The filing to become a listed company will be done under the confidential IPO procedure. Since 2012, the process has allowed companies to conduct part of the filing process with the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) while keeping part of the corporate information private. However, all relevant information is ultimately made public as per the usual stock market requirements.  

Avianca, which was temporarily under bankruptcy protection between May 2020 and December 2021, returned to profitability in 2023, posting a net income of $131 million for the full year. 

The IPO announcement has arrived amid a period of frenzied corporate activity for Abra Group, which is the parent company of Avianca and its related companies as well as Brazilian low-cost carrier GOL.  

In May 2024 Abra Group announced the acquisition of an equity stake in Spanish charter and ACMI airline Wamos Air, and sealed a joint venture with Volotea, another Spanish carrier,聽in June 2024, with the aim of connecting their respective networks through Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD). 聽

In a post published to LinkedIn, Volotea outlined some details of the agreement, which aims to facilitate connectivity between Latin America and Volotea精东影业 extensive European network via Madrid (MAD). 

Volotea does not currently have a large presence at Madrid-Barajas Airport, since its focus is on connecting second and third tier airports across Europe (mostly in Spain, France and Italy). However, interestingly, it has announced its willingness to base approximately 15 to 20 aircraft in the Spanish capital. 

This move would be directly connected to the outcome of the ongoing acquisition of Air Europa by its direct and larger competitor, Iberia. 

The acquisition is currently under the scrutiny of European regulators. It is feared that the merger could negatively affect competition in routes between Spain and Latin America, where the combined entity would have a dominant position. 

Through the joint venture, Volotea and Abra Group can establish themselves as an alternative should the European competition watchdog dictate some remedial measures, such as the redistribution of slots or frequencies, as a condition to approve the deal. 

According to Cirium data, as of June 2024, Avianca operates nonstop flights between Madrid and Bogota (BOG), Medellin (MDE) and Cali (CLO) in Colombia as well as San Salvador (SAL).听

Volotea operates a fleet of 40 Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft across 450 routes in Europe. From Madrid it currently flies to Lyon (LYS), Nantes (NTE), Olbia (OLB), Murcia (RMU), Toulouse (RLS) and Verona (VRN), a network that could expand significantly if these plans finally go ahead. 

Emirates customers flying on the Dubai-based carrier精东影业 flights to Madrid (MAD), Barcelona (BCN), or London-Heathrow (LHR), can fly directly to three points in Colombia served by Avianca. The routes covered by the codeshare agreement include Madrid to Bogot谩 (BOG), Medellin (MDE), or Cali (CLO), Barcelona to Bogot谩, and London-Heathrow to Bogot谩.听 聽聽

On the reciprocal side of the codeshare deal, Avianca will place its code on routes operated by Emirates, between Barcelona, Madrid, or London-Heathrow to Dubai (DXB). Codeshare flights are due to start on June 4, 2024, and reservations are already open for booking via either airline精东影业 website.听 聽聽

鈥淲e are delighted to establish a codeshare partnership with Colombia精东影业 largest carrier, Avianca to provide seamless connections on select routes to customers of both airlines,鈥� said Adnan Kazim,鈥疍eputy President and Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates. The codeshare agreement will enable us to expand our reach and allow our customers to use our services and fly to additional popular points in Colombia.鈥� 

鈥淲e are also pleased to offer Avianca精东影业 customers connections through points in Spain as well as London Heathrow to and from our hub in Dubai, along with other benefits such as a single baggage policy and seamless connectivity. We look forward to developing the relationship further, and introducing more added-value benefits in the future that will be felt by customers of both airlines,鈥� he added. 

Under the terms of the agreement, customers of both airlines will enjoy the convenience of seamless connectivity, and the ability to book inclusive itineraries involving carriage on both airlines using a single ticket. They will also benefit from a single baggage policy checked through to the final destination.听

鈥淲e are very pleased to launch this codeshare agreement with Emirates which ratifies, once again, our commitment to connectivity, access to new destinations, and a greater attraction of passengers to Latin America,鈥� said Claudio V茅lez, Chief Revenue Officer, Avianca. 

