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Has anyone flown Avianca Airlines?

Space Bandito

Space Bandito

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Let me start by saying I am a United loyalist. I have a meeting in London in December and I normally fly United or Lufthansa to Europe. Right now, for the dates I need, this Avianca Airlines offering is a staggering $7,000 less than the United option (approx. $3,500 vs $10,500.) Just curious if anyone has had any experience flying with them as I have never even heard of them.
 
Never flown them, but know they are the national airline of Columbia. I still remember the bombing that took place in the 80s on the airline from Escobar.
They have a few 787s in their fleet
 
787 is definitely my favorite (unless I'm on Lufthansa - then 747-8 all the way.) It's such a great plane, even when United Polaris really lacks.
JB said:
Never flown them, but know they are the national airline of Columbia. I still remember the bombing that took place in the 80s on the airline from Escobar.
They have a few 787s in their fleet
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I have flown them quite a bit around South America and generally on time and good service.
Most of the flight service workers are young so not that sky hag experience like AA.

They even tend to smile and want to help.

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jim54 said:
I have flown them quite a bit around South America and generally on time and good service.
Most of the flight service workers are young so not that sky hag experience like AA.

They even tend to smile and want to help.

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That's good to hear. I wasn't paying attention earlier and just realized that all of their flights from LAX connect through Bogota. Not sure I want to go that far out of the way when I'm used to a direct flight. But it's soooo cheap!
 
Bogota is awesome, cool temps year round and imo the most beautiful women in South America. At least that's what my friend noticed there..

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jim54 said:
Bogota is awesome, cool temps year round and imo the most beautiful women in South America. At least that's what my friend noticed there..

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I've always wanted to see it. I'm not sure a whole 12 hours there is really going to quench my thirst.
 
If you normally fly United, any other airline will seem like a fairytale when you fly with them.


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That may be a stretch. I'm guessing you haven't flown many US based carriers. They're all garbage. United I get the most perks
Mark_UK said:
If you normally fly United, any other airline will seem like a fairytale when you fly with them.


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pmm21 said:
That may be a stretch. I'm guessing you haven't flown many US based carriers. They're all garbage. United I get the most perks

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I’ve flown UA, AA and Southwest. Internal, Southwest are by far the best of the 3 in my experience. United, their schedule appears to be a guide, and their clunking old planes are held together by speedtape and hope.


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Mark_UK said:
I’ve flown UA, AA and Southwest. Internal, Southwest are by far the best of the 3 in my experience. United, their schedule appears to be a guide, and their clunking old planes are held together by speedtape and hope.


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I agree with you, United is my least favorite carrier by a wide margin.
 
Mark_UK said:
I’ve flown UA, AA and Southwest. Internal, Southwest are by far the best of the 3 in my experience. United, their schedule appears to be a guide, and their clunking old planes are held together by speedtape and hope.


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You prefer being treated like cattle on Southwest? You're alone there. I'm not trying to pick a fight, and frankly, it seems silly for me to defend a US based airline, but I think you should give United another try.

I don't think I've flown on anything older than a 737-800 in years on United. Pretty sure American is still flying DC-9s and MD-80s which they said they would retire about 5 or 6 years ago (about 10-20 years too late in my opinion)

Trying to remember... my last few international flights on united were on 777-300ER, 787-9, 777-300, 787-8, 747-400 (definitely the oldest of the bunch, and now retired) So nothing particularly old there.

As far as I know, southwest flies 737-700 and -800. I know they've ordered some new 737-MAX, but I'm not sure they've taken delivery. United has 14 of the 100 MAX aircraft they've ordered already in service.)

Southwest flies to 99 destinations. United flies to 357 (the most of any airline in the world. American is 2nd with 350.)


According to Forbes.com when ranking on time arrivals, United places 4th in US carriers. Ahead of American (5th) and Southwest (7th.) When considering they fly to 258 more destinations, that's pretty impressive. They do pad their schedules by 30 minutes seemingly on every flight, but that's not hard to plan for.

Honestly, one of my only real complaints about United, is that it seems the only scotch option they stock on international flights is Dewar's.

Perhaps you've just had a bad experience, but mine has been that they treat their frequent travelers like royalty. For example, If I have a flight after 7pm, and my plane is delayed for any reason for 2 hours or more, United will offer me a hotel room, and put me in a seat in the morning AT MY REQUEST. All I have to do is go to the desk. I can also change any flight 24 hours in advance with no fee.

