Avianca

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 707 reviews
3/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
Filter Reviews by :
Show
1/10

"worst airline I’ve ever flown"

(United States)

Trip Verified | By far the worst airline I’ve ever flown. I’m a Star Alliance Gold customer and typically a ticket in any fair includes checked luggage. Apparently, Avianca changed their baggage policy without informing us. This led to one of our legs (SFO-BOG) having a checked bag included and The other led (BOG-MDE) to have no bags included because we bought the tickets a few weeks apart during which the airline decided to change the baggage policy. Avianca is heavy on their A320 usage also for medium haul flights. Sitting 6 hours in small seats is a pain. Even worse: the seats don’t have any headrest and the seats don’t recline. Additionally, there are no free drinks or snacks served - even on longer routes. This airline is a disgrace for star alliance
AircraftA320
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBogota to Medellin
Date FlownMarch 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"worst airline experience"

(United States)

Trip Verified | I have been traveling since Saturday 03/09/24 and it is Monday 03/11/24 at 12:00pm and I am not at my destination yet. I have been sleeping in an airport for two days now as they messed up all of my connecting flights. They got me a hotel for the first night, but the checkout was at 1pm and my flight was at 10pm that night. I got into this hotel at 3am thanks to Avianca. Then they rescheduled my two connecting flights only to have the last one scheduled 20 mins after arriving to the gate (which I missed thanks to their incompetence). The Avianca employee told me to check in when I got to Rio for this flight, but didn’t mention that they close check in one hour before, and I arrived 20 mins before. I had to force GOL to reschedule this flight with Avianca because they wouldn’t pick up the phone or respond to my instant messaging for customer service. I then slept in the airport for the second time as the only flight was 8 hours later to my final destination. This has ruined my trip and I just received word that my family member I was traveling to see who was in critical condition passed away before I could make it down there. I am sitting in the airport on day 3 and still not at my final destination. The lack of communication is unbelievable from such a large airline. Sincerely, worst airline experience of all time.
AircraftAirbus
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteWashington to Rio de Janeiro via Bogota
Date FlownMarch 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"even worse than a budget airline"

(Indonesia)

Trip Verified | It’s such a pity that Avianca is still part of Star Alliance. We booked RTW Star Alliance ticket and took Avianca for the Bogota to Toronto route. It was around 6 hours of flight and to our dismay, the level of service is even worse than a budget airline. All meal and beverages are sold separately (even water), and seats are non reclinable from the exit row onwards. In flight entertainment wasn’t working throughout the flight. The card machine to make payment didn’t work at all and the crew decided not to sell anything (they can’t accept cash either), but they at least decided to provide water and coffee for free (but imagine if you didn’t have any lunch nor bring any food, you are forced to starve throughout the flight). The crew also ignored the service call from the passengers. If you have other options, do not ever fly Avianca.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBogota to Toronto
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
6/10

"bag hanging on the door"

(Belgium)

Trip Verified | Although I take many flights a year I always politely follow the safety instructions. As a passenger we have to stay informed as well. That’s why I am shocked when I went to the toilet in the front (my seat was row 1) curtains were closed. All crew was chatting and laughing in the back of the airplane. That’s when I saw the bag hanging on the door like in the picture. This is a security breach that with all safety checks is just unacceptable.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteSan Juan to Bogotá
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Horrible customer service"

(Canada)

Trip Verified | We purchased the base fare ticket back in August for a trip to Ecuador in March. However, in January our friends in Ecuador warned us of internal conflict in the country, they advised us that flights were being cancelled and they were trying to get out. To be proactive, we cancelled our flights, believing that due to extenuating circumstances we would receive a full refund and/or could modify our flight to Chile. Instead, they 'approved' our request and only send us $164 CAD, instead of the $1800 USD for our flights. We are so disappointed and they are telling us there is nothing they can do to undo our flight cancellation. So they get to keep our $1800 USD and we're left without flights. Horrible customer service. They were not pleasant to speak to over the phone and kept repeating legalities instead of speaking to me as a human being. All we want is to modify our flight destination to another place in South America. We're extremely disappointed with Avianca and will not be flying with them again.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteToronto to Quito
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

