A closer look at Avianca's successful post-Chapter 11 expansion

In December 2021, Latin America’s avianca Group emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and has since developed a risky yet successful growth strategy. The airline is now one of the largest in South America, having transported 32.3m passengers in 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic threw avianca into a financial crisis, forcing it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and close its Peruvian subsidiary, avianca Perú. Now, the airline is expanding, having just announced the launch of its new Bogotá to Paris route and additional expansion elsewhere. In May 2020, avianca was forced to file for bankruptcy in the US Southern District of New York after travel restrictions and the consequent financial burden of the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on the carrier’s overall stability. At the time, the airline had said that 88% of the countries to which it operated were either under total or partial travel restrictions, causing a shock to its passenger numbers. Inevitably, avianca was not the only airline to suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic. Airlines worldwide saw passenger numbers plummet and aircraft grounded as travel restrictions brought air travel to a relative halt. LATAM Airlines Group and Aeromexico also joined avianca in filing for bankruptcy the same year. In more recent news, Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in January. Avianca was forced to reevaluate its business strategy and shut down its Peruvian subsidiary to “renew its focus on core markets.” The group dissolved the division and deployed its other airlines to service flights to and from Peru. Story has more. <br/>