Flying in the US over the years has been a downward spiral, and I truly appreciate the lengths that United will go to keep its customers comfortable in otherwise uncomfortable situations. I read the other day that American has changed their re-booking policy in the event of a cancelation. As of 2019 they will no longer book you on another carrier if your AA flight is canceled. And if you don't hold a top tier status with them, they won't re-book you for the same day at all. That's just a terrible way to treat people.
 
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I’m just getting involved with some good ol’ Internet forum banter with you. I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong with your opinion. But my experience with UA has been piss poor. They flew 767’s out of heathrow that had seen better days 20 years ago (I left heathrow 6 years ago so that could possibly have changed). My last job had me flying to OKC regularly for a 6 month period. I missed every ****ing connection I had with UA. Ended up switching to AA. I generally fly at the back, so whoever I fly with, I’m treated like cattle LOL.


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pmm21 said:
You prefer being treated like cattle on Southwest? You're alone there. I'm not trying to pick a fight, and frankly, it seems silly for me to defend a US based airline, but I think you should give United another try.

I don't think I've flown on anything older than a 737-800 in years on United. Pretty sure American is still flying DC-9s and MD-80s which they said they would retire about 5 or 6 years ago (about 10-20 years too late in my opinion)

Trying to remember... my last few international flights on united were on 777-300ER, 787-9, 777-300, 787-8, 747-400 (definitely the oldest of the bunch, and now retired) So nothing particularly old there.

As far as I know, southwest flies 737-700 and -800. I know they've ordered some new 737-MAX, but I'm not sure they've taken delivery. United has 14 of the 100 MAX aircraft they've ordered already in service.)

Southwest flies to 99 destinations. United flies to 357 (the most of any airline in the world. American is 2nd with 350.)


According to Forbes.com when ranking on time arrivals, United places 4th in US carriers. Ahead of American (5th) and Southwest (7th.) When considering they fly to 258 more destinations, that's pretty impressive. They do pad their schedules by 30 minutes seemingly on every flight, but that's not hard to plan for.

Honestly, one of my only real complaints about United, is that they seem to only scotch option they stock on international flights is Dewar's.

Perhaps you've just had a bad experience, but mine has been that they treat their frequent travelers like royalty. For example, If I have a flight after 7pm, and my plane is delayed for any reason for 2 hours or more, United will offer me a hotel room, and put me in a seat in the morning AT MY REQUEST. All I have to do is go to the desk. I can also change any flight 24 hours in advance with no fee.

Flying in the US over the years has been a downward spiral, and I truly appreciate the lengths that United will go to keep its customers comfortable in otherwise uncomfortable situations. I read the other day that American has changed their re-booking policy in the event of a cancelation. As of 2019 they will no longer book you on another carrier if your AA flight is canceled. And if you don't hold a top tier status with them, they won't re-book you for the same day at all. That's just a terrible way to treat people.
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The funny thing about the "cattle call" is that it's so much worse with United. Now United has their lines for their zones, so people will start lining up to board 30-45 minutes ahead of time. If you have a seat towards the front you may or may not get overhead space if you aren't in that line. I rarely stand in line more than 5 minutes with Southwest.
 
Wake said:
The funny thing about the "cattle call" is that it's so much worse with United. Now United has their lines for their zones, so people will start lining up to board 30-45 minutes ahead of time. If you have a seat towards the front you may or may not get overhead space if you aren't in that line. I rarely stand in line more than 5 minutes with Southwest.
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The Southwest boarding process is much smoother and less stressful than the other major airlines unless you are in first class. Having to stand in line 30 or 45 minutes before your flight is eliminated and boarding is more orderly.
 
They actually just changed that system world wide a few weeks ago. They don't allow lining up unless you're in group 1.

The lines don't apply to me, but it is a better sysyem now. I never understood why they would let people get in line to stand forever.
Wake said:
The funny thing about the "cattle call" is that it's so much worse with United. Now United has their lines for their zones, so people will start lining up to board 30-45 minutes ahead of time. If you have a seat towards the front you may or may not get overhead space if you aren't in that line. I rarely stand in line more than 5 minutes with Southwest.
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Doesn't Southwest still do the "stand in your section" and then board by section number, effectively creating one big line?

It's been about 12 years since I've flown the circus of the sky.
Jeff Spicoli said:
The Southwest boarding process is much smoother and less stressful than the other major airlines unless you are in first class. Having to stand in line 30 or 45 minutes before your flight is eliminated and boarding is more orderly.
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UA still has a few 67s in their fleet and I think most of them fly ORD-LHR. Not a great plane. I will never book one when there are so many other options.

