Avianca Reviews 1,801

Avianca airlines .. if there was a lower star . I would give it to them .
I paid for 2 bags of 23kg and my bags weighed 24kg . I was told to repack or pay $145 .. then the Avianca staff said why not upgrade for $176 to business class which will cover bags up to 32kg and I would have lounge access in Bogota .
My ticket was Cusco - Bogota - London Heathrow .
I paid and agreed : on getting to Bogota I was denied access to Lounge and told I wasn’t covered for it . I told them what their staff said to deaf ears even when I asked to speak to a supervisor I was told none was available . There’s certainly no lounge in Cusco so why would I upgrade and pay so much and told different . I demand my money back and I can safely say staff make up the rules in their head as they go along . Small seats and service . Not impressed at all .

Their website is horrible to use and keeps rejecting my credit cards from Canada. Called my credit card company to ensure Avianca purchase is allowed. Submitted a ticket, agent tried to make the reservation over the phone and sent me payment link, still wouldn't work. Told me to call their Canadian customer service after 3 hours of struggling to book ONE flight.

Rarely in my life have I experienced such poor customer service as with Avianca. 20 minutes before my flight leaves, Avianca cancels the flight. No communication about anything. Just a random announcement over the loudspeaker that the flight is canceled. After standing in line with confused passengers from THREE cancelled flights, none of whom know why their flights were cancelled, I finally get to speak to someone who works for Avianca. After getting on a flight SEVENTEEN hours later, I have to ask them... and where am I going to sleep? The lady reluctantly finds me a hotel. By this time, I should have arrived at the hotel I already paid for at my destination. The next morning, I head to the airport after staying overnight in one of the worst hotels I have ever set foot in, but that's whole other conversation, constantly checking the screens for updates on my flight. Everything looks good. Finally. Boarding begins. When boarding is complete, the flight attendants tell us that the flight will be 30 minutes late. After the first 30 minutes we are told: another 30 minutes. After 90 minutes of this, just as I am about to start screaming and crying in frustration, we are told that the plane is finally leaving. After all this, I filed a complaint about the first flight. Not to mention that I lost money on the hotel at my destination. And what is your answer? Rejected, 'because the ticket has already been used completely.' Yes, of course it was used. I was checked in. My luggage was checked in. I was minutes away from boarding the plane. When you YOU cancelled the flight. You. Avianca. It took me 20 hours to get from Bogotá to Santa Marta. I paid for a hotel room I never used. And now you're rejecting my complaint because the ticket was used?! I am speechless.

I had to change the date of my flight (8 months in advance) and they charge a really high price to change the flight £12 + £150) desoite being on the frequent flyer membership and paying extras for the flight like seat allocation, extra bags etc. Just feels like a money making scam and dont feel lile a valued customer, just a mug they can extort for money

Worst food of any airline I have flown with and they are many. Return flight, Heathrow-Bogota… the food actually made me sick. And yes, it was the food. No sick bag in pocket and ended up all down myself and the blanket because the crew were soooo slooow to respond to my fellow passengers call for assistance. had only a small vest underneath and lost my silver locket and my reading glasses in the blanket which went into a refuse bag. ( I only realised this much later) Return flight food absolutely no better. Tasteless rubbish, not even a bit of seasoning on the potatoes it at least I wasn’t sick with the very small amount I had. TBH, if I could be bothered with the hassle, I would at least be reclaiming the replacement of my pendant and reading glasses. if they read this then they can respond and we will see where we are, but I do t hold out much hope. I flew out 12/9 and returned today 25/9.

Avianca has managed to completely ruin my trip on both ends. Flying to Buenos Aires from Madrid we were delayed 2 hours which caused a chain reaction of missed connections. We were given replacement flights for our missed connecting flight from Bogota to Buenos Aires, nearly 8 hours later, and vouchers for food. The vouchers barely covered the price of a cup of coffee. Because we missed our original connecting flight we were not able to get a ride to our final destination once we arrived at Buenos Aires which caused an extra 7 hours to be added to an already lengthy trip. On the way home from Argentina, my connecting flight in Bogota was delayed again. The flight was delayed 2 hours and 45 minutes which just so happens to be just under the 3 hour limit when they would be required to give food vouchers (which I knew would be useless anyway given my previous experience). I arrived to Barcelona more than 3 hours delayed after an extremely long day of traveling. I will never fly with Avianca again.