鈥淭his collaboration will bring our region closer to Dubai via Europe and it will also strengthen Avianca精东影业 operation in Barcelona, Madrid, and London Heathrow. Emirates is one of the largest and most prestigious airlines in the world, so this partnership is a testimony and recognition of Avianca’s track record, our world-class operational indicators, and the strength of our route network,鈥� V茅lez concluded. 

With the announcement that Avianca has joined its list of airline partners, Emirates now has commercial cooperation agreements (codeshares, interline agreements, or intermodal deals) in place with 161 partners globally.听

Viva Las Vegas! Aer Lingus reveals new route from Dublin to Nevada精东影业 鈥楽in City鈥�

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-05-22

The deal has been referred to as 鈥渟trategic鈥� by Abra Group, although no specific details have been made public about the amount and equity stake involved. In , Abra Group confirmed that it intends to preserve Wamos Air as a distinct entity.听

The Spanish airline will continue to operate under its own brand and with the same management team, although it is expected that it will deepen its collaboration with Avianca. Wamos Air has already operated with regularity some services for Avianca, such as the routes between Bogot谩 (BOG) to Los Angeles (LAX) and Madrid-Barajas (MAD) to San Salvador (SAL).  

Constantino de Oliveira Junior, Chairman of London-listed Abra Group, hinted at the possibility of launching new long-haul services after the acquisition, which is still subject to regulatory approval, is completed. 

Madrid-based Wamos Air operates a fleet composed of six Airbus A330-300 and five A330-200 aircraft. 

This investment takes place at a time when future structure of the market between Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula is in question, due to the ongoing acquisition process of Air Europa by Iberia, as well as the impending sale of TAP Air Portugal to one of the major international airline groups.听

How Abra Group精东影业 chief strategist aims to make flying accessible for 1 billion people聽

• Executive Spotlight

byMiquel Ros

13 minute read

The Airbus A320 took to the air on February 1, 2024, shortly before 12.15 pm local time, arriving at its destination around ninety minutes later.

Avianca, the Colombian flag-carrier, pulled out the red carpet for passengers traveling on the special flight and a celebratory atmosphere reigned within the aircraft cabin.

Avianca operated a service from Bogota to Caracas for 60 years, until it was cancelled in 2017 amid political tensions.

馃コ 隆Volvimos por todo lo alto a ! Cont谩giate de la alegr铆a de su gente y aprovecha los 1.400 asientos semanales que te llevar谩n a vivir lo mejor de estas dos culturas. 鉁堬笍

馃憞馃У

— avianca (@avianca)

鈥淭hanks to the work of the avianca team, today we fly again between Bogot谩 and Caracas to continue strengthening air connectivity between the two countries, while making a robust network of destinations available to customers in Venezuela, through our operation. in Bogota,鈥� said Carolina Cort茅s, vice president of Corporate Communications at avianca.

Cort茅s added: 鈥淲e will continue working with the authorities and all industry players to make this route a success and continue strengthening connectivity,鈥� said Carolina Cort茅s, vice president of Corporate Communications at avianca.

In recent times relations between the Colombian and Venezuelan governments have been fractious, but this animosity between the two countries has slowly softened since 2022.

Trade between the two countries has begun to flow again and the relationship between the Colombian and Venezuelan leaders has thawed.

There will be four weekly flights between BOG and CCS operated on Airbus A320ceo and neo aircraft, with 1,400 seats available each week.

Avianca and Gol partner with Aerol铆neas Argentinas

• Airlines

byClement Charpentreau

2023-10-22

The accord was revealed on October 19, 2023, as representatives from both Abra Group and Aerol铆neas Argentinas gathered to formalize the partnership, having requested government authorization to implement the project.