I will give it to you that UA schedules connections with very tight windows. I've never understood this. I usually just pick up the phone and ask for a longer connection if I'm flying somewhere that requires a transfer. Half the time, if I'm connecting somewhere fun, I'll do a 5-10 hour layover just so I can go to lunch and not eat airport food.
Mark_UK said:
I’m just getting involved with some good ol’ Internet forum banter with you. I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong with your opinion. But my experience with UA has been piss poor. They flew 767’s out of heathrow that had seen better days 20 years ago (I left heathrow 6 years ago so that could possibly have changed). My last job had me flying to OKC regularly for a 6 month period. I missed every ****ing connection I had with UA. Ended up switching to AA. I generally fly at the back, so whoever I fly with, I’m treated like cattle LOL.


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pmm21 said:
Doesn't Southwest still do the "stand in your section" and then board by section number, effectively creating one big line?

It's been about 12 years since I've flown the circus of the sky.

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No, you are assigned a spot in line a12, a37 or whatever. So there is no reason to get in line early, they will call up your section about 5 minutes before you board, but I usually wait until a minute or so before. The true cattle call died years ago.

That's good they finally changed the United process, it was freaking brutal. I have no loyalty, I fly whoever is going direct to my destination for cheap, but United is who I try to avoid. The worst customer service, legroom and boarding process out there.
 
I booked flights with them early in the year for flights To/From Peru in June. About a month before, one leg of the flight got cancelled both ways and they had no alternatives for me. I ended up having to book on United for $400 more, and it took over 3 months for them to give me my refund. If you search for reviews for them you see many similar stories. I personally wouldn't book with them again, but it's hard to argue with the money savings you're looking at for your flight.
 
That's good to hear.

I think customer service is truly where loyalty comes into play. I have a dedicated phone number and desk I can go to for my status. I see people standing in queues 100 people deep when there are storm delays and cancelations. I just pick up the phone or go to the 1k /global services desk and it's taken care of.

I know pretty much no one flies enough to gain top tier status and I'm sure it has given me blinders to what the normal leisure traveler has to deal with. You guys are definitely not the first to complain about UAL customer service. But from my outside point of view, and what I read it does appear that they are actually trying to give flyers a decent experience, where as what I'm reading about AA and Delta these days seems to be the opposite.
Wake said:
No, you are assigned a spot in line a12, a37 or whatever. So there is no reason to get in line early, they will call up your section about 5 minutes before you board, but I usually wait until a minute or so before. The true cattle call died years ago.

That's good they finally changed the United process, it was freaking brutal. I have no loyalty, I fly whoever is going direct to my destination for cheap, but United is who I try to avoid. The worst customer service, legroom and boarding process out there.
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That's not a good thought. I'm happy to pay to not have the risk of being inconvenienced.

I was a bit astounded at the United/Lufthansa / star alliance options to LHR this time around. Don't think I've ever seen the price so high.
ken_h said:
I booked flights with them early in the year for flights To/From Peru in June. About a month before, one leg of the flight got cancelled both ways and they had no alternatives for me. I ended up having to book on United for $400 more, and it took over 3 months for them to give me my refund. If you search for reviews for them you see many similar stories. I personally wouldn't book with them again, but it's hard to argue with the money savings you're looking at for your flight.
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pmm21 said:
That's good to hear.

I think customer service is truly where loyalty comes into play. I have a dedicated phone number and desk I can go to for my status. I see people standing in queues 100 people deep when there are storm delays and cancelations. I just pick up the phone or go to the 1k /global services desk and it's taken care of.

I know pretty much no one flies enough to gain top tier status and I'm sure it has given me blinders to what the normal leisure traveler has to deal with. You guys are definitely not the first to complain about UAL customer service. But from my outside point of view, and what I read it does appear that they are actually trying to give flyers a decent experience, where as what I'm reading about AA and Delta these days seems to be the opposite.

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I had a very unsatisfactory experience with United, and when I told the employee I would never fly United again, he said "yes you will, we are the cheapest". Unfortunately he was right, but that is beyond a ****** response and not one from a company who is trying to provide an enjoyable experience.
 
That's pretty awful. I couldn't help but laugh at that though.
Wake said:
I had a very unsatisfactory experience with United, and when I told the employee I would never fly United again, he said "yes you will, we are the cheapest". Unfortunately he was right, but that is beyond a ****** response and not one from a company who is trying to provide an enjoyable experience.
Click to expand...

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Wake said:
I had a very unsatisfactory experience with United, and when I told the employee I would never fly United again, he said "yes you will, we are the cheapest". Unfortunately he was right, but that is beyond a ****** response and not one from a company who is trying to provide an enjoyable experience.
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I’ll let you into a little secret. That employee couldn’t have given 2 s***s whether you flew with them again or not LOL.


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