Avianca

BOG-MED-BOG in economy class. Flights late both ways with no explanation. No announcements in English only Spanish so you just have to follow the crowd. Inflight service is virtually non existant with the exception of lousy coffee. For a Country that exports some of the best coffee in the world Avianca serves the sludge. Shame as the flight attendants look good in their uniforms but that is where it ends.

MAD-BOG in A330 with the family. Very attentive FAs serving in a very friendly way. Quiet and comfortable cabin lie flat seats with slight angle but comfortable for seating and sleeping. Good AVOD with nice selection. Food excellent although they should change the menu and wine card more often it has been the same for years now! Good amenity kit duvets good breakfast selection excellent. Nice little details like typical Colombian flowers accompanying the dinner and Colombian coffee as farewell present.

LAX-BOG-MDE return in Economy. Seating very tight and food inferior on both the long legs. On the return MDE-BOG we were mingled in with passengers coming in from Madrid to Medellin and it was quite chaotic getting back into the domestic group in Bogota as I was staying a day there. I felt there had been a serious decline in passenger service in the last 12 months even allowing that when I did the same trip a year ago it was in Business. But the check-in staff at LAX were very friendly more-so than in Bogota. Too little English spoken inflight and I think the non-Spanish speaking passengers get a pretty raw deal.

Had my flight scheduled for night of Nov 1st from Bogota to New York. They let all passengers check-in process through security and to the waiting room. Flight was scheduled for 11pm. At 1130pm when all passengers are seated waiting for boarding they announce Flight cancelled (Delayed according to them). We have to leave and come back at 5am. They keep the bags. They seem to have joined to flights since new faces showed up at the 0715 flight. We confirmed with them that since it is another plane are bags will make it to JFK on the same plane with us and 3 staff members say YES to this. We arrive at JFK and and on baggage claim there is one lady from Avianca. She announces that over 100 bags were left in Bogota and they do not know when they will come. The plane in which we came was smaller and could not handle all the luggage. Bottom line is we are getting a run around on the bags and nobody knows when and if I might get them. Never again with them.

Bogota-Guayaquil in F100 flight 1 hour late due to thunderstorm at El Dorado airport flight very nice meal service with starter main dish dessert and welcome champagne on the ground. Seat 2x2 configuration wide enough and seat pitch decent. Crew very attentive on this flight offering a very personalized service. As it was an early afternoon flight even the AV lounge at El Dorado airport was enjoyable almost empty so lots of space and tranquility. Regrettably the same poor food and beverages in the lounge.

Madrid-Bogota-Madrid via Medellin - horrible flight delayed of around 4 hours waiting on the plane due to technical problems no information about the issue until people started to complain. The service was unfriendly staff did not speak good English food was bad the plane is uncomfortable for such a long trip. Baggage missing worst experience ever.

Avianca was my choice on my last trip to Washington with an 1 hour connection in Bogota. Nice planes (A330/A320) good flight attendants IFE. On the way back to Lima a storm stopped all operations at IAD. The flight attendants were courteous and polite with passengers serving drinks all the time we stood stranded. On arrival at Bogota Avianca quickly rebooked all of us on other flight to Lima the following day. They sent us to the Crowne Plaza a four star hotel and covered all the expenses.

BOG-GYE-BOG operated by Avianca’s SAM subsidiary although you would never know apart from reading that fact from the small notice printed on the side of the aircraft and the aircraft a Fokker 100 the entire fleet of which in Avianca colours are operated by SAM. However for all intents and purposes this is an Avianca service and after check-in I went to the Avianca Business Class Lounge at Bogota. This Lounge proudly advertises the fact that it has won awards for the best Business Class Lounge in Latin America – it’s difficult to understand why as it is large very impersonal and depressing and has the absolute minimum of food choice. It seems that when the Fokker 100s are used on international services they are parked off-gate on a remote stand which means the dreaded bus. Business Class comprises a cramped 2 rows of 2x2. The hot meal service started about 1 hr into this 1.5 hr flight. Even then service was slow and by the time this service reached Row 2 where I was sat we were well into the descent and the service was withdrawn. The return service was much better but the on-time arrival benefit was lost whilst we awaited a tug to push us back onto the remote stand and then another delay waiting for the bus. Meanwhile another two international flights had arrived and a huge line awaited us in the Immigration Hall.

Bogota-Lima-Bogota on A320/A319. Attentive crew good food beverage selection quite good apart from Wine list - the same wines for years. All flights punctual good IFE.

Recently in J class BCN to MED connecting through BOG. The transatlantic leg pleasant. The connection through BOG a total disaster. Tight to begin with and even tighter after a delayed departure. Nobody to meet transit passengers at the gate (J class plus highest elite status apparently not worth any extra attention). On own initiative despite an endless line I still made it through immigration with half an hour to spare plenty of time to make it to connecting plane. But no transfer desk looked aghast at my early appearance and stood firm that all domestic transfers had been closed. Overnight in Bogota but oops all of Bogota sold out except the downtown Tequendama which I don't wish on my worst enemy. That's where this airline despite major improvements over the last couple of years still allows bureaucracy to kill customer service initiative. Had there been an agent to take us through immigration and put us into a car to our connecting plane AV would have made friends for life. (And saved a bunch of money.) Which by the way wouldn't be a bad move after having drastically cut the benefits for their top frequent fliers.