“With this agreement, we are generating more and better business opportunities with two of the continent’s leading airlines,” Pablo Ceriani, President of Aerol铆neas Argentinas, stated. “It will allow us to create a virtuous circle that benefits the constituent parts, the passengers who choose us, and ultimately the entire region..”

鈥淎s part of the growth of the Abra Group in the region, we announce a collaboration agreement with Aerol铆neas Argentinas, Argentina’s leading airline, which will allow us to further strengthen our presence in the Southern Cone and seek new opportunities in different areas to contribute to the purpose. of Abra: getting more people in Latin America to fly by plane at better rates, with more destinations, frequencies and more practical connections,鈥� said Constantino de Oliveira Junior, CEO of Grupo Abra.

Both Abra Group and Aerol铆neas Argentinas intend to explore various alternatives to enhance their existing agreements. This includes interline agreements, codeshare agreements, frequent flyer programs, and cargo agreements, all in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory frameworks, including antitrust and competition defense laws.

How Abra Group精东影业 chief strategist aims to make flying accessible for 1 billion people聽

• Executive Spotlight

byMiquel Ros

2023-10-15

The airline said that the new name symbolizes a company that 鈥渉as ceased to be for a few and is now for everyone鈥�, an ethos reflected in its new slogan, 鈥渢he sky belongs to everyone鈥�.

“The more than 180 days that our planes spent on the ground due to the COVID-19 pandemic were dark days,鈥� Adrian Neuhauser, CEO of avianca said in the rebrand unveiling held in Bogota on October 18, 2023. 

鈥淲e knew that our airline was at risk of disappearing, as was the connectivity of the countries and regions where we operated and the jobs we generated. But it was also during that time that we saw that it was not only possible but also necessary to achieve a different avianca, one that is more open, closer, more accessible, and with more for everyone. After nearly two years, that new avianca is here,” Neuhauser added.

Neuhauser also called avianca精东影业 rebrand 鈥渢he greatest reinvention of an airline in the history of aviation.鈥� 

The airline described its reinvention as the result of the strategic projects that have been implemented to date to become a more efficient, competitive and sustainable airline.

Key highlights of avianca精东影业 transformation and improvement include:

• Increased capacity with a 20% expansion in the A320 fleet, providing 180 seats.
• Expanded availability with 39 million seats in 24 countries.
• Improved punctuality, making Avianca the world精东影业 most punctual airline in September 2023.
• A simplified fleet with only two types of aircraft, the A320 and 787.
• Plans to add 16 more A320 aircraft this month and an additional 100 A320neo aircraft starting in 2025.
• Enhanced connectivity within Colombia, with millions of seats and customers flying both domestically and internationally.
• More flexibility for passengers to choose the services and amenities they want.
• Extensive route expansion with 146 routes, 74 destinations, and 24 countries in operation by the end of 2023.
• A focus on sustainability, resulting in a 25% reduction in carbon footprint per passenger transported.
• Continued growth of the LifeMiles loyalty program, boasting 12.4 million members.
• Avianca Cargo achieved a top-three ranking among cargo airlines in the Americas, transporting 258,000 tons of cargo to and from the region.

Colombia精东影业 Avianca to invest $473M in growth plans, will add 16 A320 aircraft

• Airlines

byMiquel Ros

2023-09-12

This is a topic close to the heart of Michael Swiatek, chief strategy officer at Abra Group, the parent company of two of Latin America精东影业 largest airlines, Avianca and GOL.  

Swiatek has been legally blind since a young age and suffers from a condition that seriously impairs his eyesight, drastically restricting his vision in daylight conditions and causing complete blindness in the dark.  

An experienced airline executive, having held positions at carriers as diverse as United Airlines, Alitalia, Air New Zealand, LATAM, Qatar Airways and IndiGo, Swiatek is also a prominent advocate for the rights and needs of travelers with disabilities.  

