Avianca expects to reach pre-pandemic capacity by April

The South American carrier Avianca expects to achieve a total capacity recovery during 2022’s second quarter. Slowly but surely, Avianca is recovering its pre-pandemic numbers in terms of routes, frequencies, and seats. Nevertheless, the airline is still lagging in terms of passengers and revenue. On September 20, 2021, Avianca stated that it is currently offering 99 routes across South America, North America, and Europe. It is scheduling more than 2,680 flights per week, with a capacity of more than 400,000 seats, having one of the “most robust map routes in the region.” According to the airline, it has a load factor of over 80% in most of its routes. Moreover, the small amount of routes that it hasn’t reactivated are due to the travel restrictions. For instance, Avianca is not flying to the UK because the British government is not allowing the entrance of people coming from Colombia. By the end of 2021, Avianca expects to have recovered between 70 and 80% of its pre-pandemic operations. Additionally, it hopes to regain 100% of the capacity between April and June 2022. Nevertheless, any change, like new travel restrictions or new waves of COVID-19 infections in the region, could impact Avianca’s recovery.<br/>