The Definitive Guide to Avianca’s Direct Routes From the U.S. [Plane Types and Seat Options]

Avianca is Colombia’s flag carrier and is part of Avianca Holdings, which owns many other regional subsidiaries in South and Central America.

Headquartered in Bogotá, this Star Alliance partner is instrumental in the global connectivity Star Alliance offers. As the airline chiefly responsible for connecting Star Alliance passengers to Central and South America, Avianca fills an important role.

Avianca’s fleet consists primarily of narrow-body, single-aisle aircraft, though it also has a few wide-body aircraft. Its subsidiaries include Avianca Costa Rica, Avianca Ecuador, Avianca El Salvador, Avianca Guatemala, Avianca Honduras, Avianca Peru, and more. The company has over 130 aircraft in its fleet and flies to more than 75 destinations worldwide.

Let’s take a look at what portion of its fleet is dedicated to connecting the U.S. to Central and South America.

Cabin Classes by Aircraft Type

Although we mentioned that Avianca has its hub operations in Bogotá (BOG), Colombia, the airline also maintains a secondary hub at San Salvador (SAL) in El Salvador. As you’ll find out, there are tons of flights to San Salvador from the U.S.

Avianca operates a total of 4 aircraft on flights to and from the U.S.:

• 787-8
• A330-200
• A320
• A320neo

In the past, Avianca has offered many flights using the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. However, the Dreamliner flights have since been shifted to meet the demands of flights elsewhere around the world. Let’s take a look at all of Avianca’s nonstop U.S. routes, along with the flight numbers, operating aircraft type, cabin classes available, and frequency.

Overall, you can take many different flights to and from the U.S. However, most of these involve connecting in San Salvador (SAL) or Bogotá (BOG). Still, there are some unique flights you can take outside of these 2 cities, such as Managua (MGA) in Nicaragua, Medellín (MDE) in Colombia, and even Guatemala City (GUA) in Guatemala.

Best Points To Earn To Fly Avianca

As mentioned, Avianca is a Star Alliance partner, which naturally means you can redeem miles from Star Alliance airlines for flights on Avianca and all its subsidiaries. LifeMiles employs a variable award pricing structure when you fly on Avianca, meaning you can redeem LifeMiles for a cheaper price if available.

You can also book Avianca flights using any transferable rewards program. Here are the main transferable currencies, along with the most popular and applicable mileage partners:

1. American Express Membership Rewards: Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA Mileage Club, Avianca LifeMiles, and Singapore KrisFlyer
2. Bilt Rewards: Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, United MileagePlus
3. Capital One Miles: Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
4. Chase Ultimate Rewards: Singapore KrisFlyer or United MileagePlus
5. Citi ThankYou Rewards: Avianca LifeMiles, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Singapore KrisFlyer, Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus, and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
6. Marriott Bonvoy: Aegean Airlines Miles+Bonus, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air New Zealand Airpoints, All Nippon Airways Mileage Club, Avianca LifeMiles, Copa Airlines ConnectMiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go, Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, and United MileagePlus
7. Wells Fargo Rewards: Avianca LifeMiles

If you wanted to fly between the U.S. and Central America, you could redeem according to the following award table:

Here’s the award table to follow for flights between the U.S. and South America:

As you can see, the redemption costs across all the major airlines vary dramatically. This is thanks to a variation in regional categorization, where 1 frequent flyer program may consider a certain country to be in a different region than another frequent flyer program.

Avianca First Class

Unfortunately, Avianca doesn’t currently offer a first-class product on its flights.

Avianca Business Class

Avianca’s business class is one of the best ways to fly to South America or Central America. It remains one of the top ways to reliably get award availability without worrying about the scarce availability on LATAM or American Airlines.

Instead, Avianca releases lots of business class award seats, and its product is comfortable enough for a long-haul flight. Avianca is surprisingly well-equipped with its soft product. You receive an amenity kit, tasty food and drink programs, and a comfortable seat. Let’s get into the business class options to and from the U.S.

Avianca 787-8 Business Class

Avianca’s best business class seat is aboard the 787-8. Known as the flagship of the fleet, this aircraft is deployed on Avianca’s most premium long-haul routes. Unfortunately, this doesn’t usually include U.S. routes, easily serviced by lower-capacity aircraft.

If you can fly this aircraft, you’ll find reverse-herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 configuration — notice that all of these seats become lie-flat, have direct aisle access and have a lot of privacy.

In this cabin, you find a total of 7 rows of business class seats, each with 21 inches of width and 72 inches of seat pitch. Five rows of business class seats are in the front cabin, and another 2 rows of business class seats are in the minicabin, which is separated from the larger business class cabin by an inflight bar.

Here’s what the seat map looks like:

The most private seats are near the rear of the plane, away from the 2 lavatories and galleys at the front. Because of the absence of foot traffic near these seats, we recommend choosing 6A or 6K for solo travelers. For couples traveling together, you can choose either 6D and 6E or 7D and 7E to maximize your privacy and seclusion from the rest of the business class cabin.

