Avianca

LIM-BOG-MIA round-trip. Service was poor crew members did not smile during the flight just when leaving the plane. Food was not up to standard. We passed security in Lima with no problems once we arrived in Bogota we passed another security point even when we are on international connecting flights and another one once you are called to the waiting room in addition they called my name to let me know I needed to open my luggage for a random inspection. When I went with my keys they could not find the luggage. On the plane I tried to watch a movie but even with full volume on my speakerphones I could still hear the plane engines. I saw a bottle of 7-up in beverage/food cart and asked for that FA said that they did not have any but just coke or apple juice without apologies.

Excellent airline. I flew with them between Bogota-Caracas-Quito-Bogota. Efficient and helpful staff. We were on a rather tight connection in Bogota-Quito and the queue for the security x ray machine etc. was such that we would miss the flight. I approached a passing lady wearing an Avianca uniform and explained our predicament within seconds a military lady with rather large gun ran up to us screamed "Quito" and gestured us to follow her. We were whisked to the head of the security queue and escorted to the gate where the ground crew were anxiously scanning for us and on to the flight. Aircraft very clean and flight crew polite and efficient.

ZRH-MAD-BOG-CLO on A330-200. Madrid to Bogota was very pleasant good ground staff accommodated my last minute seat change request. Friendly cabin crew plane in great condition with in-seat entertainment system. Compared to competitors (Air France Iberia) you get great value for money. Only negative the meal was rather disappointing quality and quantity wise.

MIA-BOG-EZE on new A330 clean and in excellent condition. Check it at MIA quick and efficient and priority access through security. Lounge in MIA was America's club which was very basic but staff friendly. Very friendly Cabin Crew offering Champagne and menus prior to departure. Meal service was quick and efficient - basic for business class but good. Meal on BOG-EZE less substantial than the 3 hour from MIA which I didn't understand and I've received much better quality and quantity of meals when flying Singapore Airlines economy. The seat on the A330 is difficult to sleep I'm 6'1 and I kept sliding down which made it hard to get comfortable. I found Avianca great value for money - considering its a new product and the US airlines business class on the same legs are old and tired.

BOG-SCL-BOG. Avianca's new business class is bad. I used to be a fan of Avianca. It's usually a reliable airline but it's new business class is a mess. On short haul (if you can call a 6 hour flight from Bogota to NYC or Santiago short haul) seat comfort is terrible: almost zero recline and ridiculous pitch between rows. On long haul (A330) they just installed new angled seats which are terrible to sleep on. So if you go to Europe chose Iberia instead (fully flat) and within region LAN remains unbeatable in comfort and service. In Avianca the food service is also mediocre and the wine choice (Trio and Trivento - both very average) is the same for 24 months now. The only good elements are IFE on demand and the flight attendants who are friendly. Boarding in Bogota is a mess (no priority lanes) and lounge is also mediocre without enough seats on peak periods.

JFK-MED-BOG-JFK Avianca business class is taking a rapid nose dive. It's not just that food is getting worse (the new menu to NYC is basically inedible) you can't get a glass of wine on domestic routes (free rum and whiskey only) the uncomfortable A320 turns up on more and more NYC routes and the lounges are stuffy and overcrowded. The most disappointing part of the service is that Avianca makes absolutely no effort to ease the way for premium passengers through the deplorable Colombian airports. There are no dedicated security lines no fast track through immigration (which can take up to two hours in BOG on bad days) and when you finally make it to the plane there is no priority boarding. Obviously equal misery for all is a well tested concept - it's called the discount airline. That seems to be where Avianca is headed - surely with its present state of service there is no way to mistake it for the serious world class airline it wants to be. The only reason I keep recommending Avianca is because Delta Continental and American are hardly attractive alternatives. But if LAN ever opened a route between NY and Colombia.

BOG-JFK return business. Most of the time Avianca uses A319/320 in this route. These planes have a terrible business class seat with limited recline. They are good for a 2 hour flight but not for a long flight such as BOG-JFK (aprox 6 hours). If you are lucky to fly 767 or the new A330 in this route you will have a good service from Avianca but not in these smaller planes. AVOD has a decent choice and food service was OK (although I think that travellers would prefer a breakfast before arrival at 6am than a dinner at departure time on mid-night). It's sad to see Avianca placing a bet on this seat configuration for long routes such as Santiago or JFK since comfort level is substandard.

Miami-Bogota-Guayaqui-Bogota-Fort Lauderdale. With the exception of BOG-GYE on a Fokker100 all segments on a new A320. Good legroom and large individual touch-screen entertainment- including a nice pillow blanket and quality head-seats. A small but tasty meal is served with colombian coffee and good-quality whisky. All free of charge! Female flight attendants are courteous and attentive but their male counterparts can be less so. One downside not Avianca's fault is the international wing at Bogota's Eldorado airport. Completely uninspiring not providing even an intercom system. Flights are called by the gate agents in loud voices as if we were in a bus station. However major construction is already underway and it should improve considerably the experience for the connecting passenger. All is all this is one of my favourite airlines when flying to South America. Not top-notch but above average at competitive prices.

JFK-BOG-MDE. Overnight flight from JFK on A319. Ground staff efficient and did a good job of trying to control excessive luggage. Still overhead bin room ran out fast with arguments ensuing. Onboard service fairly dismal - a small cold wrap offered by a mostly unfriendly and uninterested crewe xcept one young FA. Cabin felt excessively hot and uncomfortable. Seats fitted with PTVs but uncomfortable. Only water round was before landing on a 5 hour flight - not even OJ offered. Connection in BOG at dawn was fairly easy. Domestic flight was on an A320 fine legroom for a short segment. A drink offered. Crew seemed much more professional and interested in doing their job than the ones on international flights.

CLO-BOG-SMR return. All flights on time new A320 economy cabin seat equipped with a footrest and IFE offering good choice of short movies music and flight info. Juan Valdez coffee juices and small snacks are served. In addition web check-in is working and useful.