Avianca

✅ Trip Verified | Sadly Avianca gets worse and worse. New airlines with no space, seats which don't recline, only paid food (not even a glass of water for free), in flight entertainment only using your personal device, etc. The toilets are tiny and not for oversized people and the area for cabin crew at the back now that they don't need all the trolleys and storage space is also minuscule. I notice the cabin crew having to stand most of the flight. I made 4 journeys recently with Avianca - 2 of which were between 5 and 6 hours. (on one plane there were people who had come from Costa Rica on the same plane and had to suffer over 8 hours in these cell-like conditions. The austerity is OK for a low cost flight of 2 hours or less. It is not all right for flights of 5 and 6 hours plus paying full-fare. Conditions are very unhealthy when you can't even stretch your legs a bit when seated. The food served on board is largely packaged stuff or white bread sandwiches, no health considerations there either. Not surprisingly the crew looked rather grim.

✅ Trip Verified | Last flight out of three I had in three days with Avianca. Mixed feelings as cabin service is basically non existent. On the other hand planes our relatively new, comfortable (depending where one is seated) and safety standards. Pilots keep passengers well informed and crew is friendly. A pity (and shame) Avianca chose to reduce any service in the cabin to zero; you even can’t get a water for free.

✅ Trip Verified | I left Chicago on American and because of the weather my flight was delayed 45 minutes causing to loose my connection in Miami. American put me in Avianca thru Medellin to reach Cali Upon arrival at the Cali airport on Sept 6, 2023 I learned my luggage was left behind but I was kept informed from Avianca the status of my luggage. My luggage was sent to the hotel in Centenario. Great follow up and customer service. I appreciated very much.

Not Verified | Worst experience ever. Lost my original flight due to small accident and tried to fly back as soon as I was able to. I tried to buy a ticket on the website and my payment was declined, however I got a reservation number. With that reservation number call the customer service line and asked how could I pay for it. The guy on the line said "the recovery department will call me" to recover the ticket and allow me to pay. I talked to 12 different people (literally as I have a record of all the calls after the first day) during three days trying just to pay for my ticket and the answer was always the same. "Please wait for our recovery department and they will call you back to sort this out". I received a couple of emails indicating to buy again the ticket but they were not related to the complain reference I got and explained so to the person in the line who repeatedly said "just wait for the call from the recovery department". Three days in the same dynamic, six hour before the flight and circa 4-5 hours with different people on the phone to have someone telling me finally that I would have to buy the ticket at the new price in the website (three times the agreed price in the reservation). People on the other side of the line was nice and respectful even when I lost my temper and raised my voice our of desperation, however, there was never a solution or way forward. The people may be nice but the processes in Avianca are just a joke. The fact that the person you talk to can not do anything but escalate to the other department that after three days never called back make it pointless to try to get any help on the phone. If you have issues that need some help, Avianca is not an option as the airline of choice.

✅ Trip Verified | I had no idea an airline this bad could even exist. I booked via Aeroplan a flight from Guatemala to Toronto with a stop over in Columbia. Not very direct, but worked for us. The planes are so cramped and seats do not recline, as other have said. Not only do they charge for water and soft drinks, they told us they don't take Canadian visa cards so could not even get that. So no food or drinks on the flight for us. No screens, but they had WiFi streaming. On both flights the USB chargers on the seats did not work. We had portal chargers. Worst was when we got to Bogota to get our connection, we were denied boarding. They overbooked the flight on the connection! We kept asking for information, offering to pay for an upgrade etc and they were so rude and obnoxious it was shocking. Just "we overbooked, you fly tomorrow". So got delayed 24 hours, would not rebook on another airline or anything. I know the people at the gates are not responsible for overbooking, but that made a bad thing a million times worse.

✅ Trip Verified | I agree this airline medium and short haul flights are abysmal. The economy seats have no headrest and don’t recline. I’m 5’ tall and I felt claustrophobic my knees were almost hitting the seat in front. The service…well what service? It’s a 5+ hour flight and you get no snacks or drinks unless you pay for a drink and this includes water. Premium economy isn’t much better but the seats do recline a bit. I Avianca is by far the worst, only fly this airline if you have no choice. Their customer service is also horrible, even if you buy a refundable flight you have to wait 6 weeks for a refund. Furthermore you have to chase them several times to get it. Their technology is lacking many things cannot be taken care of online and require a call with the inefficient customer service. Lastly if flying into Colombia with a different airline then avianca but your connecting flight is avianca they make you reclaim your luggage at first entry point instead of final destination, which may cause you to miss your connecting flight.

Not Verified | Very disappointing. I used to love Avianca it was my airline to go to travel to Colombia but my latest experience was not better than traveling in Spirit Airlines. The seats in business or preferencial were identical than the ones in economy, the service very poor and the food that we have to pay for without comments. Unfortunately I cannot give him zero stars.

Not Verified | Worst airline on the continent, staff unfriendly, nickel and dime attitude, charged for carry on 130 CAD, checked baggage 95 USD, water for 2.50 USD. Uncomfortable seats. Wrong carrousel given for luggage claim. Find another airline that will make the effort to service its customers

Not Verified | I have just been surprised to get on the plane and realize that my seat does not recline. I am 1.90 cm tall and this was never told to me when purchasing the ticket. They ask me if I have a suitcase, if I want an upgrade, etc. But at no time was I told about this change. I will no longer fly with this company, this is disrespectful to customers. Acabo de me surprender ao entrar no aviao e perceber que minha poltrona nao recline. Tenho 1.90 cm e em momento algum isso foi me dito no momento da compra do bilhete. Me perguntam se tenho Mala, se quero upgrade etc Mas em momento nenhum foi me dito Dessa mudança. Nao voarei mais nessa compania , isso é um desrespeito com os clientes

✅ Trip Verified | Travelling with Avianca was awful. I flew from Toronto to Sao Paulo via Bogota on a plane that was so uncomfortable that I got to my final destination completely sore and broken. I paid for better seats and could still barely fit into the seat. I'm a fairly skinny and am 6'0 so I usually pay for more legroom so that I can travel more comfortably. With these "premium" seats, my knees were still touching the front seat and I was extremely squished. The seats were so uncomfortable. 12 hours flying in one of the worst planes I have ever been on. The onboard wifi didn't work on either flight. Two different planes and no one on either flight could connect to the wifi. This was the highlight of their service and they couldn't even get that right. As for onboard services, I was appalled that not even water was offered to guests. Again, I paid for a "premium service" and not even water was offered. They were selling water for $5 a bottle onboard. It's disgusting to be treated like this. Lastly, I. have called their call centre several times and I can never speak with an agent. I just keep waiting and waiting and no one answers the phone. I don't know how this company is a star alliance member.