In an exclusive in-depth interview, Swiatek shared with 精东影业 how through his role he is working to make the Abra Group airlines the most disability-friendly in the world. 

Swiatek has been fascinated with aviation since early childhood when his father worked at an airline. He would often read timetables and play with aircraft models. However, he was also aware that his vision issues would prevent him from becoming a pilot and had never considered the possibility of working in the airline industry. 

After finishing secondary school, Swiatek studied finance at the University of Chicago with the idea that he would end up working on Wall Street.  

However, things turned out to be quite different.  

From hiding his blindness to a meteoric career in the airline industry 

In 1992 he jumped at the opportunity to join the airline industry as a planning analyst for United Airlines, where he soon turned his visual impairment into a source of strength. 

鈥淚 hid my blindness from my first employer, because, quite frankly, I felt, at the time, they weren’t ready for a blind person. That was a long time ago and I know things have changed.鈥� he recalled. 鈥淭hey could not understand why I didn’t have a driver’s license, but I told them that getting to work on time was my problem. I promised I would get to work on time, and I did.鈥�  

He continued: 鈥淚 had to use public transportation that took two hours a day in each direction but that opened up an opportunity. In those four hours I would take every data report I could get my hands on. I would use a magnifying glass to read every number. I became an expert on the numbers of United and that was very valuable in meetings.鈥�  

Swiatek精东影业 analytical capabilities soon made up for the limitation of his vision. 

鈥淢y strength as a young person was great analysis, great performance in terms of putting numbers together great performance and understanding how this industry worked in terms of cost and network and product and branding and culture,鈥� he explained.  

His visual impairment also helped sharpen other abilities.  

鈥淲hen I’m in a meeting, I don’t look at presentations. I listen to what the speaker is saying and often ask some of the smartest and most incisive questions because I’m listening to what’s being said, rather than jumping ahead and trying to figure out what the person wants to show,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat adds a perspective to my company that’s been highly valuable. By not being able to see PowerPoint, it makes me a better listener. It makes me engaged in a different way. It’s actually like a superpower.鈥�  

Swiatek shared some details about those early years in the industry.  

“Yes, there were things I couldn’t do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would never go out to a dark bar with my colleagues. I would never go golfing with my colleagues because there was only one or two close friends at United that I could confide in and say, 鈥楲ook, I need help.鈥� Sometimes, if we got into a meeting and someone turned out the lights, I was not able to see anything. So, I had people who had my back, who knew.鈥� 

鈥淨uite frankly, I’m not proud that I had to hide my blindness,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淏ut the world was not ready.鈥�  

鈥淏ut I don’t feel any disadvantage,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚 don’t feel like there’s been a huge amount of discrimination applied towards me. Yes, in the 80s and 90s, it was much harder, which is why I think we’re in a golden age of accessibility, because more and more people are becoming aware of persons with disability and not treating us like monsters or like we are unintelligent, but just recognizing that’s one of many senses, that that we have in a different way. I’m very optimistic about the future for accessibility.鈥�  

Swiatek精东影业 years at United Airlines marked the beginning of a career that would take him onto the global airline scene. Next, he went to work for Continental Airlines during the airline精东影业 major transformation in the mid-90s, then to Alitalia, where he was a director of network and schedule planning.  

He spent the next six years at Air New Zealand in various functions. That was in the late 90s, right around the time when the airline was joining Star Alliance and acquiring a 100% control of Ansett Australia, the second largest Australian airline at the time.  

After a short stint in the consultancy business, Swiatek joined Qatar Airways in 2010 and spent three years responsible for strategy and planning and reporting directly to the airline精东影业 CEO, Akbar Al Baker.  

Turning around one of the largest airlines in the Americas

The next airlines on his resum茅 were LATAM and Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo before joining Avianca in November 2019 to take care of the airline精东影业 strategy.  

