Avianca to codeshare with Gol as it overhauls business

Avianca says that it will begin a codesharing agreement with Brazil's domestic market leader Gol, further expanding the Colombian flag carrier's network in South America's largest aviation market as it moves forward from a challenging year. The agreement comes just a few weeks after Avianca announced a similar codeshare tie-up with Azul, allowing the Star Alliance member to regain access to the domestic market following Avianca Brazil's bankruptcy earlier this year. "It's something we have been working on for quite a while," says Avianca's CE Anko van der Werff Monday. "This is fantastic news, especially for consumers, to connect three strong economies in South America – Columbia, Peru and Brazil." Avianca's director of alliances, Ana Maria Copete, adds that the network will expand by "more than 60 destinations both ways". The crisis-ridden Colombian airline is in the process of implementing a comprehensive strategic turnaround plan designed to bring the business back to profitability. It has restructured debt, changed ownership and hired a new management team, including Dutchman van der Werff, a veteran of KLM, Qatar Airways and Aeromexico. A major strategic pillar of the plan is optimisation of the airline's Bogota hub operation with new destinations and connections better suited to higher-yield traffic.<br/>