Copa eyes Bogota slots for Wingo amid Colombia’s air travel uncertainty

Panama’s Copa Airlines is eyeing slots at Bogota’s El Dorado International airport as Colombian competitor Avianca mulls stepping back from its planned acquisition of now-defunct discount carrier Viva Air. Speaking during an earnings call on 11 May, Copa CE Pedro Heilbron said his airline is looking to expand in Colombia through subsidiary discount airline Wingo. He also acknowledged that Colombia’s air travel market remains in a state of limbo. That is because two domestic airlines – Viva Air and Ultra Air – in recent weeks shuttered due to financial difficulty. Ultra halted flights in March amid reports of financial trouble, and Viva ceased operations on 27 February, citing delays in regulatory approval of a potential merger with market heavyweight Avianca. It is now unclear if Avianca intends to continue with its acquisition plan. Avianca had been trying to acquire Viva for the past year, but several decisions by Colombia’s Directorate of Air Transport and Aero-Commercial Affairs – known as Aerocivil – stymied the process. Aerocivil’s latest approval, on 25 April, reiterated a preliminary decision from March that set conditions Avianca has called “unfeasible”. One of those conditions is that Avianca give up some slots in Bogota – and Copa’s Heilbron now smells opportunity. “The Bogota slots are very important because it was very difficult for Wingo to publish an advance schedule and fly at the peak times when most passengers want to fly,” he says. “Up to now, the slots in Bogota have been dominated by a single carrier. Hopefully this is going to change and make Bogota, one of the few slot-restricted airports in Latin America, a bit more competitive.” “We see that as a positive development,” he adds. Avianca said on 10 May it will decide “by the end of the week” if it will continue pursuing its planned acquisition of Viva. CE Adrian Neuhauser said the company is “not pleased” with the conditions required by Aerocivil.<br/>