The last few years have not been easy for the Latin American carrier, but Swiatek proudly noted the five pillars (or 鈥渃hapters鈥� as he referred to them) that have allowed the airline to turn itself around. 

鈥淐hapters one and two were surviving COVID and going through a chapter 11 financial reorganization, which we entered in May 2020 and exited in December 2021,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 believe we were the first ones to enter into that sort of reorganization during COVID and also the first ones out.  

鈥淚 think our timing was nearly perfect and we took advantage of that in terms of reducing our cost base. That led to chapter three, which was a re-structuring of Avianca精东影业 strategy where we basically went from an airline that was more focused on product than cost to one more focused on cost than on product. Of course, with safety always remaining our number one priority.鈥�  

When referring to chapter four, Swiatek quoted management guru Peter Drucker, who famously coined the phrase 鈥渃ulture eats strategy for breakfast鈥�, meaning that regardless of how brilliant a strategy may be, it is bound to fail unless you develop the corporate culture that will make it possible to implement it.  

鈥淲e believed we had a great strategy to reposition the company on cost, which we did because our Pan-American customer base is a population of 150-ish million people,鈥� he explained. 鈥淏ut with an economic level, the gross domestic product per capita that is a fifth or less of the US or Europe. So, we believe that cost and affordability is fundamental to bring air travel to our region.鈥�  

But how can a company encourage 12,000 employees to get behind a new strategy? This is when culture comes into play, Swiatek explained.  

鈥淲e put that down as a three-year project and we’re about two thirds done,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 think it is on track.鈥�  

And finally, the fifth chapter of Avianca精东影业 strategy is its relation to the holding company, Abra Group, which is made up of different airlines working together without fully integrating. 

In July 2023, Swiatek moved from his role at Avianca to a pretty much analogous position at group level while also retaining his corporate culture responsibilities at Avianca.  

Abra Group is similar in structure to International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL, but with two airlines, Avianca and GOL, as well as a minority stake in Chilean airline, SKY. But unlike in the case of IAG, where the objective was to align networks that were in competition with each other -especially in transatlantic flying- the goal of Abra Group is to join together networks that are complementary to each other, and build the largest low-cost platform in the Americas, with Avianca stretching from Guatemala to Ecuador and GOL keeping its large footprint in Brazil. 

Each of the Abra airlines remains a separate company operationally and keeps its own brand, management team, etc., while the holding company looks for ways to foster cooperation between them and drive more customer satisfaction, profitability, and employee engagement.  

The main principle behind Abra Group is to build the largest low-cost platform in the Americas, with Avianca stretching from Guatemala to Ecuador and GOL keeping its large footprint in Brazil.  

鈥淥ur main competitor in this region [LATAM 鈥� ed. note] was about x2.5 our size, now it’s more like x1-1.25 (in number of passengers) and, in fact, we can become the largest airline group in Latin America in the near future,鈥� Swiatek said.  

How Avianca became a leader in accessibility 

Besides the growth of the business, Swiatek is also particularly proud of his tireless work to make Avianca and the Abra Group airlines more welcoming to passengers with disabilities. 

Swiatek said: 鈥淎vianca精东影业 CEO, Adrian Neuhauser, told me, 鈥淵ou know, you’ve proven to me that you can function just like anyone else in society despite your loss of vision, you have some extraordinary strengths. So, I’m completely sold on this diversity in terms of the workforce and having more people with disabilities. Mike, should we be doing something different for our customers?鈥� And I said, 鈥楢bsolutely!鈥�.鈥�  

He continued: “I think we’re one of the few airlines in the world where accessibility is not just something that the regulatory affairs function takes care of just because they have to comply with. We’ve actually come up with a strategy for it. We’ve put all of that under the same umbrella and defined what are the outcomes we want to see in the future in terms of becoming the most accessible airline in the world. We are turning that into a core strength for Avianca. Nevertheless, I believe accessibility should be cooperative rather than a competitive advantage.鈥�  

Swiatek also noted that he would love for other airlines to copy Avianca -and would be available to help them learn from Avianca- drawing a parallel with safety. If airlines copy each other精东影业 best safety practices and the industry as a whole becomes a lot safer as a result, this is a winning scenario for everyone.   

