Avianca

✅ Trip Verified | Their issue is customer service - you can never get hold of them in English or Spanish during business hours or off business hours. Their website has good functionality so I can be pretty powerful for making changes and taking care of stuff but if you need to contact them you’re out of luck if you have an easy flight to book for just one person it’s probably a good idea, if you need a complex order I would not recommend

✅ Trip Verified | The flight service and plane are fine. The issue is their customer service. If there is a problem with your flight and you must call their telephone support number, it takes a very long time for anyone to answer and when they do, they rarely solve the booking issues. I spent over 30 hours on the phone with them over 5 days to get my seat allocated. (Essentially I was trying to upgrade my flight and they didn't process the card properly and didn't bother to inform, then later in the week I call them again and they tell me they've totally cancelled my flight and that I won't be able to fly with my wife and son - the story goes on but this is just part of it) It was one of the most stressful experiences I have gone through, when with other airlines the issue would have been resolved in a couple of hours. I strongly recommend avoiding Avianca.

Not Verified | This is the first and last time we will fly with Avianca as long as there are are other options. I would strongly suggest flying Delta or JetBlue and dealing with a layover than dealing with Avianca. Our first experience with this airline has been nothing but disappointing and unsatisfactory. The agents working at the terminal (not all but I can count about 6) are rude, impatient, and lack basic customer service skills. In addition, to when you call Avianca they do not answer! I spent 5 hours trying to call, live chat and even used the WhatsApp messenger to try to get through to an agent and nothing. It is truly upsetting. We were forced to miss our flight due to something minor and were given no advice or direction. The agents tell you one thing and then another agent tells you another thing and then their website tells you something different. We tried to fly standby and it was such a terrible experience. First off, the agents at the same terminal told us the night before to come tomorrow so that we can accommodate you as standby. Well we get to the airport and the agent tells me we have to wait until 10pm and then he tells me to wait until 10.30pm. In addition, he then proceeds to tell me that the flight to El Salvador is overbooked. Unacceptable and unsanitary!

Not Verified | I was supposed to fly from San Jose, Costa Rica to San Francisco end of Mar 2020, however, Costa Rica locked down on Mar 16 which I have to cancel and asked for ticket refunded immediately as I did not know when I could leave. Can you imagine, it takes more than 6 months, I still not get the refund until now as they were trying to convince to get voucher, however, with my situation, I wasn't based in Avianca service zone, I was not able to use those voucher. The customer service is like a robot, keep answering the same "we have no further info" etc. A company with no service. It doesn't worth any single penny, The worst airline I have seen.

✅ Trip Verified | We booked a flight London - San Cristobal which was canceled due to the pandemic. Then we asked for a refund but hadn't received it for 5 months. We used a voucher to book another flight Quito - San Cristobal on September 3rd. The flight was AV1636. We had to buy another ticket to Quito. Two days before the flight we contacted Avianca using the chat and they confirmed that the flight AV1636 was scheduled on time. When we arrived in Quito and tried to check-in for AV1636 but we couldn't. We contact Avianca using the chat and another guy told us that the flight was canceled a long time ago and they didn't even notice us. So I am assuming they sell tickets to not-existing flights. We don't know what is going on in the management of Avianca company but we don't trust them anymore. Our friends who booked a similar flight with Latam have already received a refund.

