In recent days, it was confirmed that Avianca will retire its Airbus A319s, an aircraft that has served the company for 15 years.
In communication with Aviacionline, the company stated that this decision was made as part of the strategy to simplify Avianca’s fleet, focusing on more efficient models in terms of cost per seat-kilometer (CASK), such as the Airbus A320ceo/neo and A321neo.
This operational adjustment has also led to the discontinuation of services at airports lacking the necessary infrastructure for the Airbus models that will continue to operate in Avianca’s fleet. A case in point is Florencia airport.
However, the routes or destinations that are canceled due to low occupancy rates will be served by CLIC (formerly Easyfly) under a code-sharing agreement with Avianca.
Recently, Avianca completed the reconfiguration and modernization of the interiors of the Airbus A320 family, increasing the capacity of the A319s from 120 to 144 seats. Currently, Avianca operates only eight of the 21 Airbus A319s it once had.
See Also: Avianca reported a net profit of USD 15.4 million in the second quarter of 2023
A brief history of Avianca’s A319s
The withdrawal of the Airbus A319s from Avianca’s fleet will make LATAM Airlines the sole operator of this model in South America. Additionally, some A319 VIPs are operated by government entities in Brazil and Venezuela.
This is the sixth model that Avianca has retired since 2019, having phased out its ten A318s in that same year, two Airbus A330-300s in 2020; and after the pandemic, its thirteen Airbus A330-200s, ten Airbus A321ceo/neos, and nine ATR 72s.
In 2007, led by Germán Efromovich, Avianca Holdings and the Sinergy Group carried out a massive investment in the purchase of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, which included 38 firm orders for Airbus A319 and A320, with options for another 27 aircraft from the same family.
These planes replaced the Fokker 50, Fokker 100, Boeing 757-200, and McDonnell Douglas MD-83, marking a significant fleet modernization for the company.
Avianca’s first A319 was delivered on April 18, 2008, and over the following years, more aircraft were added, reaching a total of 21, the last of which, registered as N753AV, was received on October 18, 2016, and operated as Avianca Express.
According to the Cirium platform, the A319s are currently operating an average of 390 flights per month. By March 2024, this will reduce to 118 flights a month, a drop from their peak of 4,700 monthly flights before the pandemic.
The company had plans to replace the A319s with the Airbus A319neo based on an order in 2015, but they opted out in 2019 in favor of more A320neos.
Current status of Avianca’s fleet
Excluding the A319, Avianca’s fleet primarily consists of 66 Airbus A320ceo, 27 Airbus A320neo, and 13 Boeing 787-8s. The airline also announced an investment of 473 million dollars for the addition of 16 aircraft in the short term, mostly Airbus A320neo from the defunct low-cost airline VIVA.
Furthermore, Avianca has a firm order for 88 Airbus A320neo and A321neos with the manufacturer, which will be delivered between 2025 and 2031. These aircraft will gradually replace the A320ceos, which by then will be over 20 years old.
This order is part of Avianca’s business plan, which anticipates operating over 200 routes, mostly point-to-point, and having a fleet of 130 aircraft by 2025.
