Founded in 1919, Avianca is one of the world’s oldest airlines and has evolved and expanded in recent decades to become one of the largest players in Latin America. Its largest hub is El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, Colombia, and the carrier also operates a smaller hub in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Why fly Avianca?
Avianca offers an expansive route network in Latin America, with service linking South America to Central America, North America, the Caribbean and Europe. While its removed some inflight amenities in recent years (like free meals in economy class), Avianca still offers some attractive features — including multiple classes of service and the opportunity to accrue awards and status with its own frequent flyer program as well as those of its Star Alliance partners.
I find Avianca to be a reliable choice for Latin American service, but — as always — compare the fares and amenities on multiple airlines, to make sure you’re getting the most value for your money. A budget carrier may, at times, offer a lower fare with most or all of the same amenities as Avianca. I sometimes choose low-cost airlines for shorter Latin America flights, when the amenities-versus-price ratio makes sense.
For longer international flights, I place greater importance on more inflight service (meaning things like free food), so it’s even more important to compare what competing airlines offer in terms of inflight meals, entertainment and carry-on restrictions — and then weigh that against the price.
Fare classes on Avianca
In 2024, Avianca revised its fare classes. The company now divides its fares into five categories: Basic, Light, Classic and Flex — all three of which are considered economy-class fares — and Business, which are the bigger seats at the front of the plane, with far more amenities included.
Predictably, amenities and benefits both in the air and on the ground vary by fare category, but as a general rule, if you’re flying anywhere in the Americas in any of the economy fare categories, you can expect to pay for food, snacks and beverages on board. Inflight meals are included, however, in all classes for flights to and from Europe.
Basic
The Basic fare category allows you to bring only a personal item on board the plane; carry-ons aren’t included, nor is seat selection, airport check-in, flight changes or LifeMiles frequent flyer mile accrual. As a US-based traveller, I always have a carry-on when traversing long distances to South America, so I avoid this fare category. But if you’re travelling especially light, or the fare is so cheap it makes up for the extra cost of a carry-on, it may be worth considering.
Light
Light is only offered on flights to and from Europe, Brazil and a few routes within the Americas. It’s essentially a slightly enhanced version of Basic fares for these routes, with additional features including a free carry-on and — on trans-Atlantic flights — free meals.
Classic
The Classic fare allows you to take a carry-on and personal item on board with you, and you can also check a bag for free, check in at the airport, and choose an economy seat — but you still can’t make any changes to your reservation without paying a penalty. You can, however, earn frequent-flyer miles. I generally find this class the best deal.
Flex
In addition to Classic benefits, the Flex category allows changes and refunds, as well as access to Plus seating, which has more legroom than standard economy seating (on updated 787 Dreamliner, it also has charging ports). Flex fares also offer more frequent flyer miles per dollar spent than the Classic fare, which makes it even more attractive if you’re a member of the Avianca LifeMiles program.
Business
How to upgrade on Avianca
If you haven’t booked a business class ticket, you will likely have an opportunity to pay for an upgrade on the Avianca app, website or at the airport. You can also redeem miles from your Avianca LifeMiles account if you have one.
Avianca aircraft
Avianca operates a fleet that includes Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A320 and Airbus A319 aircraft. The widebody 787 logically offers the most impressive cabin, with a business class furnished with flatbed seats on some planes. Note that the company is in the process of upgrading its aircraft seating, so the seating in both business and economy class isn’t yet consistent among the Avianca Dreamliners. I’ve flown in both types of these aircraft and found them to be quite comfortable, although of course the redesigned ones are more attractive.
Seatback entertainment screens are only offered on the 787 Dreamliner aircraft; on the narrow-body A320 and A319 aircraft, you can access the Avianca in-flight entertainment platform, Avianca On Air, using your own device. The airline’s Wi-Fi network allows passengers to connect to Avianca On Air, but you can’t connect to the Internet or messaging.
Avianca LifeMiles
The Avianca loyalty program, LifeMiles, offers a structure similar to most frequent flyer programs: you can earn miles in a variety of ways, including by flying Avianca or its partners. LifeMiles has four elite status levels: Red Plus, Silver, Gold and Diamond.
A big selling point for LifeMiles is its attraction redemption structure, which often beats those of other Star Alliance partners. LifeMiles allows you to transfer points from American Express Cobalt, TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Infinite, and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card — so you can top up your LifeMiles account and book reward travel on a variety of carriers.
Avianca is a member of the Star Alliance, so its LifeMiles program offers opportunities to earn and redeem with member airlines, as well as a few that aren’t part of the Star Alliance — including Brazil-based Gol, Spain-based Iberia and Colombia-based Clic.
Unless you fly a lot to and within South America, it probably makes more sense – if you’re based in Canada — to join the program of a Star Alliance partner that you’re more likely to fly, such as Air Canada’s Aeroplan. However, if you have a lot of points with one of the credit cards mentioned above, it may be worth opening an account just to transfer points for a reward trip on Avianca or one of its partner airlines; compare the redemption rates carefully.
The Avianca App
The Avianca app offers a standard array of functions, including the ability to view the inflight menu in advance and calculate the cost of additional baggage based on your flight and frequent flyer status.
Avianca lounges
Avianca operates lounges for domestic passengers in six Colombian cities as well as lounges for international passengers in its two main hubs: Bogota and San Salvador. All facilities offer free drinks, coffee, snacks, hot food and Wi-Fi. Among the company’s domestic lounges, the Bogota and Medellin locations are the best appointed, with amenities including workspaces, children’s play areas and shower facilities — the showers are especially handy if you’re connecting from a long international flight to a domestic flight.
Amenities at the two international lounges in Bogota and San Salvador also offer showers and areas for work and families.
Certain fare classes — generally, Business class — include free access to Avianca lounges. You can also buy a day pass, regardless of your fare class or what airline you’re flying; that’s a nice plus that most airline lounges don’t offer. Admission can be purchased before you travel, via the airline’s website, and you can pay at the door. If you’re a member of the LifeMiles frequent flyer program, you can also redeem miles for admission.
If you’re flying business class on Avianca from a city where the airline doesn’t have its own lounge, you may be able to access a VIP lounge operated by a Star Alliance partner carrier.
Branded credit cards
Unlike many non-US carriers, Avianca now offers several credit cards that are available to US residents, but it does not yet have an equivalent for Canadian travellers.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.
