Today, Avianca announced the launch of 23 new international routes from five different Latin American countries. Colombia will have 13 new point-to-point connections, Ecuador and Costa Rica will have four each, and El Salvador and Guatemala one each. Let’s investigate further.
Which new routes is Avianca launching?
Earlier this week, Avianca filed its Chapter 11 plan. It seems like there’s light at the end of Avianca’s long and dark tunnel. The airline is preparing itself to exit its bankruptcy process and become a leaner, more efficient company.
One of Avianca’s objectives is to become a more competitive airline across the Latin American region. Therefore, today, the carrier announced the launch of 23 new international routes.
Colombia will benefit the most, having 13 new international routes from four different cities. According to a statement provided by Avianca, these are Colombia’s new routes:
- Cali: New York, Cancun, Mexico City, San José (Costa Rica), and Quito.
- Medellin: Aruba, Mexico City, Orlando, San José (Costa Rica), Quito, and Guayaquil
- Bucaramanga: Miami
- Bogota: Toronto.
Additionally, both Ecuador and Costa Rica will receive four new routes each. These are,
- Guayaquil: New York and Miami
- Quito: New York and Miami
- San José of Costa Rica: Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City, and Managua.
Finally, both El Salvador and Guatemala will have one new route to Orlando and Washington, respectively. Furthermore, Avianca will resume its connectivity from Guatemala to New York and Miami.
How many new routes has Avianca launched this year?
Earlier this year, Avianca had already launched a few new routes. Currently, the South American airline has 99 routes available, operating over 2,680 flights and nearly 400,000 weekly seats.
So far, Avianca has started operations on six domestic and international routes, the airline said in a statement.
These new routes that the airline is already operating are:
- Medellin-Cancun
- Medellin-Punta Cana
- Miami-San José
- San Salvador-Ontario
- Cali-Orlando
- Pereira-Santa Marta, this is the domestic route.
According to Manuel Ambriz, Avianca’s CCO, launching all these routes shows that the company wants to grow sustainably. It also has the objective of being the airline with the most solid route map in the region.
Avianca’s respect to low-cost operators
Despite the willingness to continue growing throughout Latin America, Avianca knows very well that it is facing a tough challenge going into the post-pandemic world, the low-cost airlines.
In its Chapter 11 plan, Avianca went into great detail about how the low-cost carriers are a challenge. The low-cost carrier business has been gaining momentum in the regional market in the last few years, said Avianca.
“These low-cost carriers’ penetration of Avianca’s home markets has driven significant and lasting downward pressure on fares, which, has taken together with evolving passenger preferences, has compelled Avianca to further adapt its business model,” it added.
Therefore, Avianca is currently in the process of densifying its narrowbody Airbus A320 fleet. It will increase by approximately 24% its seating capacity per aircraft.
“The Company believes that the implementation of this strategy will enable Avianca to achieve a best-in-class cost structure.”
Are you excited about Avianca’s new routes? Let us know in the comments.
