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AVIANCA Customer Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports |
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AVIANCA review : 6 January 2009 : by J Schneider
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
BOG-CLO and CLO-MAD. Terminal in BOG was new, good check-in service, although luggage could
not be checked through to MAD. MD-83, ok for a 35min flight. Coffee and drinks during flight
were fine. No announcements in English, at BOG or during the flight. No security information
before take-off. One stewardess was still walking in the aisle when plane took up speed on
runway for take-off. CLO-MAD on B767. Service at CLO airport good, seat had already been
reserved in BOG, although I had to recheck my baggage. Plane in good shape, comfy seats and
good quality meals (some of the best I have had on intl flights), although not abundant. At
midnight crew started to play Colombian new years music, danced, people cheered, handed out
grapes following colombian tradition and made a raffle with sparkling wine and amenity sets.
Pilot came to cabin and greeted pax personally. Avianca seems to be a good option for flights
to Spain, and is ridiculously cheap.
AVIANCA review : 2 December 2008 : by Richard Winger
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Recently in J Class on their new A 319 from BOG to JFK. Beware! It's tight as can be and a
disappointing replacement for the old 757 which, admittedly, suffered from a death rattle but did
have reasonably comfortable recliners. I took the new afternoon service which is a welcome addition
to the schedule and where the lack of legroom and recline is not such an issue. But I dread the
overnight return to BOG or the early morning JFK to MED flights which are now using the same
equipment. And I hate the prospect of the new overnight MED to JFK schedule on the A 319, which was
previously a reasonably civilized 6pm departure on the reasonably comfortable 757. AV is giving up a
big competitive advantage here because it used to be the only airline between Colombia and the US
with a reasonable J class. If you have the flexibility, look for the 767 service to and from BOG
with worn around the edges old-style recliners. It's the most comfortable way to get down there. In-
flight service remains as amiable and caring as ever and their on-time cuvture is admirable.
AVIANCA review : 29 September 2008 : by J Varela
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Customer Rating : 5/5 |  |
MIA - Cali - MIA : excellent service. I had not flown on Avianca for quite a while. It is
refreshing to travel, even on a short flight and be treated with a smile and kind words.
AVIANCA review : 25 July 2008 : by A Robertson
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
MEX-BOG-LIM-BOG-MEX. Upon checkin in Mexico we where told that the flight was overbooked so we were
having to wait until the following morning to fly. Next day, we had to be on a waitlist, and if the
plane had seats available they will let us on board (I was travelling with my wife and 2 year old
daughter). After around 7 horis of waiting in Mexico City, we made our way to Bogota in an extremely
old 757, that rattled all the way and with the worst seats ever. Transfer was ok, the flight from
Bogota to Lima was pleasant. Retun flight was even worse, we got from Lima to Bogota and the plane
that was supposed to take us to Mexico had left 3 hours earlier then scheduled - and they made us
pay for a hotel for the night instead of them covering this problem. The staff were useless & rude -
honestly try to avoid flying with them, even if its free.
AVIANCA review : 20 June 2008 : by N Gonzalez
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
IAD-BOG Business class. I was not impressed by the service Avianca provided to its business class
passengers. The airline does not provide a courtesy lounge privilege in the Washington Dulles
International airport for premiere passengers flying in business class. There was no menu and no hot
entree for a five hour journey. Just a cold sandwich and water was offered to the only three
passengers flying in business class. The flight attendants did not care too much about us, and they
used the last row of the business class to rest and sleep during the entire flight. I would not
recommend to purchase an upgrade on this route. It is a waste of money.
AVIANCA review : 13 June 2008 : by Mike Anderson
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Customer Rating : 4/5 | |
CUR-BOG-EZE and CUR-BOG SAN often flown, never any problems. Cheap and simple, no nonsense, friendly
and helpful ground and cabin staff.
