Avianca

Doe to a system glitch, the seat I selected online was no longer available for my Avianca flight and I am tall, so I resigned myself to a normal seat. I was pleasantly surprised by a free upgrade before boarding, as compensation for not being able to honor my seat choice. The downside was that is was an older airplane with no personal entertainment on a 5 hour flight.

I had nine flights with Avianca this summer to, from and around Latin America (LHR-BOG-UIO, GYE-GPS, SCY-GYE-LIM, CUZ-PEM, PEM-CUZ, LPB-BOG-LHR). The first eight of these were uneventful, service was good - modern, clean aircraft (A330, A320 and A319) with excellent seat pitch for economy and decent inflight food and drink service. Personal IFE screens on most flights, even short (less than 2 hour) legs on A320/A319 aircraft, which is pretty much unheard of for major European carriers. All of these flights arrived either early or within 10 minutes of scheduled arrival time which was impressive. The real measure of an airline though is when things go wrong. AV120 from BOG-LHR on 28th Sept was severely delayed due to a faulty plane (impact on one of the engines). Avianca ground staff were excellent given the circumstances. No long waiting around without information at the airport; just 15 minutes after the scheduled departure time of 2304 an announcement was made to say the plane would not be leaving that night, and was rescheduled for 1330 the next afternoon. Although inevitably this led to a scrum of people angrily shouting at the staff (I really don't understand why so many people think they are more important than everyone else), the staff were helpful and patient, and within an hour I was sat in a 5 star airport hotel with food. The next morning Avianca paid for breakfast, lunch, gave me a $375 voucher redeemable on a future flight and the rescheduled flight left just after 1330 as planned. Only real criticisms I would make of Avianca through my whole experiences would be that announcements in English as well as Spanish would have been helpful (although the staff all explained in English when asked. My IFE screen broke halfway through the flight home and couldn't be fixed. The cabin staff on the two long-haul legs disappeared for a few hours in the middle of the flight and economy check-in queues were very long at Guayaquil and La Paz. Relatively minor points though, and I'd more than happily fly Avianca again.

Lima to Los Angeles via El Salvador. Avianca uses El Salvador as a hub to get from South America to different US cities. I got security clearance in Lima. However, in El Salvador we had to do the clearance again. No X-Ray, security personnel would check manually each bag in the accompanying luggage. It was a nightmare! One standing line for everyone, even with different connecting flights. I was the last to get into the connecting flight. Their business strategy might work, but passenger treatment is awful. Ground personnel in Lima did a lousy job altogether.

Guayaquil to Miami via Bogota with Avianca, which has a good fleet of newer aircraft. At check-in in Guayaquil, the gate microphone was not working. Up to 20 minutes before scheduled, the two agents at the gate never said a word to the waiting passengers a few feet away. Only when I took my boarding pass and went up to them, they scanned it and let me proceed to board. The other passengers, sensing the same, did likewise. Inflight meals and service below average. A very tough piece of beef and likewise for the chicken my wife had, not up to par with business class cabin standards. Only one of my two pieces of luggage (both tagged "priority") made it to Miami. Miami Airport is a nightmare process for US immigration, customs, luggage retrieval, and connections to other flights. It took me about 30 minutes to locate the first piece of luggage since everything was off the conveyor belt by the time we got to baggage claim, and located in small groups on the floor all around the baggage area. Walked around for another 30 minutes to confirm that the other piece was missing. The Avianca agent filled out a form that I signed and said it would be on the next flight in, and then forwarded to my final destination in NYC the next day by DHL - it was delivered by Fedex 4 days later. I am not going to say I will stop using Avianca, but I will defer to another airline if I have a choice for my intended itinerary.

Excellent airline. New and in very good condition, clean planes with a very nice atmosphere. Flight entertainment of the highest quality. Fast check-in and baggage receipt.

A few flights with AV this month between MIA and Colombia and as well domestic flights in Colombia. Very new and comfortable aircrafts, all are equipped with IFE with a good selection of films and informations about AV and the star alliance. All flights were on time, the international flights arrived before STA, good job! The service was good, on domestic flights only drinks but a hot meal was served from and to MIA. Lounges (Star Alliance Gold/ Business Class) were basic. Bad selection from food (only one sandwich or fruits), selection of drinks was ok but nothing more. But the lounges were clean and refreshed with a nice design. Security fast track only in BOG. All in all a good airline, very professional crew and FA. Highly recommended.

Guayaquil to Bogota to NYC. The flight from Bogotá to New York City was one of the worst business class flights ever. The flight was delayed for over two hours in Bogotá and no one told us why or even that it was delayed. We just sat there. A plane was finally brought to the gate. The business class seats were cramped. We were not offered any refreshments until over an hour and a half into the flight. The stewardesses were very polite but not around a lot. I would never fly Avianca business class again.

A good journey. Sao Paolo to Perú cabin staff are excellent. Seat is full flat 180 degrees. Food choice very good. Avianca frequent flyer program is one of best. They give many many option for redeem miles. Like air flight, Hotel, purchase from different country.

I have flown Avianca to and from Guayaquil and always been happy with the service. The staff are friendly and helpful and for the most part my Spanishor lack thereof, has not been a problem. The planes are clean and as comfortable as they ever get in the main cabin, food has been good and I enjoy having something now and then that is more typical of South American food. The one thing that I am not happy about is that I see they have changed their schedule so that my next trip will have to have two stops instead of just the one that I have typically had in San Salvador. It looks like they are now partnering with United and I will have to fly from Chicago to Dallas or Houston and then on to San Salvador and finally to Guayaquil. I am disappointed and would like to see it go back to a one-stop flight.

Flight AV 8532 from Bogota to Baranquilla. With my Star Alliance Gold status, I was able to use the business check-in counter, which took less than 1 minute, efficient and pleasant process. They didn't bother to weigh my carry-on like some airlines. I was allowed 1 suitcase (10 kg) plus a small backpack or laptop case. There was no automatic check-in kiosks. Star Alliance Gold passengers can access the lounge for free-a nice feature. The flight departs on time. The A321 is in excellent shape, clean and well-kept, including IFE with dozens of programs at every seat even on short domestic flights. Nice leather seats. Seat pitch is reasonable. Flight attendants look sharp and professional. On this short domestic flight, refreshment is coffee or juices. I paid about $80 for a one-way one hour flight with a 7-day advance purchase.