Avianca today presented the most relevant aspects and achievements of corporate management during the current year. In a press release, the company said that 2022 is a year of “transition”, while 2023 will be a year of “consolidation”.
Operation between January and November
In the first eleven months of this year, the Avianca Group operated in 24 countries and covered a network of 67 destinations.
According to the company, it served 129 routes and operated an average of more than 3.800 flights per week globally. It also offered an average of 650.000 seats per week. In Colombia, where it has its corporate headquarters, Avianca served a total of 91 routes, operated more than 3.000 weekly flights and reached a capacity of nearly 500.000 seats per week.
Between January and November 2022, the airline carried 22.6 million passengers and completed more than 170.000 flights. Avianca reported that it completed 98% of its scheduled services and that 85% of them were on time.
The company highlighted the fleet homogenisation process it undertook this year: to this end, it deprogrammed its ATR and Airbus A330 aircraft, and now only operates Airbus A320 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner family aircraft.
New routes
Avianca will end 2022 with 21 new routes compared to the previous year:
- Medellín (MDE) – Bucaramanga (BGA)
- Medellín (MDE) – Cúcuta (CUC)
- Medellín (MDE) – Riohacha (RCH)
- Medellín (MDE) – Pereira (PEI): starts on 8 December. Two flights and 600 seats per week. It will compete with LATAM, which currently operates fourteen weekly flights between the two airports, Viva, which has a frequency of 19 operations, and Easyfly, which offers six flights each week.
- Cali (CLO) – Riohacha (RCH)
- Cali (CLO) – Bucaramanga (BGA)
- Cali (CLO) – Cúcuta (CUC)
- Medellín (MDE) – Orlando (MCO)
- Cartagena (CTG) – New York (JFK)
- Cartagena (CTG) – Miami (MIA)
- Pereira (PEI) – Miami (MIA): starts on 8 December. Four flights and 1.200 seats per week. It will compete with American Airlines, which currently operates a daily service between the two airports.
- Pereira (PEI) – New York (JFK): starts on 8 December. Two flights and 600 seats per week.
- Bucaramanga (BGA) – Miami (MIA): starts on 8 December. Three flights and 900 seats per week.
- Santa Marta (SMR) – Miami (MIA): starts on 10 December. Two flights and 600 seats per week.
- Medellín (MDE) – Mexico City (MEX)
- Medellín (MDE) – San José (SJO)
- Cartagena (CTG) – San José (SJO)
- San José (SJO) – Washington D.C. (IAD)
- San José (SJO) – Quito (UIO)
- Quito (UIO) – Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Guayaquil (GYE) – Lima (LIM)
Projection ahead of 2023
Avianca Group announced that it will launch twenty new point-to-point routes in 2023, although further details about the new network are not yet known. The company plans to add sixteen Airbus A320neo, eleven Airbus A320 and three Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
In 2022, the company reconfigured 65 Airbus A320 to increase their capacity by 20%. The process would be completed next year.
In the cargo segment, the main objective will be to achieve “business consolidation”, add destinations and increase the frequency of operations in key markets. The company said it plans to increase its cargo capacity by 10% compared to 2022. In 2024, Avianca Cargo expects to take delivery of new Airbus A330 P2F (Passenger-to-Freighter) aircraft.
In a further step towards a model similar to that implemented by low-cost carriers, Avianca will start the second stage of its in-flight sales service, which was launched on 1 December. The company also said it will introduce “Avianca On Air”, its new in-flight entertainment service. In addition, it said it will modernise its official website and optimise the refund process.
See also: Colombia: Viva’s survival dilemma won’t end well for Avianca