AVIANCA review : 22 May 2008 : by J Zierten
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
We waited till 11pm for our 630pm flight, finally boarded, sat on the plane for 30 minutes and then
they cancelled the flight. So we spend about an hour on the phone making the new reservations and
then show up at the airport and stand in front of the counter while the girl goes and checks it all
out for 40 minutes. No sorry you had to wait, no sorry for the problems. Not one time in this whole
thing did anyone simply apologize. Plane about 2 hours late but we did make it to our destination.
Some service. I will never fly them again.
AVIANCA review : 11 May 2008 : by S Koenig
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Customer Rating : 4/5 | |
Santiago-Bogota-LAX. Not the newest of 757s (eg. no individual video screens), but comfortable
enough. Airport staff particularly helpful at check-in and later, when the plane had to return to
Santiago (long story), and we needed help to make alternate arrangements. Prices far below those of
other airlines on the same route.
AVIANCA review : 30 April 2008 : by A Rickli
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
Bogota - Madrid C Class, with baby. AV lounge in BOG is below standard, one wash room only, no
international newspapers available. No international newspapers onboard distributed, only alcoholic
welcome drink served, no other choices. Appetizer as announced in menu not served. Main course was
chicken breast on sticky pasta, all squeezed into a ceramic bowl. Some tasteless cheese for dessert.
This is by no means C Class standard and miserable in comparison with other high class service
airlines. Avianca service and order of courses is poorly structured. Crew members run back and forth
all the time with plates. They manage to complete the whole service in not more than 45'. We had the
pleasure to have a group of 4 mid-aged Colombian business men in the cabin which drank a lot, stood
together in aisle, joking and gossiping up till 2am. Crew only reacted after complaints by other
passengers. Entertainment system was not distributed on this night flight. Instead they showed a
movie on the main screen which took about 2 hours. Tough luck for those which wanted to sleep.
Avianca staff is overall friendly but their C Class is definitely not worth the money. Reservation
for connecting flight onward to Zurich on IB was according to IB ground staff not done appropriately
by AV in Colombia. They booked us on a later flight instead. We spent some 5 hours in IB lounge at
T4 in Barajas - waiting for our lift back home.
Avianca - by Juan Rojas
20 March 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
Medellin-New York-Medellin. Excellent service on board, even economy class. Seats comfortable and
place for legs good. Good food and drinks but they should serve more drinks. Flight attendants were
friendly.
Avianca - by S Delgado
30 January 2008 Customer Trip Rating :
BOG-CLO-BOG very good service, both flights were in MD83 in perfect condition. Avianca use an air
bridge terminal in Bogota for their national flights, which is very convenient and there are no
queues, the check-in service was quick. Avianca staff friendly and helpful.
Avianca - by Hans Friedrich
13 January 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
Bogota-Fort Lauderdale-Bogota. Excellent service onboard, even in tourist class and my wife, who
needs a wheelchair was very well taken care of.
Avianca - by R Pieters
27 December 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
I recently took a trip CUR-BOG-UIO. My connecting flight to Quito was cancelled and we had to stay
overnight in Bogota. Avianca arranged accomodation and transfers to and from the hotel. Staff was
very friendly and all knew what to do and how to handle the passengers that were booked on the
cancelled flight. Overall staff of Avianca is very friendly you get a nice lunch/snack even on the
short haul flight. El dorado airports is very efficient. Be aware that when you are in transit to
catch another flight you are in the waiting hall were there are no shops or entertainment what so
ever. So if you are hungry or thirsty have your US dollars ready to buy a small snack at the small
food desk they have there. No credit cards accepted.
Avianca - by Uwe Bode
7 November 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Bogota-Madrid and return in Business several times this year. They use 767 aircraft on this route
that show their age, but they are clean. C-Class seats no lie-flats, but comfortable, good recline,
good width. They are certainly not going to replace them anymoer, as they change their entire fleet
as of 2009 (A330 and B787 for long haul flights, and A320 for short international and domestic
flights, then with lie-flats in C-Class). Seat configuration nice (2-1-2), seat pitch generous.