✅ Trip Verified | We booked tickets from Guayaquil to JFK with a 2 hr 20 min layover in Bogota. The plane that was going to take us from Guayaquil to Bogota was delayed by 20 minutes, so Avianca automatically rebooked us on the next flight from Bogota to New York which would take off nine hours after our original flight. On our flight from Guayaquil to Bogota, the plane took off before they finished the safety video. When we landed in Bogota 15 minutes after our scheduled time, we asked the service desk agent if we would be able to board our original flight to New York since we would have two hours to do so. The service desk agents were not compassionate with their responses and told us that we can board the original flight if we would not like to see our luggage. They gave us flimsy excuses and said it would take more than two hours to transfer our bags from one plane to another and that Avianca would not take responsibility due to high air traffic. We were not offered meal vouchers for the extra ten hours we would be stuck in the airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Early hours of the morning we arrive at the airport in Rio De Janeiro. I was then told that I could not board because I didn’t have a hard copy of my yellow fever certificate. I had pictures. I told my friend to go as we’d booked multiple flights via Bogotá. The staff just left me in the airport. They said wait 24hrs for the desk to re-open. As a young female, alone, this was very scary. A random lady in the airport kindly offered to help me because I was in tears. She called the number for me. Took me 7 hours to get my flight changed. They told me I could go via a different country. A refund would take a month. You had to go through a long lengthy process. Not one person from the airline helped me. I was handed a business card with a number and no phones worked in the airport. Went to a hostel. Called everywhere around Rio to find the embassy or a place to print off a new card. My UK doctor sent my records, these were not accepted. In the end I flew to Peru. Once in Peru, still not guarantee of getting on a flight to Colombia (even though I was told I would be allowed and after waiting a few days). Finally, they told me where I could go and get another printed (not that anyone had mentioned this for days). Got on the flight and reunited with my friend (finally). I also found out that not everyone was asked for this card, so I happened to be a spot check! It was the most exhausting 5 or so days of my life. Please be so cautious. Read all of their terms and conditions. It did not say this anywhere in big print on their website or the tickets or we wouldn’t have booked or tried earlier to sort it. It’s worth it to pay more with another airline or make sure you check EVERYTHING. Even so, if something goes wrong. Don’t expect any help from this airline.

Not Verified | Worst customer service I have ever received. Avianca cancelled my flight from Buenos Aires in March (due to COVID), and I've been waiting for my refund for 4 months now, without any confirmation that I'll ever receive it. To repeat, they cancelled the flight - and haven't confirmed they will be providing me with a refund? I've called numerous times, only to be told that "the refund department is working on it" and "we cannot confirm if they will provide you with a refund."

Not Verified | We bought business class RT tickets back in October Medellin to Madrid. Our flight to Madrid on Feb 17 was ok but certainly not business class standards. We needed to return from Madrid before our original date because of CoronaVirus. Because Madrid was shutting down foreign air travel, we needed to move our return trip to Mar 17 (originally Mar 23). Avianca refused to honor our tickets and made us buy same-day, one way ridiculously priced tickets in coach or give them another $3000 to use our original tickets. As time was a huge factor, we bought the last minute tickets. We got our seats but were stunned to see that Avianca put all 40-50 passengers in the first set of rows in coach including middle seats - during a pandemic when Spain had some of the highest cases and death rates in the world. I wish I had taken pictures of the sardine can they created. As it turned out, Avianca cancelled our flight for the original date, Mar 23. We also noticed that no one was flying business class but they had no problem dismissing us. It is June and we are still waiting for our refund. I will never fly them again. Ever.

✅ Trip Verified | First flew with Avianca to South America back in 09'. Great flight, staff, service, food and beverages. Fast forward 10 years later. I have flown with them many times to my wife's birthplace of Colombia and the drop all aspects in just a single decade is unfathomable. Food is bland and the staff are mostly indifferent. The kicker for me this time was after my flights. I was stuck for 24 hours due to civil unrest in Quito. I just wanted to get out. United, one of their partners, was not coming to get me and other ticketed passengers. I bit the bullet and bought a ticket that would get at least to Bogota Colombia so that I could then get back to the States and decided to fly to Miami since that was the cheapest flight at the last minute. I bought the ticket. Went to check in. The Avianca check in agent for the flight asked why I had two flights with them-turns out that while I was buying a ticket directly with them at the Quito airport at their counter, United had rebooked me with Avianca for later on that day since they were partners. The agent looked into it and stated I should keep this flight because they knew it was going out-the plane and staff were there whereas the later flight was still a risky one to depend on-it could get canceled. I took it to Bogota and once there United was able to get me back to Houston. Thus, there was absolutely no reason to fly to Miami so I just didn't take that flight. Shortly thereafter, I contacted Avianca about a refund for the flight I didn't take in this unusual situation. Surprisingly, within a week they got back with me and gave me about a $35 refund! The flight I didn't take was at least a $400-$500 flight. I called back. I was given the run around for months. At no point, could Avianca provide any sort of cost breakdown as to why I was getting at least less than 10% of the value of the flight back-AND I had been an Avianca miles member for a decade! I called in at least 6 times and no one could ever answer my question-I mean how did I even get that tiny refund? Frankly, they used their English language barrier to continue to give me the run around for months-until I finally gave up. Well, all that means is that I will never fly Avianca again. What a total fiasco.