AVIANCA   Customer Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

AVIANCA review :  15 November 2009 by Guillermo Perez   (USA)

Miami to Cali - Cartagena Miami. I was surprised with the excellent service provided onboard, clean Airbus comfortable, with enough room for my legs, hot food, nicely presented and with good flavor. The staff was attentive and well mannered.

AVIANCA review :  12 November 2009 by U Hoffmann   (Germany)

GRU-BOG. Before this flight it has been a very long time that I have been offered hot towels on an economy flight. Far better service compared to European airlines.

AVIANCA review :  3 November 2009 by Uwe Bode   (Colombia)

BOG-LIM-BOG both legs on B757. 3 course meal on a 2:45h leg, attentive and friendly crew. Quality of food excellent, seats comfortable. Lounge in Bogota is cramped, and the wine selection onboard is poor and always the same.

AVIANCA review :  29 September 2009 by Adam Tebble   (UK)

BOG-CTG-BOG last week. Excellent service. Flew Avianca in 2000 which was a total nightmare. I would say that now they are far better than US the airlines these days. Planes clean and fresh-looking, FAs very attentive and polite and flights punctual. Avianca is probably the only organization in the entire country run this well.

AVIANCA review :  15 September 2009 by Uwe Bode   (Colombia)

Bogota-Quito and Guayaquil-Bogota this week. BOG-UIO on new A319, with personal TV. Headsets handed out on this short 65 minutes trip. Small breakfast served along with soft drinks and coffee. Professional service of crew, nothing to complain about for this short hop. Very punctual flights, also on the return trip from GYE to BOG, which was done on a Fokker 100. Light snack served, along with beverage service including delicious Club Colombia beer, great views of the Volcano route over Ecuador en route to Colombia. Wide comfortable seats. Nice lounge in GYE, no views of the tarmac, but free WiFi and good selection of food and beverages.

AVIANCA review :  25 August 2009 by Gary Kaylor   (USA)

My complaint is that Avianca Plus is set up to accomodate Colombians but not Americans. It is very difficult to actually talk to someone to get credits for flight segments. I flew round trip from Miami to Quito. Received credit for the outgoing leg, but my Avianca Plus number was not put into the computer for the return flights. Once I became aware of this, I have tried to get a number or address to call or write for credit and have not achieved this. Told to go to avianca.com which I did but can't find a US number or address.

AVIANCA review :  25 August 2009 by Cristiano Miro   (USA)

Miami-Medellin return. There was a 1 hour delay outbound and 1hour 20minute delay on the return. Staff very apologetic and informative regarding the delays. In Medellin, Avianca had a bar in the gate area where staff served snacks and soft drinks to passengers. Although the aircraft was an old 757-200, and the entertainment was just a movie shown on the main screen (with only the spanish option working, at least in my seat), legroom was good, the food served was delicious (including complementary red/white wine, and whisky). The service from the crew was excellent, with cabin crew actually providing service throughout the flight.

AVIANCA review :  26 June 2009 by J Arias   (UK)

MAD-BOG. Once onboard it was very good as it was on new A330 - individual tv a far cry for the old Boeing. Food good and the wine list is not to bad considering Colombia is not know for it's wine. FAs were very good specially with my 2 year old girl. BOG-PEI on the Fokker 100 - not bad and snack good. FA look tired though.

AVIANCA review :  15 June 2009 : by T Robles  (USA)

Very negative experience with Avianca. When I bought the tickets I was concerned about 1 hour transfer time in Bogota, and called customer service. Was assured that the Bogota to Lima connecting flight would be held in Bogota until the Washington to Bogota flight arrived, due to large numbers of passengers from Dulles going on to Lima. Of course this was a lie. Dulles to Bogota flight arrived late and plane to Lima gone. Avianca did provide hotel and taxi. Got wife and family to Lima the next day, but just wanted to leave them there on their own without taking care of the Lima to Santa Cruz, Bolivia flight (another airline, but ticketed by Avianca). After much begging and pleading, they put them on a TACA flight. Be warned they will blame any problem on the weather, and toll free customer service is of no help. Have to call ticket counter at airport directly. Appeared very unorganized, easily frustrated, and unwilling to take responsibility.

AVIANCA review :  1 June 2009 : by G Estrada  (Colombia)

New planes, new entertainment system and good food. I was impressed of the quality of red wine "Reserva" they offer at no cost.

AVIANCA review :  13 May 2009 : by Ida Halasz  (United States)

Economy class from Florida to Bogota, then to Lima returned. We were pleasantly surprised by the excellent service onboard all flights, with nice meals, pillows and blankets, and individual entertainment units. Compared to US airlines, these flights were wonderful, harking back to the old days of actual service on a plane! When our return trip was delayed by 24 hours due to extreme fog in Lima, the Avianca airport office helped us call to rebook our connecting US air flights and wrote a letter to explain the delay for our travel insurance.

AVIANCA review :  30 April 2009 : by Richard Winger  (US)

BOG-JFK on new A330 with new C class seats. At first glance, they don't look like much but they turn into incredibly comfortable flat beds (though a little short perhaps for people who insist on sleeping stretched out). Avianca is by far the most comfortable choice on the route.

AVIANCA review :  10 March 2009 : by Uwe Bode  (Colombia)

BOG-LIM-BOG Business Class. Outbound on B757 with refurbished seats. Champagne welcome drink. Delicious lunch with 3 choices for main course. FAs very attentive and answering all calls right away. Interior clean. Inbound same high level of service on B767 without new seats, but in both cases C-Class seats with lots of leg room and good recline. All flights on time. Good selection of Spanish/English literature.

AVIANCA review : 28 February 2009 : by Diego Muller

Customer Rating : 3/5

BOG-CTG-BOG in economy. I flew from GRU to BOG with another airline, and due to a 4 hour delay on my flight, missed my BOG-CTG flight. Once I arrived at BOG, I talked to Avianca and they changed me to the next flight without charging me any penalty. In fact, I was in Standby, because the flight was full. So, when it was time to board, had to wait to see if there would be any seat left. Lucky me, there was. Unfortunately, it was a terrible seat, almost the last row in the plane. Aircraft was a noisy MD-83. No Tvs or sound system. No food, just a drink. No announcements made in English. Ok, it was a one hour flight, but other airlines do similar flights with newer aircraft and with better service. The good thing is I was almost sure my luggage wouldn't arrive with me (because I was in Standby), but it was on the belt. Return flight was similar (same aircraft, same service). I appreciated Avianca kindness and helpful attitude, but they need to improve their product.

AVIANCA review : 6 January 2009 : by J Schneider

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

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

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

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

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.