Flight attendants are always very attentive and friendly, they even call you by your name which is
normally standard in First class. Excellent food, especially outbound Bogotá, very good selection of
menus. Wine selection not so good, only one red and one white wine, but good quality. Entertainment
system quite aged, one main monitor, and portable DVD on demand, but with good selection of movies.
As mentioned before, this shall change once the new aircrafts have arrived. FAs reachable and
do not disappear after meal service. Amenity kit not too comprehensive, but in a nice leather case,
almost looks like handicraft. Same refers to nice little details like the salt and pepper dispensers
that are also almost like a piece of art. The service is what makes the difference on this airline,
one is really being treated as a premium passenger, this also refers to the ones who have been
upgraded, this shows professionalism. Very attractive C-Class fares available (around 2.000 dollars
the return ticket to MAD). The airline has changed a lot positively after having been taken over by
the Brazilian synergy group in 2004. Overall a good experience, and I prefer them against Iberia or
any other airline flying from Colombia to Europe.
Avianca - by Patricia Easton
30 August 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Bogota to LAX. Seems like they may be slipping back to their old lateness. Flight was more than two
hours late departing and of course had to go into Bradley rather than their normal clearance terminal
which closes at 9.00pm. Finally exited the terminal at 11.15pm which made for a very long day. Flight
absolutely full and food quite edible. Tried to charge me excess for a few kilos over in one bag but I
stood my ground and they backed down.
Avianca - by Patrick Meier
14 June 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Madrid-Bogota-Quito. MAD to BOG older b767-200 showing its age. Seat
peach is big and seats are confortable. Cabin staff is friendly and
professional, they could serve more drinks as during the long flight you
nearly dry out completely. Food on board is ok, inflight entertainment
is simple but there are some movies on the common big screen.
BOG-UIO on B757. Again, a lot of place for legs, seats confortable,
cabin crew friendly, professional and helpful. Incredible, on the short
1 hour flight drinks and a cold meal was served. All in all a good trip
over the ocean and a very good price-quality relationship. I can
recomend Avianca for a south America travel, their have improved their
image, I suppose the safety is also ok, well at least as a passenger I
felt safe on both planes and I didn't think to much about it.
Avianca - by Patrick Meier
7 June 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Madrid-Quito Via Bogota in Economy. Considering that the price of the
ticket was convenient for a Europe-South America flight (700 Euro), the
service for this flight fulfilled my expectations. Check-in in Barajas
opened early and was professional. The plane is old, but the quality of
seats is good and place for the legs is enormous for Economy class.
Inflight entertainment is very simple, food is good but not very big
portions. Cabin crew is friendly and professional, but they should serve
more drinks during the flight. Incredible, for the short one hour flight
from Bogota to Quito they serve you a cold meal. All in all, a good
price-quality relationship.
Avianca - by Sebastian Meyer
12 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :
Bogota to Cartagena and return, in economy class. No lines at check-in.
Flights were on time, seats were reasonably comfortable, and juices were
served on board. Last-minute change fee was much lower than change fees
on US carriers. Baggage arrived with both flights, and it came off the
planes quickly. Take-off was shortly after departing the gate. Check-in
and on-board staff were friendly. The only problem is that, to get the
best fare, you have to buy your tickets inside of Colombia (or at least
not in the U.S.), but the difference between advance-purchase fares and
last-minute fares appears to be small (the fare difference I was
charged, just showing up at the airport an hour before the flight I
wanted, was less than $40).
Avianca - by Luke Smith
26 March 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
Bogota to Cartagena and return, in economy class. No lines at check-in.
Flights were on time, seats were reasonably comfortable, and juices were
served on board. Last-minute change fee was much lower than change fees
on US carriers. Baggage arrived with both flights, and it came off the
planes quickly. Take-off was shortly after departing the gate. Check-in
and on-board staff were friendly. The only problem is that, to get the
best fare, you have to buy your tickets inside of Colombia (or at least
not in the U.S.), but the difference between advance-purchase fares and
last-minute fares appears to be small (the fare difference I was
charged, just showing up at the airport an hour before the flight I
wanted, was less than $40).
