Avianca Just Announced Big Business Class Upgrades, Including Suites With Doors

Avianca has unveiled plans to overhaul the business class experience across its entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, and the changes are more substantial than anything the carrier has committed to before.

With a new hard product featuring a suite with doors, revamped catering, real amenities, and a service training program, this is the kind of top-to-bottom refresh Avianca’s long-haul flying has needed for years.

Here’s what’s coming, why it matters, and why anyone who’s flown Avianca business class recently should be especially happy with the changes.

Avianca’s Business Class Upgrades

Starting in 2027, Avianca will retrofit all 16 of its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners with new business class seats. The airline is sticking with a reverse herringbone layout, but the seats will now be enclosed suites with doors, as first reported by Aviacionline.com.

Based on the renderings, it appears to be the Collins Aerospace Elements seat, though Avianca hasn’t confirmed that yet. This is the same product you’ll find on Starlux, and Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite is built on the same concept. It’s a competitive offering.

Avianca will follow LATAM’s earlier introduction, becoming the second airline in South America to offer enclosed suites with privacy doors.

The tech is being upgraded as well, with 19-inch 4K entertainment screens, Bluetooth audio, and charging at every seat.

The soft product changes are equally notable. Avianca is rolling out a new dining program, new amenity kits, pajamas for the first time, and Meridian noise-canceling headphones. The airline is also training flight attendants in a program specifically designed for business class hospitality and etiquette. Finally, Wi-Fi is being installed across the Dreamliner fleet, which is long overdue.

On the loyalty side, Avianca is adding a new Magno tier to Lifemiles and refreshing its “Insignia by Avianca” business class branding.

Why This Is a Welcome Upgrade

If you’ve flown Avianca business class in the past few years, you already know why these changes are needed.

My flight on one of the ex-Norwegian 787s from Bogotá to São Paulo was sold as business class but felt like premium economy, with 2-3-2 recliners, middle seats, meals distributed off a cart with no menu, and bedding handed out at the last minute. It was anything but luxurious.

Another UP staffer had a similarly rough time on the proper 787 lie-flat between Miami and Bogotá, with duct-taped cabin panels, a snack box containing a mini water and a small chocolate bar, and the exact same food being served in economy. He called it his worst business class experience ever.

The current “INSIGNIA” branding was already positioned as an elevated business class experience, but there wasn’t much substance behind the name. What Avianca is announcing now sounds like it addresses the specific shortcomings reviewers, myself included, have flagged.

That said, an upgraded cabin only works if the service catches up with it.

The best suite in the world doesn’t matter if the crew isn’t friendly or the food coming out of the galley is the same as what economy passengers receive. That’s why the dedicated hospitality training program is the most encouraging piece of this announcement. Hard product investments are relatively easy for an airline to make.

Consistently delivering service that matches is much harder, and it’s where Avianca has especially fallen short in the past.

Final Thoughts

Avianca has been telegraphing a real business class refresh for a while now, but earlier attempts, including the original “INSIGNIA” push, lacked the substance to back them up. This announcement looks different. If the airline actually delivers on both the hard product and service in 2027, this could be one of the more meaningful long-haul business class overhauls in Latin America. I’m cautiously optimistic, and I’m looking forward to trying the new cabin once it’s flying.