Avianca

✅ Verified Review | Bogota to Santa Cruz via Lima. I checked in at Bogota El Dorado airport 3 hours before my flight to Santa Cruz Bolivia, via Lima on 8th April, Avianca officials prevented me boarding the flight as they said I was not in possession of a yellow fever certificate which was mandatory for Bolivia. I was not asked for proof of vaccination at check in. When I was prevented from boarding the aircraft I was also told that my bag had not been loaded so Avianca staff had obviously been aware of the situation for some time, but no one had contacted me while I had been in the lounge for three hours to advise me of the situation, if they had I could have obtained the vaccination at El Dorado airport during this time. Avianca made me pay to rebook my flight and I had to pay for a hotel before resuming my travel to Santa Cruz Bolivia the next day where on arrival I was told that a yellow fever vaccination was not required! I tried to speak to the duty manager for Avianca on the evening of the 8th April to ask that Avianca contribute to the rebooking and hotel but he sent a message through ground staff that he was too busy to bother with my problem.

✅ Verified Review | San Francisco to Montevideo via San Salvador and Lima return March 22. All flights were on time. Desk and gate agents were cordial and professional. Video entertainment on shared overhead screens was identical on multiple flights (other airlines vary programming on South-bound vs. North-bound flights). Most on-board meals were good but a couple were sub-standard (ie. barely warm). Announcements in English were often unintelligible, but they were fine in Spanish. The left-side rear bathroom door on the aircraft used for flight 904 from MVD to LIM on March 22 had an open gap with the doorframe, so after you sat down, you realized you were exposed to the galley. Cabin Crew were excellent across all 6 flights, unlike other airlines where they tend to disappear soon after take-off (Aerolineas Argentinas comes to mind). There are no seat-back pockets, so your knees enjoy a bit of extra leg room but you don’t have a place to store small items such as your bottle of water. Not all flights offer blankets, but all flights get very cold (so, dress accordingly). Overall, the price was right, the food, entertainment, and seat-comfort were acceptable, and the cabin crew were great. I recommend this airline to anyone who seeks a no-frills, on-time travel experience.

✅ Verified Review | London to Bogota, Medellin to Cartagena, Santa Marta to London via Bogota over a period of three weeks. Similar to my previous experiences with Avianca, these were all excellent flights with a decent level of service. Avianca now use the Boeing 787 on the London-Bogota route, which is probably my favourite plane to fly long haul (not that the previous A330 was bad). The tinted windows, higher pressurisation, gentle lighting and more spacious cabin of the 787s make a big difference when you are on a 10+ hour flight. Avianca cabin crew were more friendly on this occasion than previously, and the IFE offering on the Boeing 787 was also very good. Only complaint about the long-haul legs is the food: on the way out the offerings weren't too bad, but the BOG-LHR return flight featured some of the worst airline food I've had in recent years. Domestic flights were very pleasant and all ran on time. Medellin airport is unfortunately quite far out of the city, but check-in was a breeze and the trip to Cartagena takes less than an hour. Decent inflight service, with free drinks, for such a short flight. Baggage reclaim in Cartagena was rapid. On my return flight from Santa Marta to Bogota (connecting to LHR), I arrived very early at Santa Marta airport (3 hours before my flight). The friendly check-in agent offered me a seat on an earlier flight to Bogota which saved me 2 hours of sitting in Santa Marta airport, where there is absolutely nothing to do. This also saved me having to worry about rushing a connection between terminals in Bogota, and gave me plenty of time to charge my electronics and find food at BOG before my international flight. I'd continue to use Avianca for connections to Latin America: the direct LHR-BOG flight on its own is a major plus, compared to having to transfer in a US airport (with the associated hassle of US immigration and re-checking bags, etc).

✅ Verified Review | Los Angeles to San Salvador. I could not check in 24 hours in advance because there was a glitch on the website and nobody would answer the 800 number. I tried to check in in Seattle but the man could not check me in either. He told me to check in at the desk when I arrived in Los Angeles. The Seattle to LA flight with Alaska Airlines was delayed so I had 40 minutes to get to my connecting flight on Avianca. When I arrived at the ticket counter there was nobody around so I called the 800 number. There were staff available in the office next to the ticket counter but nobody would come out to check me in and nobody would answer the 800 number. Finally, when I found their office I asked for assistance to get me on another flight but instead of helping me they sent me back to Alaska because they said it was not their fault that I was late. There were many other options for today but they didn't try much so I had to take a flight the next day. The problem I had was that Alaska Airlines was late but nobody was there to check me in and I had plenty of time to get to my connecting flight. I talked to several people in their office and nobody would help me and kept trying to have Alaska fix the problem. I felt like a ping pong ball and they are in different terminals. They would not cover my hotel room even though I could have made my flight, I begged actually. Nobody answers the 800 number which is poor customer service and they would not make an acception for an obvious lack of customer service.