Swiatek highlighted four major categories of disabilities, each requiring its own approach: visual, auditory, mobility (which includes wheelchair users or those who require the use of mobility scooters, as well as people temporarily using crutches) and neurodiversity (which includes, for example, people with conditions such as autism and attention deficit disorder).  

Avianca has identified up to 27 touchpoints along the travel journey where passengers with disabilities may face challenges that can be sorted or mitigated by the airline, from booking and check-in to passing through security and collecting baggage. 

Providing an adequate response to each of these areas becomes even more complex when we factor in that each touchpoint presents a different problem to different groups of passengers. For example, the booking process is a challenge for blind people, while airport announcements are problematic for a passenger with auditory difficulties.  

鈥淕etting through the security line is a huge challenge. Can you imagine the anxiety you feel?鈥� Swiatek said, reflecting on his own personal experience. 鈥淎m I going to lose my wallet or my shoes after taking them off? Imagine when you can’t even see where your wallet went, and you have to trust that somebody else is handling that for you and it’s magically going to pop into your hand at the other end. That’s a very anxious moment!鈥� 

Passengers with disabilities can submit a special service request (SSR) to the airline. There are at least 26 different SSR categories available by law to all persons with disabilities when they travel. At Avianca about 4% of passengers use special service requests, although this figure may understate the real number of passengers with disabilities, since not everyone fills in a request, for example, if they travel accompanied. 

“When I fly with my wife, I genuinely will not do special service requests because she will be my aide and tell me everything that精东影业 going on,鈥� Swiatek explained. 鈥淏ut SSRs are one of the main tools we have.  

鈥淥ne of the biggest pain points is using a lavatory, more at the airport than on the plane. Lavatories are very difficult to navigate. There’s no standard design and it’s not a place where you just want to be reaching out your hands and touching things.鈥�  

He continued: 鈥淵ou can envision this as a 2×2 matrix with customer journey represented along the horizontal axis, from booking to getting off the plane, and on the vertical axis, you have the different types of persons with disability. There are different pain points along the way, probably thousands of individual pain points. So, how do we solve them? This is a really important part and one where I’m proud to say that, together with my small team at Avianca, we have put a lot of thought into and come up with a pretty good framework to think about it.鈥�   

A framework every airline could use to become more accessible聽

Swiatek mentioned five main tools available to airlines.  

The first is simply awareness. The more the airline builds awareness among its staff, the more likely it is that they will not be afraid to approach passengers with disabilities and treat them with empathy, kindness, and common sense. That already makes a huge difference. 

鈥淭his happens with many people along the way. They don’t know what to say to me because they are afraid of embarrassment or of the legal risks if they say something that may upset the person with disabilities,鈥� Swiatek said. 鈥淪o, people don’t even dare to say anything. That精东影业 awareness and it is a pretty inexpensive tool.鈥� 

Avianca has produced a series of 45-second videos for all its employees in a bid to help spread awareness. Swiatek appears in the videos, sharing the main pain points from the perspective of a blind or low vision traveler. For example, in one video he explained what a mobility cane is and how to handle it.  

鈥淚 can tell you a great story that happened this weekend,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 flew to Los Angeles and an Avianca person met me and said, 鈥楳ike, your mobility cane. I remember watching your video, and I know how you use that!鈥� and I said, 鈥榯his is the solution鈥�, because it is not only about when an employee sees me. If they see anybody at the airport with a mobility cane, they know why they’re using it and how they’re using it.鈥�  

Swiatek said he considered training to be his next tool. 

The airline has started to provide customer-facing employees a laminated card to place on their lanyard detailing the four major categories of disability and explaining the do’s and don’ts.  

