Avianca adding routes to beaches with eye on bankruptcy exit
Avianca Holdings plans to add dozens of routes using smaller aircraft as it plots its emergence from bankruptcy later this year, the airline’s CE said. Colombia’s largest carrier is expanding with 50 direct routes between secondary cities in coming years, said CEO Anko van der Werff. Using narrow-body planes, it will target tourist spots such as Punta Cana, Cartagena and Cancun, offering a new level of cheaper fares to capture demand for leisure travel that’s leading a rebound after the pandemic crippled the airline business. “You already see the theme of leisure and beach traffic emerging,” he said. “In a nutshell, we’ll be more efficient.” Latin America’s second-largest airline before the Covid-19 pandemic, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 in May, citing the impact of government lockdowns that forced it to ground its fleet. It raised $2b under its bankruptcy plan, including funding from United, Salvadoran air mogul Roberto Kriete’s Kingsland Holdings and Citadel, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Ken Griffin. After the bankruptcy restructuring, Avianca will offer cheap fares to some destinations where it faces competition from low-cost carriers -- including through its hubs in Colombia and El Salvador. But the airline has no plans to relinquish its position as a major carrier, van der Werff said.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-03-18/star/avianca-adding-routes-to-beaches-with-eye-on-bankruptcy-exit
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Avianca adding routes to beaches with eye on bankruptcy exit
Avianca Holdings plans to add dozens of routes using smaller aircraft as it plots its emergence from bankruptcy later this year, the airline’s CE said. Colombia’s largest carrier is expanding with 50 direct routes between secondary cities in coming years, said CEO Anko van der Werff. Using narrow-body planes, it will target tourist spots such as Punta Cana, Cartagena and Cancun, offering a new level of cheaper fares to capture demand for leisure travel that’s leading a rebound after the pandemic crippled the airline business. “You already see the theme of leisure and beach traffic emerging,” he said. “In a nutshell, we’ll be more efficient.” Latin America’s second-largest airline before the Covid-19 pandemic, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 in May, citing the impact of government lockdowns that forced it to ground its fleet. It raised $2b under its bankruptcy plan, including funding from United, Salvadoran air mogul Roberto Kriete’s Kingsland Holdings and Citadel, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Ken Griffin. After the bankruptcy restructuring, Avianca will offer cheap fares to some destinations where it faces competition from low-cost carriers -- including through its hubs in Colombia and El Salvador. But the airline has no plans to relinquish its position as a major carrier, van der Werff said.<br/>
