In 2022, Avianca made the decision to eliminate business class on all routes within the Americas, choosing to only offer business class on transatlantic flights. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen the airline progressively add back business class on more routes, and we’ve now reached a major milestone, as the airline has restored business class on all routes.
Let’s go over all the details, starting with a little bit of background…
Avianca cut business class on most routes in 2022
In the past several years, Avianca has nicely transformed its business model, by becoming a more efficient airline. As part of this, the airline eliminated business class on flights within the Americas as of October 2022.
Not only did Avianca reconfigure its Airbus A320s to remove business class and add 20% more seats, but the airline also stopped selling business class seats on flights within the Americas that were operated by Boeing 787s. Instead, these premium cabins were just sold as seats with more space, but without additional service.
With this policy change, Avianca only maintained business class on transatlantic flights to Europe. I thought from the beginning that this was the wrong move. The airline started reversing course on this in August 2023, by restoring business class on some routes. The airline has progressively been ramping up business class in more markets since then, and this experiment has now come full circle…
Avianca restores business class on 100% of routes
Over the past couple of years, Avianca has been restoring business class on most routes, and as part of the latest update, the airline has now restored business class on all flights globally. So whether you’re on a domestic or international flight, and whether you’re on a Boeing 787 or an Airbus A320-family aircraft, the airline now has business class available.
I’m happy to see this, and think it’s a pretty logical move. The reality is that the demand for premium air travel has continued to grow, and I think Avianca was also losing some tranatlantic business class traffic to other airlines due to not offering business class on connecting flights.
I think the approach Avianca is taking now makes a lot of sense — Airbus A320-family aircraft are configured much more efficiently than in the past, but by having a business class product, Avianca can now compete better for premium travelers. Just keep in mind that Avianca’s A320 business class isn’t much to get excited about — it’s better than economy, but not as good as your typical business class product.
When it comes to the business class soft product within the Americas, here’s what we can expect:
- On domestic flights, the airline offers a snack service, coffee, soft drinks, and beer, with the option to purchase additional food and beverages from the buy on board menu
- On international flights of under three hours, the airline offers a snack service, hot or cold beverages, and beer
- On international flights between three and four hours, the airline offers a menu created by Chef Álvaro Clavijo, hot or cold beverages, beer, and a blanket and pillow
- On international flights of over four hours, the airline offers a menu created by Chef Álvaro Clavijo, hot or cold beverages, beer, a blanket and pillow, and an amenity kit designed by Mola Sasa featuring Loto del Sur products
Here’s how Avianca Chief Commercial Officer Otto Gergye describes the restoration of business class on all routes:
“With the launch of Business Class Américas on domestic routes, we are expanding access to this experience while raising comfort and service standards for customers. This expansion complements its availability across all international routes within the Americas and reinforces a consistent regional offering, now present on more than 40 domestic routes and over 100 international routes.”
Bottom line
Avianca has now reintroduced business class on all routes globally, representing a major reversal to a policy implemented a few year ago.
The airline first cut business class on all flights within the Americas as of 2022, but started reversing course within a year. We’ve progressively seen more routes with business class added back, and now as of early 2026, business class has been restored on all domestic and international flights.
I think this is a smart change on Avianca’s part. Just manage your expectations when it comes to the quality of the carrier’s narrow body business class.
What do you make of Avianca introducing business class on all routes?
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