Avoid 5A and 5K, because these seats have 1 less window and are directly next to the inflight bar.

Here are the U.S. routes on which Avianca’s 787-8 can sometimes be found:

• New York City (JFK) – Bogota (BOG)
• Miami (MIA) – Bogotá (BOG)
• New York City (JFK) – Medellin (MDE) sometimes

Hot Tip: Check out one of our writers’ less-than-excellent experience on an Avianca 787-8 Dreamliner from Miami to Bogotá.

Avianca A330-200 Business Class

Avianca wet-leases A330-200 jets from Wamos Air, a European charter airline.

On this aircraft’s sole U.S. route, Avianca offers lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, which is a significant upgrade in comfort and privacy.

The Avianca A330-200 is currently being flown on these nonstop routes to and from the U.S.:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – San Salvador (SAL)

Avianca A320 and A320neo and Business Class

Besides the sole wide-body plane that Avianca flies to the U.S., there are 2 aircraft on the remaining routes: the A320 and A320neo. These planes are single-aisle, and the business class seats are the same throughout.

The recliner seats resemble those found in domestic U.S. first-class flights. The business class section on all of these aircraft consists of the first rows of seats in a 2-2 configuration. These seats recline slightly more than ordinary economy seats, and the cushions are slightly thicker.

Avianca’s A320 and A320neo fleet serve the bulk of its operations between the U.S. and Central and South America.

Avianca Premium Economy Class

Avianca doesn’t offer a premium economy class product aboard its flights.

Avianca Economy Class

If you’re looking for cheap airfare to South America or Central America, you’ll find that Avianca consistently offers the most budget-friendly options. Sometimes, these cheap tickets involve an “inconvenient” layover in San Salvador (SAL) before heading to your final destination in South America. However, if you’re sensitive to prices, it makes sense to save several hundred dollars by flying on a 1-stop itinerary.

Avianca’s economy-class product is relatively no-frills. It is intended to get you from point A to point B as economically as possible, which is why the ticket prices beat the competition. Still, though, Avianca is considered a full-service airline, so you’ll be able to enjoy some comforts, such as inflight entertainment and a meal.

Let’s take a look at the best economy options you can take to and from the U.S.:

Avianca A330-200 Economy Class

Generally, the experience on wide-body aircraft tends to be better than that on narrow-body aircraft. This is because of the installation of inflight entertainment, the amenities aboard the aircraft, and even the ability to enjoy a full meal service.

The obvious drawback is that wide-body aircraft have more seats, so there will be more people on the plane with you. Still, it’s easy to relax on the A330-200 from Avianca. There are a total of 222 economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, tapering to 2-3-2 at the rear of the plane. Each of these seats is around 17-19 inches wide and 31-32 inches in pitch.

The best part of the 2-4-2 configuration is that couples traveling together can have a whole row to themselves.

Here’s what the A330-200 seat map looks like:

The best seats for solo travelers are 7C and 7J, which give extra legroom and are near the front of the plane. If you’re traveling with a companion, you’ll do well to reserve seat pairs 7A and 7C, 7J and 7K, 23A and 23C, 22J and 22K, and even 2 of the seats in row 22. All of these seats have extra legroom, which is a massive benefit for economy flights.

Here are the routes on which the A330-200 can be found:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – Bogotá (BOG)
• Miami (MIA) – Bogotá (BOG)
• New York City (JFK) – Bogotá (BOG)

Avianca 787-8 Economy Class

The very last economy seat is Avianca’s 787-8. The reason why it’s ranked so low is that its seats are generally the most cramped, narrow, and crowded.

Avianca’s 787-8 has 222 economy seats arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration, shown here:

The seats are each 17 inches wide and 31-36 inches in pitch, depending on which seats you reserve.

We’d recommend you reserve seats in row 8 for the extra legroom from the bulkhead. You should avoid rows 21, 22, 24, 33, and 35 when possible because of the proximity to the lavatories.

Here are the U.S. routes on which Avianca offers the 787-8:

• New York City (JFK) – Medellín (MDE) sometimes

Final Thoughts

As you can see, Avianca’s fleet isn’t necessarily anything to write home about. In the past, Avianca operated Dreamliner flights with a true business class product on various routes around the world, but it’s pretty rare on U.S. routes nowadays.

You might find them on flights from New York City (JFK) to Medellín (MDE) sometimes. Other than that, the other available business class product that isn’t just a recliner seat is the A330-200 with angled-flat 2-2-2 seats.

The other aircraft offerings are similar to domestic flights with recliner seats, so there’s not much to get excited about.

In addition to expected flights to San Salvador (SAL) and Bogotá (BOG), there are tons of unique options to far-flung places, such as Barranquilla (BAQ), Guatemala City (GUA), and even Managua (MAG). You’re definitely going to want to add this guide to your trip-planning portfolio when contemplating flying Avianca to Central and South America.