So, for example, if they spot somebody in a wheelchair, don’t go to that person and start pushing their wheelchair without their permission. Or if there精东影业 a blind person, don鈥檛 grab the mobility cane and think that’s how to guide that person through the airport. If a deaf person has an interpreter, you don’t look at the interpreter and talk to them, rather you face the deaf person and listen to what the interpreter is saying.  

Third is process engineering. He explained how this can be as simple as allowing enough time at the boarding gate for travelers with disabilities to get into place or, as they do at Avianca精东影业 hub in Bogota (BOG), prioritize jet bridge access for flights with a larger number of passengers with disabilities on board (as opposed to disembarking passengers via the stairs). 

鈥淲e’re also working with special service providers to pair a male service provider with a male customer and a female with a female. Why? If a female is escorting me through the airport and asks if I would like to go to the bathroom, she can’t come into the bathroom with me. If I don’t come out in 20 minutes, a male escort can come in and look for me, while a female one can’t. As simple and common sense as it seems, this is revolutionary for people who never thought about the fact that we should pair male with male and female with female to escort people,鈥� Swiatek continued. 鈥淚 can’t speak for everybody, but I know those pain points so close to my heart that I can influence the airline to make changes in a way that few other people can.鈥�  

The fourth tool is digital technology. Most people now carry a smartphone, helping to facilitate communication. Swiatek revealed how he became used to using voice functions on his phone to perform a variety of tasks.  

Additionally, when communicating with passengers that are deaf or hard of hearing Avianca airport agents can access an application allowing them to speak with someone who understands sign language and relay to the check-in agent what that customer is saying. 

Swiatek also highlighted how much public discussion about accessibility is focused on what he calls the fifth tool, hardware. This includes things like elevators, ramps for wheelchairs or any physical infrastructure. Despite the focus on this area, Swiatek insisted that it is only a fifth of the solution. 

鈥淟et me give you a simple example of accessibility hardware that Avianca – and United Airlines as well – has implemented recently,鈥� Swiatek said. 鈥淲e have fitted three aircraft with Braille seat numbering. We’ve also put bigger fonts on these three aircraft. We’re testing it now and we’re working with the blind communities in Colombia to get their feedback.  

鈥淪o far, it’s very positive, but also makes it easier for sighted people to find their seats, because I can tell you, there are many sighted people that can’t find the seat numbering. My sighted wife has put me in the wrong row on a plane occasionally. And when you think about it, a passenger who sits in the wrong seat and can lead to the disruption time of a flight, it’s also beneficial to the airline and our on-time performance.鈥�  

Calling on the travel industry to act 

Swiatek also had some pointers for other players in the broader aviation ecosystem.  

鈥淚 think the government can help manufacturers of aircraft, of seats. I’m speaking very loudly to Boeing and Airbus. I don’t want them to charge me to recertify the aircraft, I think that should be their contribution to solving the accessibility issue in travel,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭he airlines shouldn鈥檛 bear all the costs. It’s never going to be perfect. We’re never going to be able to achieve everything everybody wants. But I’m 100% convinced that we can make travel more accessible for the majority of people with disabilities.鈥�  

Swiatek also called for the sort of training being implemented at Avianca to become commonplace for other companies in the travel sector, including hotels, cruises, taxis, and land transportation operators such as Uber and Lyft.  

鈥淛ust don鈥檛 leave it all to airlines because we tend to be the industry with the highest regulation and one of my issues with regulation is you cannot regulate awareness,鈥� he explained. 鈥淵ou cannot regulate human kindness. You cannot regulate common sense. You cannot regulate people to be empathetic. There’s actually a systematic way to approach it and that systematic way will lead to better results.鈥�  

He continued: 鈥淲hat we’re doing on accessibility is behavioral change, which is why the tools of awareness and training become so important. We, at Avianca, brainstormed a list of actions that we’d like to accomplish, and we said, 鈥楲ook, in the first 12 months, we want to at least accomplish 20 of them, right?鈥� We don’t know which ones: putting Braille on planes is an action, getting assistive technology at the check-in is too, building those laminated lanyard cards is another one.鈥� 

鈥淚’m getting 12,000 people to behave very differently on accessibility, but in fact, I’m trying to get 8 billion people to act a little bit differently,鈥� Swiatek concluded.  