✅ Verified Review | Customer service or the lack of it when booking a flight. You cannot deal with these people, they just do not bother to contact you. Their chat is automated, their call centre is scripted. I have not flown with them as yet and I assure you I am not looking forward to it. They cannot be bothered to help me with a trivial dispute which was caused by an error on their webpage. Just remember once they have your money they dont give a damn anymore. I have yet to fly with them. My flight is in February. That's if I dont cancel in frustration.

✅ Verified Review | Lima to San Francisco via El Savador. A company's character is defined by how it runs its business when its customers need it the most. My review is based on one such experience where I got injured while on vacation in Machu Pichhu. Except for Avianca, all other companies I had to deal with due to the injury were a flat disappointment. The patience with which customer service talks to you, even in repeat calls, different questions, long conversations, etc. In about 15 calls only one I had to wait in queue for 2 minutes, a welcome change after dealing with customer service centers in USA where 20 minutes of wait times are a norm. The consideration they gave to me and my wife after knowing that I am injured and need to go back to hometown to get treatment due to my medical history is commendable. They booked us on next morning flights, with somebody helping us through every step at the airport. They gave us VIP lounge free for our long layover in El Savador. It was surreal to see how much they cared. I would love to fly Avianca in future with the confidence that if things go sideways, there is somebody who cares.

✅ Verified Review | London to Medellin via Bogota. Given the pricing of Avianca business class flight compared with the competition they are extremely good value. The new Boeing 787s have an excellent business class cabin (not that the A330 was bad). If there are drawbacks it's the food which isn't up to standard. The lounges both in Bogota and the United lounge in Heathrow are nothing special. Note the United lounge starts to close just as passengers are arriving for the Avianca flight. Service isn't world class, but cabin crew are generally pretty good. In terms of punctuality Avianca suffers domestically because of the often challenging weather. At the present time there are considerably more delays in country because of work going on at Bogota airport and elsewhere. Avianca is a stunning deal and the direct flights to and from London are excellent.

✅ Verified Review | Bogota to Pereira, and the Avianca flight was 90 minutes late for no reason. We had to wait inside the flight for about one hour without any air conditioning, service, or minimum explanation. No clear reason as to why the delay. Only when people started to really get mad, the plane finally left.

I have been flying Avianca for last 18 months, and the service has been deteriorating dramatically. On my last trip, took 3 legs of Avianca. On all legs priority boarding was not supported (I am LH Senator). I requested to have emergency row seating at check-in, and was told yes. I was not seated in emergency row on any flights. The lounge in Lima is a disaster. On LIM-BOG leg they are using B787, but the crew seemed to be working for the first time - they ran the trolley into passengers legs and my chicken was spilled on top of my shirt. When I asked the attendant to bring me a wet wipe from Business she replied I could use the paper towel. Only one drink run, together with food. Very small selection of food, no alcoholic beverages served. Two flights were late, one for 1 hour, resulting missed connection in BOG. Eventually Avianca lost my luggage, and delivered it only 24 hours later, though there are flights every hour between BOG to MED.

✅ Verified Review | My flight from Chicago to Quito via San Salvador was a disaster. First part of my flight to San Salvador arrived as scheduled but from San Salvador to Quito things got sour. They canceled my flight and I had no choice but to take a flight to Lima, spend the night there and next day fly to Quito. Once we arrived in Lima, Avianca staff were not organized. It took a couple hours before we were transported to our hotel. I arrived in Quito 5 hours later than originally scheduled. My trip was only for two days so this really made things challenging. My trip returning to the US didn't get any better. I got to the airport about two and a half hours before check in. When I got there the flight to Chicago had been canceled again. I talked to Avianca at the check in counter. They gave me no reasonable excuse of the cancelation. They said they had been having problems with their planes. I noticed that several flights within Ecuador had also been canceled. This nightmare had just started. They instructed me to wait for a couple hours before checking in with American Airlines. They were able to re-route me via Miami. At that point I was just happy to be able to leave even though I would arrive 4 hours later in Chicago. When I approached the American Airlines counter, they told me that I was not in their system. Avianca had not confirmed a spot for me and another 12 people even after reassuring us that a booking had been made through American Airlines. For the next two and a half hours all we did was talk with Avianca staff. They instructed us to go from one place to another. From offices to domestic counter, back to the international departures area. They did not take it upon themselves to help us. They never offered to resolve this for us. There was a young couple with a baby, I remember. They had no sense of priority or customer service. Seems they could care less for their customers. We were all tired, hungry and very, very frustrated. It seemed no one cared or understood our frustration. After insisting with several Avianca employees time after time, American finally got me on their flight to Miami. It was a sense of relief stepping onto the plane and knowing that I would be finally going home. I promised never again to fly on Avianca.