I received a voucher from Avianca after a cancelled/delayed flight. For 10+ days I’ve tried to use it, but every time the system fails and customer service only says “we are working on it.” Meanwhile, ticket prices keep rising. This is unacceptable — I want my ticket issued at the original price or a full refund. #Avianca

By far the worst airline that I’ve ever flown. They penny and dime you for everything. They charge me over $220 usd for a bag and carry on. If you have any other choices please fly with someone else.

Avianca will steal your money no matter what. They'll charge you hundreds of dollars for services they can't offer. I paid for a carry-on bag twice, the first time $80 and then at the airport $100, and then they told me they didn't have room for your bag. What??? But you just charged me $100 for that service and a total of $180. It's ridiculously expensive, and on top of that, you didn't provide the service. I asked for a refund and they denied it 10 times. The airline is useless. If you want to ruin your vacation, buy from them and you'll see how you'll have the worst time of your life.

I booked a flight with an Avianca company from Miami to San Jose in Costa Rica flying at 8.40 pm on 12 th April 2025. They cancelled the flight after keeping all passengers waiting for 4 hours at the gate. The queue for help was 150 passengers long. We booked replacement flights. Avianca’s customer service deny cancelling the flight and refuse any refund. Don’t use them.

Dear Avianca.
I have to tell about the horrible experience we are having with you, because I find this situation really disappointing and absurd.
Avianca changed our flight from Leticia to Pereira on 26th to 30th of August, but for us did not work because we already had plans and avianca told us we could not find another flight to take.
We were forced to cancel the flight then and take another one with another company, spending double the amount we spent because it was only few days before the departure.
Now we received an email from Avianca that the flight is RESCHEDULED as before.
Are you joking with people?
We have now changed our plans and also spent lot of money to take another one. Are you even going to refund us for what you did, even the money we spent for the other flight.

Having booked my flights back in April for four flights with Avianca in August, I was then horrified to see all the comments on here!! I looked at my booking to see if I could cancel and get a refund, as I didn't want any issues with delayed/cancelled flights as I had other connecting flights. But as I had gone for the cheapest flight option! my flights were non refundable, so I just had to keep my fingers crossed and hope it goes well!To be honest I was very stressed and fearful about what might happen, having read many of the over 1500 one star reviews. But to my surprise everything did go well, apart from a 45 minute delay on one of the flights, but the time was made up in the air. Having paid for the cheapest ticket, I wasn't allowed carry on allowance, only one personal item, so I brought and measured a small back pack and a sleeveless light jacket with about 8 pockets, so I could travel without being penalised with additional charges. I took four flights... Mexico City to Bogota AV187 and Bogota to Panama AV8380 and then the same two flights in reverse. On all four occasions I wasn't asked to put my bag into their bag sizer, though I knew it fit, as I had tried it, and also I had a small man bag, which wasn't commented on or queried, which I thought maybe a problem.Even though you would normally have to pay extra to specify a seat, on two occasions I was allowed to move seats or given the seat I had politely asked for. And on one occasion they allowed me to put my personal bag in the overhead locker, as it normally is supposed to go under your seat in front of you. I found the staff to be polite and courteous on all my flights. Yes the leg room is very tight, I'm 5'8 so just about ok for me, and the seats don't recline in the super economy section, so you don't want to be taking super long flights. But if your goal is to save money, then Avianca might be an option. I booked my flights through Trip.com and they have the option to email your boarding passes, so that's what I did. No issues and no problems. Maybe I just got lucky! but credit where credit is due. And no, I am not an Avianca employee!! ;-)))

I had one of the worst airline experiences with Avianca on August 17, 2025. My flight AV5316 Medellín–Panamá was cancelled just hours before departure due to internal issues (acknowledged by Avianca).

