
| Bucaramanga (BGA) | Miami (MIA), United States | No Competition |
| Bogotá (BOG) | Toronto/Pearson (YYZ), Canada | Air Canadá (3 weekly flights) |
In Cali (CLO) has two routes that will compete directly with other airlines, American in New York (JFK) and Wingo to Cancun; both recently inaugurated. Aeromexico operated between Cali and Mexico with up to three weekly flights in 2019, while the connection to Quito is not served since 2015 when LATAM knew how to operate it.
In Medellin (MDE) it will have to compete strongly on two routes: Mexico City and Orlando, each with two airlines offering services. The connection to Quito will return, after LATAM stopped operating it in 2015. On the other hand, flights to Aruba will resume after Insel Air Aruba stopped them in 2017, they were also operated by Tiara Air Aruba between 2012 and 2013; and Costa Rica has not been operated since 2014 when TACA/LACSA became part of Avianca Holdings.
The route from Bucaramanga (BGA) to Miami is an unpublished link, said Colombian city lacks a significant international offer having only flights from Copa Airlines to Panama/Tocumen (PTY) and Spirit Airlines to Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Being 200 kilometers from one of Venezuela’s border crossings, Palonegro International Airport is heavily used by Venezuelan citizens.
On the other hand, between Bogota (BOG) and Toronto it was historically operated by Air Canada, so this announcement will increase the existing offer.
