avianca
has announced five new routes to the United States, adding services to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Tampa as part of its latest expansion into Florida.
New flights to Florida
In a post on Facebook on December 27, avianca announced that it was aiming to launch flights from Bogota El Dorado International Airport (BOG) to Tampa International Airport
(TPA), from Medellín Jose Maria Cordova International Airport (MDE) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
(FLL), Managua Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (MGA) to Fort Lauderdale, from San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) to Miami International Airport
(MIA), and from Guatemala City La Aurora International Airport (GUA) to Miami.
However, the airline pointed out that the launch of the new routes was subject to governmental approval. For now, the Columbia-based carrier’s booking engine does not have the new itineraries available.
For example, avianca offers its travelers to fly a one-stop itinerary between Tampa and Bogota, with a stop at Fort Lauderdale. The connection between the two Floridan cities is operated by Silver Airways and its ATR 42 aircraft. On the Medellín to Fort Lauderdale itinerary, avianca sells flights with a stop in Bogota, which is flown by its Airbus A320 aircraft in April.
Photo: Great Circle Map
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Opportunities in The Sunshine State
During a session with the media in December, Frederico Pedreira, the chief executive officer (CEO) of avianca, teased that the airline should announce new routes to Florida in the coming weeks.
Pedreira remarked that in 2024, while its US-bound network started off a little bit slower, by the middle of the year, it rebounded and became much more potent as the year progressed. The CEO pointed out that avianca now has a cost structure that enables the airline to achieve profitability on routes that would have been impossible to turn a profit in 2019.
“So, you have a fair amount of passengers from the United States that are price conscious and we are achieving the right price on these flights.”
avianca has also targeted more upmarket travelers on flights to the US and other countries within the Americas (North, Central, and South). On October 16, the Columbian airline announced that it would offer a business class product on its Airbus A320 aircraft – ch-aviation data showed that avianca and its subsidiaries have 79 A320ceo and 47 A320neo aircraft – on 34 routes.
Photo: avianca
The product has been rolled out gradually, with the initial 11 routes being complemented by another 23 in December. The business class product is offered from Bogota, Medellín, and San Salvador on at least 12 routes to the US, including Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
avianca’s business class product offers access to seats located in the first three rows of the aircraft, which provide greater reclining, more space, adjustable headrests, charging ports, and other features. Business class passengers also have access to complimentary meals and beverages.
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Bogotá-based avianca has no intention of increasing flights to Chicago just yet but admits that the new route is performing well.
Competing against incumbents
Nevertheless, data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning system showed that the only route where avianca will have no competition will be between Bogota and Tampa, with the other itineraries being served by 
American Airlines
, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines.
American Airlines has planned up to 28 weekly flights from Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica, and up to triple-daily services from Miami to Guatemala City in 2025. While Frontier Airlines has scheduled a one-per-week operation from Miami to Guatemala City in November and December, the airline’s schedules showed that the service should not – could be subject to changes – continue in 2025.
Photo: Fabricio Burbano | Shutterstock
Similarly, Spirit Airlines
has scheduled flights from Fort Lauderdale to Managua in December and January 2025, but not beyond, indicating that the airline, embroiled in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since November, could cut the route from its network in 2025.
JetBlue
and Spirit Airlines have scheduled flights from Fort Lauderdale to Medellín, with the former planning daily flights on the route. In turn, Spirit Airlines will significantly adjust its frequencies on the itinerary: from double-daily in December and January 2025 to four weekly flights until May. At the time of publishing, the low-cost carrier had not filed its schedules beyond the last month of spring.
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