I was left stranded in Medellín for over 4.5 hours with no food, no drinks, no lounge access, nothing.

I finally arrived in Panamá more than 5 hours late, after midnight, instead of 19:15 as scheduled.

The rebooking forced me into a stressful 1-hour connection in Bogotá, where I had to exit, re-clear immigration and security, which is not standard for international connections.

Avianca never apologized, never explained properly, and now falsely claims the delay was “less than 3 hours.”

As a frequent traveler who has flown to over 100 countries, I have never seen such disregard for passengers’ basic rights. Avianca is unsafe, unreliable, and unprofessional.

I am filing formal complaints with Aerocivil (Colombia), Profeco (Mexico), and Acodeco (Panamá). I strongly warn travelers: do not trust Avianca.

Terrible airline specializes in unethical and unconscionable fees. First and last time trying to make something happen with them. Do not book‼️STAY AWAY ‼️

Part of my family (4) were unable to travel due to a medical emergency. Since they promise to return the funds in case of emergencies like this, we sent medical certificates and everything they requested but they refused. We paid $188 for seats selection but those of us who were able to travel (5) did not get the seats we paid for and, of course, we did not get the money back. They blamed the agency who sold us the tickets but the agency blamed them. DO NOT TRUST WHAT THEY SAY ON THEIR WEBPAGE. AVIANCA RESERVATION CY7YSE. CHEAPOAIR RESERVATION 90043575

Very bad experience with Avianca. My family and I missed flight due to a medical emergency and, even after sending hospital records, they demanded another type of certificate that was impossible to provide at that moment. Their lack of empathy and support for passengers in health situations is extremely disappointing. I received no help or reasonable options to reschedule or get a refund. I will definitely not be flying with this airline again.

Terrible customer service, systems never work, deceptive pricing, and they try to rip you off every chance they get. My suggestion is to pay a little more upfront and go with another airline; you'll end up saving money and a lot of stress and frustration in the long run.

I shouldn’t even give it one start. ITS NEGATIVE. I don’t know who owns this airline but who ever it is. They are doing a horrible job. I use to fly avianca years ago when the food was free, water was free. The chairs were also not cheap asf like if it has at least 1% of cushion I would be surprised. They don’t even have a tv not even for a 7 hour flight. Also they made me check in my carry on which wouldn’t had been a problem if when I got it where our carryons are supposed to go was COMPLETELY FREE. I just have never never been in a worst airline.

Just before boarding the plane I was requested to trash a bottle of water that had bought after security point in store in front of the gate. They were requesting to all passengers to trash any food or beverage. First time that this happens to me. My feeling is they force passengers to buy from them during flight. They told me that US rules demand to trash any food and beverage before boarding. This never happens with any airline traveling to US. In fact, after this event, I travel with spirit to FLL and I was able to bring food inside the plane. Avianca, please stop lying and playing with your customers.

Terrible airline who scam people out of money. When I booked my flight (London to Bogota) I immediately paid for exit rows as I have long legs.
At that time it showed on the seat map that row 24 was an exit row so I chose that.

When it came to check in, the seat map showed 29 as the exit row. I called and asked them to switch my seat. They refused to switch it saying my seat reservation was non refundable and they wouldn’t give me an exit row for free. It wasn’t free. I had already paid. They had a copy of my receipt on file to show I had paid and that the amount paid was for an exit row, not a regular seat. That made no difference to them refusing to honour the reservation and switch me to row 29.

After going around in circles to no avail, I had to pay AGAIN to ensure I had extra leg room. She then raised a case for me to get my original fee back
They later emailed me to say that I had an exit row (the one I paid for AGAIN) and they couldn’t validate that the aircraft had been changed (hence the exit row changing) so they considered the case closed.
So they took my money, didn’t honour the exit row and are now refusing to refund the original fee when I paid twice. Even budget European airlines move your seat if you’ve paid and the aircraft changes.

I will never fly with them again.