I was flying Medellin-Bogota, Bogota-San Jose, flights AV 9737 and AV 690, and without receiving any type of communication (cell ph, e-mail, text message) when I got to the airport I was informed that the flight was cancelled because El Dorado airport in Bogota was closed (independence day celebration). They lied when they said that the airport was closed because 5-10 minutes after the scheduled departure time for my flight, two flights, one from Avianca and the other from LAN, flew from Medellin to Bogota. My itinerary was re-routed through Bogota, San Salvador and finally to San Jose, Costa Rica arriving there around 10 pm. When I mentioned that I had to arrive early because I had a meeting and that they should get a ticket for me with Copa, through Panama, they said that they were not going to do it. Not much explanation given to me. When I complained to the supervisor about the situation, she asked me if I had my Yellow Fever vaccination certificate available. I had already checked in and no one from Avianca asked me for this vaccine, but she was the only one that asked me this question. The idea was to punish me for complaining and for trying to get a ticket with Copa. It looks like they are not used to passengers complaining about the service. Fortunately I had my vaccination certificate and was able to take the plane. Another thing that happened to me that demonstrates how disorganized Avianca is, was that when I made a route change two days before taking the flight, Avianca charged me for the departure fee from Colombia (I’m a US citizen), even though I didn’t have to pay for it. They return the money at the airport before taking the flight. In spite of flying for more than 25 years to Latin America and accumulating more than 3 million miles, I haven’t traveled with Avianca extensively. After this experience I’ll do my best not to use this airline again. I typically don’t write reviews on airline services, but I think that the treatment that I received was so outrageous that I have to share this experience with the public.
Solo Leisure |
Economy Class |
Medellin to San Jose via Bogota |
July 2015 |
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Food & Beverages |
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