Avianca

BCN-BOG: Great service in flight we left on time from Barcelona and arrived early to Bogota. The plane A330 was in immaculate condition. Throughout the whole flight there was open bar in the rear part of the plane. Meal was good and the great service by a friendly crew.

Medellin to Cartagena business class. Quick check in and near security. Good bag allowance. Upgraded at gate drinks service on short flight. Great seats and all announcements in Spanish and English. Much better that any USA carrier would compare with a good BA flight.

BOG-PTY-BOG. Out in C back in Y. I had never flown AV before but found the service and aircraft configuration to be far better than anticipated. In C the seat is comfortable and has an adjustable leg rest in addition to the recline - a feature usually found only on long haul aircraft. The IFE array in both cabins was extensive and included USB and power at every seat as well as video on demand. In Y the seats also had footrests. The service was excellent and the food was tasty. From my point of view quite an undiscovered gem.

SSA-GRU: Excellent airline. New Airbus A-320 with a very good entertainment system for a 2.30 flight (individual screens). Captain kept making announcements about the weather conditions and the flight path. Check-in in Salvador quick and efficient. Avianca is the best domestic airline in Brazil. It's a pity they're still small and lack of more options.

Flew BOG-CTG-BOG-ADZ-BOG. Very reasonable fare considering the journey was booked the night before travel. Very comfortable planes with inflight entertainment offered even on short journeys. Soft drinks and a small snack served. CTG-BOG flight was delayed which meant we missed the BOG-ADZ flight Avianca provided lunch and put us on a flight a couple of hours later that afternoon.

I spend a lot of my time travelling on business in Colombia. Ecuador and Chile. I fly nearly exclusively Avianca and although the airline has its faults I think it provides an excellent balance of service and cost in particular when compared with US airlines flying in the region. Expect a lot of queue jumping and some confusion in particular at Bogota airport. The equipment they fly is up to date and if delays ensue one needs to take into account the prevailing weather conditions in the region. Inside the cabins are good and for the most part the inflight service fine - sometimes though you do run into 'lazy' crews. If there's one bad thing it's the food. In business it isn't 'C' class quality. Pricing is good as is the LIFEMILES program.

Original itinerary CLO-LIM-EZE cancelled because of the weather conditions as Avianca Elite member I was given upgrade with a new itinerary CLO-BOG-EZE. Usual delays and dirty interiors at El Dorado Bogota but it is not the fault of the airline. Very nice business class section on board of A330. Seats are very comfortable and easily can be turned into almost flat bed. Big screens with a decent choice of recently aired movies. Welcome champagne is offered on boarding as well as amenities such as better-than-usual headphones. Colored menu is given with an interesting choice of meals. A number of cocktails offered with good wine as well. Food is tasteful and served beautifully. Shortly before arrival another meal is offered. Overall excellent.

Ticketed by Avianca to go Bogota-Mexico City connecting onto Aeromexico to Los Angeles. I had 2.5 hours to make connection in Mexico City. Physically not possible to arrive in Mexico City go through immigration get luggage clear customs change to the other terminal check-in for new flight in that amount of time. Flight left Bogota 45 mins late but then sat on the runway for 30 minutes. In Mexico City it took 90 minutes before any luggage arrived. Upon missing the connection they told me it was my fault they offered no compensation or accommodation in Mexico City and suggested I purchase a new ticket. Finally after 2 hours they agreed to issue me a new ticket. The flight itself was actually quite nice with a good meal and friendly service.

Four flight segments all in Y-class two pax senior age. MIA-BOG and BOG-SCL. We picked them because of convenient departure times out of MIA and due to a considerable price difference compared to LAN Chile. All 4 flights - domestic and international - were in almost new Airbus A320 and A330 planes thus impressively clean. Departure procedures at MIA and BOG international airports were chaotic the domestic terminal in BOG plus the terminals in Cartagena and Santa Marta are acceptable. Inflight service is ok for the domestic part - the service on international flights is probably the worst we have ever experienced. The only thing they care about is selling onboard duty free items. If you want to save money take Avianca into consideration their planes will still be pretty new in 2012 - if you want/need more quality and service you have to pay the higher fares of LAN!

There is actually one flight with decent business seats from BOG to JFK that's AV 20/21 which uses an A330. Very comfortable angled lie flats with comfy blankets and pillows. The flight north is a late overnight so food is not a big issue. The flight south leaves early in the morning - make sure to eat something in the lounge because both breakfast and snack are up there with the worst food I have ever tasted on a plane.