Avianca - by Darlene Penner
5 February 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
Our flight from New York on Avianca was on time. The service was good,
food was included in the price unlike other airlines. However, it would
be a good thing if the flight attendants knew more English and if the
airport security in Colombia and the flight counter check in service
persons were bilingual. It was difficult to communicate when we were
checking in to arrive and depart the country.
Avianca - by Miguel Rubio
1 February 2007
FLL-BOG-EZE-BOG-FLL. This new Avianca has nothing to do with the old.
Very punctual, great service, planes a little worn. It was a great way
to go from FLL to Buenos Aires. Flight attendants have improved the
English dramatically, very friendly, very professional. I felt safe and
comfortable and price was very reasonable.
Avianca - by Steffen Frey
9 January 2007
BOG - LIM. Flight was on time, operated by a 767 with very comfortable seats, although the whole
cabin was a bit worn. Onboard service was average, they started with hot towels but then they
served a hot meal wich I couldn't identify. All in all not the worst choice for South America.
Avianca - by Anthony Abbate
22 August 2006
FLL-BOG-FLL, FLL-BOG-LIM-BOG-FLL, BOG-CTG-BOG. We have been flying
Avianca for more than 30 years. 10 years ago the service and on-time
performance was inconsistent, however over the past 3 years we have been
quite pleased with the notable improvement. Flights within Colombia and
South America were on time, clean, well-maintained aircraft, excellent
pilots and friendly service. The flight attendants should improve their
language skills - especially English.
Avianca - by Ed Calderón
24 July 2006
Avianca has improved the on-time performance at least for the last two years of my last 6 years of
traveling from the USA to Colombia. Its MD-83 fleet is relatively new compare to its 767 and 752
fleet which shows wear and tear on its fabric upholstery as well as malfunctioning of the armrest
features. It is unfortunate that as an Avianca PLUS frequent flyer member you do not have a choice
of advance seat assignment selection like in the U.S. airline frequent flyer programs. The flight
attendants are not friendly, and the lack of customer service does not help change the image of
Avianca. They should be proficient not only in English but in several other languages. Flight
attendant lack of respect for advance special meals request hurts winning more travelers. It
alienates them. My family I vetoed flying Avianca for over 15 years due to poor service and lack of
respect for its passengers. We have come back to a newly refreshed Avianca
Avianca - by Luis Mejia
24 July 2006
BOG-CCS-BOG. What a change, an airline Colombians can only feel proud
off. Excellent service for a 1:30 hrs flight and plenty of available
flights serving this key route as well. Plenty of leg room in the B757
coach section, even in the MD-83. On time departing and quick baggage
claim at both destinations. My advise for everyone who reads this
comment, give Avianca a try, it has improved so much in the last years,
making the Colombian airline one of the most reliable ones in Latin
America.
Avianca - by Giancarlo Leo
11 July 2006
CUR-BOG-SMR and back BAQ-BOG-CUR and must say that the airline has grown
to become a serious competitor in Latin America. All 4 MD-83 planes were
impeccable maintained. Only thing is that the cabin crew needs to get an
english course, because you can hardly understand what they say, when
they are talking over the microphone.
Avianca - by Jean-Louis Vergaert
24 May 2006
Rio-Bogota-Caracas Business Class - quite good. Following my previous
horrible experience with Varig for Mexico-Rio, I decided to change my
next segment to Avianca. Check-in at Rio was very pleasant, as almost
nobody (most passengers board in the Sao Paulo stop-over). The 767-200
shows its age, but Avianca has a business class configuration 2-1-2.
Just compare that to other companies who cramp 2-2-2 in their business
class of 767 for long hauls! Avianca serve little canapes instead of
peanuts - a touch of class. Champagne is Chilean, decent. The food was
fine except for the hard steak. Also, they wait much time between the
dishes, I don't like to be rushed, but I would like to work.
