Considered one of Latin America’s largest airways is making a significant change with a small letter.
Bogota, Colombia-based Avianca Airways unveiled a rebranding undertaking this week, altering its stylized identify and emblem to a lower-cased “avianca airways.”
The Star Alliance member, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that it entered on the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Could of 2020, described the rebranding because the fruits of two years of labor reorienting the airline for a broader flying public.
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The airline described the lower-case “a” as being “a logo of an organization that, by combining the most effective of its over 100 years of flying with the practicality and suppleness of the trendy low-cost world, has ceased to be for just a few and is now for everybody.”
“We noticed [during the pandemic] that it was not solely potential but additionally needed to realize a distinct avianca, one that’s extra open, nearer, extra accessible, and with extra for everybody,” CEO Adrian Neuhauser stated in a press launch. “After practically two years, that new avianca is right here.”
Over that two-year interval, the airline simplified its fleet to 2 plane varieties — the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 787 — reconfigured its A320s in an all-economy structure that has 20% extra seats than the earlier multiclass configuration, improved its reliability and grew its community, which is able to see the airline function 146 routes to 74 locations throughout 24 nations by the tip of 2023. That features 26 new routes added in 2023, plus different locations and routes that it will probably attain by means of its codeshare with Star Alliance companions like United Airways.
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The rebranding comes as journey within the Latin America journey market is changing into extra aggressive than ever.
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Journey between the U.S. and Latin America has been in demand, however in recent times, the inter-region hall has change into much more necessary for airways. Delta Air Lines’ nascent joint venture with Santiago, Chile-based LATAM has seen the U.S. service transfer to place itself extra aggressively within the South American market, whereas American Airlines’ recent codeshare tie-up with South American ultra-low-cost carrier JetSmart, coupled with its present relationship with Brazilian service GOL, unlocks a large number of routes between North and South America.
With robust demand and robust competitors, there are alternatives for airways on either side of the area, one thing that Neuhauser reiterated throughout a press convention this week.
“The U.S. is a key marketplace for us; it has been one in all our largest development markets,” Neuhauser stated. “We’re within the top-three non-U.S. carriers immediately at JFK and Miami.”
“It is a market the place our LifeMiles [frequent flyer] program can be gaining elevated depth as a loyalty program, and that is permitting us to drive extra site visitors into our program,” he added.
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With its hub on the northern fringe of South America however at a excessive altitude — the airport’s elevation is listed as 8,360 ft — the airline has each geographic benefits and downsides in serving as a connecting hub between North and South America.
“We see most of our development sooner or later as being point-to-point,” Neuhauser stated. “That having been stated, Bogota is a really highly effective head, and even with out making an attempt — for lack of a greater description — the truth is we now have a lot connectivity right here. Connectivity by means of Bogota represents 40% of our flying.”
Neuhauser cited a current Worldwide Air Transport Affiliation research, nevertheless, that discovered the airport’s capability is presently restricted to a per-hour complete of round 74 operations (or complete variety of arrivals and departures mixed). That capability may very well be elevated, however it might require substantial enhancements to infrastructure and operations on the airport.
“We do not see, within the close to future, way more means to continue to grow in Bogota till these investments are made,” he stated.
However, the airline sees loads of demand that may facilitate development, together with from the U.S. Notably, the Pew Analysis Middle estimates about 1.4 million Hispanic individuals of Colombian origin dwell within the U.S.
Avianca has been Colombia’s flag service because it was based in 1919. (Its unique identify was Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transportes Aéreos, or SCADTA.)