On September 7, 2023, Avianca精东影业 CEO, Adrian Neuhauser, confirmed that the Colombian airline is looking to invest $473 million to add up to 16 Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet, 14 of which will be the newer A320neo version, while the remaining two will be legacy A320ceos.  

According to the airline executive, this will allow Avianca to increase the number of flights it offers daily by 25% and the number of weekly seats on offer by around a million. 

Avianca has been one of the beneficiaries of the demise of two competing low-cost carriers in Colombia, Viva Colombia and Ultra Air, which ceased operations earlier in 2023 leaving thousands of passengers stranded throughout the region. 

At the time of the crisis and days before Viva精东影业 bankruptcy, Avianca emerged as a potential savior, but the airline backed down at the last moment. Avianca plans to take on some of Viva精东影业 staff as part of an expansion plan that will see its employee numbers increase by 1,200. 

Avianca is also reinforcing its management team by creating the position of Deputy CEO, which will be occupied by the airline’s current COO, Frederico Pedreira. 

Other airlines in the region, such as JetSmart and Copa精东影业 low-cost subsidiary Wingo have also stepped up to cover the gap left in the Colombian market.听听

Avianca lived through its own financial troubles, even filing for Chapter 11 creditor protection in the United States in 2020, although it has since managed to overcome its financial woes. In April 2023 it was reported that the parent company of Avianca, Abra Group (which also controls Brazilian low-cost airline GOL), was preparing for a stock market flotation.听

Using the services of more than 1,500 in-house technicians the airline will now be able to offer 20% more capacity and reduce CO2 emissions per passenger transported by 15.35%. 

Each of the 104 Airbus A320 aircraft will now benefit from 180 seats, spread across 鈥淧remium, Plus and Economy鈥�. 

The airline hopes the new look aircraft will allow the carrier to 鈥渃ontinue to offer more competitive prices, transport more passengers per aircraft, contribute to the decongestion of some airports and reduce CO2 emissions鈥�.听

“We are very proud of this milestone for Avianca and for the industry around the world. They told us we were being too ambitious, wanting to do this in-house and in less than two years. Even so, we achieved it together with more than 1,500 experts from our MRO and other areas of Avianca, and with the help of allies such as Recaro, our seat manufacturer, and Airbus, the manufacturer of this fleet and who developed the engineering, who were fundamental in moving forward with this project even during difficult situations such as the pandemic, the war in Europe or the shortage of some supplies,鈥� said Adrian Neuhauser, Avianca’s president and CEO.听

He added: 鈥淲ithout a doubt, the reconfiguration of our fleet makes us more efficient and competitive, brings us ever closer to what we set out in our business plan, and also leads us to achieve the goal of being an Avianca for everyone.鈥澛�

As part of its strategy to increase capacity in the different markets where it operates, Avianca will continue to incorporate A320 aircraft that will temporarily have a different configuration but will also enter the reconfiguration process during 2023. 

鈥淎lthough the last few years have been globally challenging for our entire industry, Avianca’s commitment -to prepare for this moment in which we see traffic levels regain momentum- means that now passengers can enjoy an improved cabin, with a better inflight experience. The selection for for more than 100 A320 aircraft is unprecedented, having this number of aircraft retrofitted and returned into service in a two-year time frame during a supply chain crisis is an outstanding achievement鈥�, said Yohan Closs, vice president of Services for Airbus Latin America & the Caribbean.听

Emirates serves over 45 million luxury chocolates per year to its passengers 聽

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-07-04