" become a miserable airline"

(United States)

Trip Verified |  At first glance it seems fantastic to have bought a round trip ticket to Miami - Santiago de Chile - Miami at such an affordable price. But it was a trip full of unpleasant surprises. They charge you to choose your seats, a payment for each flight. In my case there were 4 flights due to the stopovers in Bogota. They charge you for the “carry-on” suitcase (the one you take on board the cabin). The price varies depending on whether you make the payment online and also depending on how close to the date of your trip you do it. One way (MIA-SCL) I paid U$D 65 - for my small suitcase in the cabin. On the way back (SCL-MIA) they charged me U$D 123 to carry my suitcase in the cabin. If I had checked it as luggage it would have been even more expensive. During the trip there are no food or drinks included. You have to pay for some sandwiches, some junk foods, coffee, drinks and even bottles of water. During the Bogota - Santiago flight, they offered me water in a glass as an option… as long as I went to look for it in the back of the plane. The seats are not reclining (unless you pay an additional cost), they have no padding or anything to support your head. In 2017 I traveled on Avianca and it was a decent airline. Today it has become a miserable airline. I will never fly with them again.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteFt Lauderdale to Santiago via Bogota
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"never been treated that badly"

(Germany)

Trip Verified | Incredibly rude, while boarding, they kept asking me if I was Russian or if I was flying there (even though I showed my non-Russian passport and my flight info). Singled me out for additional checks and kept asking me to indicate my whereabouts! They took a picture of my passport and sent it somewhere through WhatsApp! No idea who has my data and what will they use it for. I kept contacting the airline for an explanation but no response. No one told me what was wrong they were just rude and very clearly kept an eye on me as if I were a criminal. I was so scared and the entire experience was traumatising. I have never been treated that badly and would rather take a bus across the continent than fly with them again!
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLima to Bogota
Date FlownDecember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"I was really disappointed"

(United States)

Trip Verified | I was really disappointed flying Avianca internationally from Bogota to NYC. Never in my life have I been on an international flight that charges for water, let alone anything to eat or drink. It was not advertised or clear that the flight did not provide a meal or any free beverage service, which is unacceptable. Only once onboard and in the air did they tell us that not only was it required for us to purchase anything to drink, but that there weren’t full meals available for a 6 hour flight during dinner time. Further, when I purchased food, I was given an inedible instant Mac and cheese (improperly made, don’t offer it if you can’t prepare it). I flew Avianca in 2019 and had a completely different experience. This flight left a really bad taste in my mouth after an incredible trip in Colombia… a really sad way to end vacation. I will not fly Avianca again.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBogota to JFK New York
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

“no Avianca staff”

(El Salvador)

Not Verified | My booking ticket clearly states $30 for first check bag and thats all I checked-in at the airport on a self check-in kiosk, no Avianca staff available in sight. The kiosk charged me $180USD for the checked bag. These crooks have designed this system to rob people at the airport for checked bags.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSan Salvador to Mexico City
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
4/10

"I would avoid flying with Avianca"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | We chose "plus sized" seats for our flight, but when I boarded this seemed like some sort of bad joke. I am 6'3" / 190cm, but my knees touched the back of the seat in front. If this is "plus" legroom, I hate to think how spending 3.5 hours in a standard legroom seat would feel. There were 3 flight stewards, and whilst the younger 2 were smiley, friendly and helpful, the older (more senior?) member of staff seemed to go out of his way to order passengers around in a surly manner during the flight. Maybe he was having a bad day, but this was not appreciated, and felt like particularly bad customer service. The flight took off slightly late, but landed early by a good margin. Finally, I am not sure where the responsibility for this lies, but one of our suitcases had been opened, unpacked and then the contents thrown back in in a random manner so that various items were crushed and had minor damage. There was a note placed inside the bag from Avianca that simply stated that the bag had been opened and checked etc, but there were no contact details to complain about the bad and careless re-packing of the suitcase. If I have a choice of airlines on a particular route in the future, I would avoid flying with Avianca again.
AircraftA320
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBogota to Cancun
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no