Unfortunately their wine is mediocre, and they serve it until the brim
in "design" glasses totally unsuited to wine service. Good DVD players,
but maximum sound volume remains too low. Quick transit in Bogota for
the second leg, with no additional comment. Flight on-time, no trouble
at all, very friendly service, plenty of spaces, just a few comments for
the food and wine which could make Avianca a very good airline - above
all compared to their Latin-american competitors. Their prices are very
good too.
Avianca - by Ralph Troncotto
24 May 2006
Traveled many times MIA and FLL to BOG and return. If you used Avianca
more than 5 years ago you will not believe the changes. It is pleasant
to see how good the airline is now. Food excellent, seat pitch above
average, on time flights, professional and friendly crew.
Avianca - by Luis Andres Martinez
28 April 2006
They have improved a lot. My last flight with them was about 2 weeks
ago, BOG-CTG. Good facilities for check-in but plane left 2 hours late.
No food, only a drink was given on the 1 hour flight. Very nice cabin
crew and high standards security. I'll certainly fly them again.
Avianca - by Phillip Boulton
23 January 2006
Have just returned from a trip to Colombia in December 2005. Flew
several sectors on Avianca including international and domestic flights.
Avianca now only operates MD83 aircraft on the major domestic routes in
Colombia. The aircraft appear to be very well maintained, and most
feature newly refurbished interiors (seating). Domestic cabin service
is limited to juice or water selection - no soft drinks available and no
food available. I had reserved and paid for most of my domestic
flights in Australia, before arriving in Colombia. It was necessary to
make several changes to my flights and there was no charge to make these
changes - this was most appreciated, even 3 hours prior to depature.
Overall, Avianca services are highly satisfactory and better than any
airline in Venezuela.
Avianca - by V Russo
1
September 2005
I flew Avianca MAD-BOG first time this year. The quality of service was above average
and food served on board pretty good. The flight attendants were professional and
friendly. The flight was on schedule both in Bogotá and in Madrid. Try to get a place on the side
of the emergency exit, as you will have a lot of extra room for your legs. I also took the internal
flight between BOG and MTR (Monteria): very good as well and on time.
Generally speaking, I recommend Avianca. Just a note - the English skills of the crew
were OK, but it's much better if you know a bit of Spanish when travelling, especially internally,
in Colombia.
Avianca - by Juan De La Hoz
19
August 2005
I've always found the in-flight service to be good and the meals on board above average,
however, the ticket agents and hotlines in Colombia leave a lot to be desired, there is only 2
numbers to call in Cartagena, and they are always busy. Also, there is very little choice when
travelling from overseas to Colombia, therefore, Avianca charges you an arm and a leg for your
ticket when you go to a city that is not Bogota or Medellin, so much, that it is cheaper to go
Avianca from JFK to Guayaquil, Ecuador, than from JFK to CTG.
Avianca - by Mik Kaminski
1
July 2005
Bogota-Cartagena-Bogota.
First time flying with Avianca and found the flights, albeit short, comfortable with friendly
crew.Only eye opener for me was the time it takes to get through immigration at Bogota...took over
an hour when arriving and 45 minutes on departing!
Avianca - by Mark Kleiner
4
June 2005
Avianca for the first time from FLL via BOG to LIM. Not a problem
at all. We were on time and treated kindly. The only problem was in BOG. You have to go thru
security again. They take you out of the gate area and to the main lobby area where all the stores
are. Then back thru security.
On return you need lots of extra time in LIM airport. Id say check in was slow in LIM for Avianca,
we spent 1/2 hr at the check in desk, I think the clerk was new on the job. The security is fast but
immigration takes their time moving people thru. You should be there at least 2.5 hrs before time in
LIM. The in flight food was excellent and they had no problem giving you seconds on the drinks. Before
the meal they hand out hot towels. The movie on board was repeated on both legs of the flight and
WAS NOT in english although they said 1 for english and 2 for spanish. They could have had some
english radio stations but there was none.
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