Hello from Bogota, as I’ve just kicked off my quick, special trip to Paris. For the first segment of this journey, I flew Avianca’s Airbus A320 business class on the three-hour flight from Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG). The airline markets this in different ways — initially it was branded as “Premium,” and now it’s marketed as “Business Class Americas,” so I’m just going to call it business class from hereon out.
How would I rank the Avianca narrow body business class experience? This product sort of has a weird position in the market. Think of it like a typical Latin American business class soft product, but with a less-nice seat. I’d say this is better than flying in economy, but other than that, it would be among my last choices when it comes to business class.
In this post, I want to share my initial impressions of the flight, and then soon I’ll have a full trip report.
Avianca’s A320 business class seats are unusual
Avianca’s A320 business class is a product that I’ve never otherwise experienced before. It consists of a total of 12 seats, spread across three rows, in a 2-2 configuration. In reality, these are economy seats in a 3-3 configuration, but Avianca has retrofitted them in a creative way.
The center seat has basically been converted into a huge tray. Unlike business class on intra-Europe flights, the airline actually makes the seats wider. That’s because the typical armrests are removed, and the center seat becomes part of the aisle and window seats.
Each seat has an AC and USB-A plug underneath the armrest.
The seat is perfectly comfortable in terms of width, but the issue is the pitch. The seats have just 33″ of pitch, which isn’t great for business class, especially when the person in front of you reclines (and especially when the person in the aisle seat refuses to get up so that you can use the bathroom, which I dealt with on this flight).
So in terms of hard product, I’d say this is weaker than just about any other business class product out there, though the creative center tray makes this considerably more comfortable than intra-Europe business class.
To Avianca’s credit, the airline only recently restored business class on flights within the Americas, after eliminating it years back. The airline was obviously looking for a cost effective way to do that, and I think this did the trick. Also to Avianca’s credit, some other airlines in Latin American (like LATAM) just have premium economy on regional flights, which is economy with a blocked middle.
When it comes to getting comfortable, Avianca does offer a pillow and blanket to business class passengers, which is a step up from some other airlines in the region.
Avianca’s business class food & service are fine
When it comes to the soft product, I’d say Avianca’s A320 business class experience is average, or perhaps just a little below average.
I was on a breakfast flight, and the choices were either an omelet or pancakes. I ordered the omelet, which was rather cheesy and oily, and came with a side of fruit, plus a selection from the bread basket.
There was a full selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, but as is consistently the case in Latin America, Avianca participates in the war on milk. They only have powdered creamer, and nothing liquid to put in coffee. That’s common on airlines in Latin America, and I just don’t get it — is loading tiny packages of milk really too much of an expense, or…?
As far as service goes, the crew was friendly enough. They weren’t rude in any way, but also went through the motions. After the initial meal service, they didn’t pass through the cabin once to offer drinks (of course I could have pushed the call button, but you’d think they could pass through a couple of times).
Avianca’s A320s have streaming entertainment
Unfortunately Avianca doesn’t have Wi-Fi on its Airbus A320s. Or at a minimum, my flight didn’t have it. I know the airline plans on introducing it, though I’m not sure the current status of that being rolled out, and best I can tell, not much progress has been made.
While there’s no Wi-Fi, the airline does offer streaming entertainment to your own device. The selection wasn’t huge, but was better than nothing — we’re talking around 40 movies, 25 TV shows (some with multiple episodes), games, etc. I’d recommend bringing your own entertainment, if possible.
Would I fly Avianca’s A320 business class again?
It’s always hard to say for sure whether I’d fly a product again, since it all depends on the price, schedule, route, alternatives, etc. I think the way I’d describe Avianca’s A320 business class is that it’s one of the weakest business class products in the Americas, but I also wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid it.
I mean, if flying between Miami and Bogota, would I rather fly Emirates first class or Avianca business class? I’ll let you decide. 😉 But if Avianca had the best price or schedule by a wide margin, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly this product again. It’s comfortable enough, certainly much more comfortable than economy.
In a word, I’d describe the experience as forgettable. That’s not great, but it’s also not a terrible thing (after all, there are some airlines I’ve flown that are memorable, but not in a good way). Avianca’s pricing is all over the place, and if this were a very good value, I’d absolutely fly it again. However, in most situations, I don’t actually find Avianca’s business class pricing to be that great, which is why I’d rather fly another airline.
In many markets, Avianca competes with Copa (in terms of pricing and one-stop connectivity), and if flying a narrow body, I’d absolutely select Copa over Avianca, whether flying on one of the carrier’s 737s with standard business class seats, or 737s with flat beds. The two airlines have comparable soft products, but Copa’s hard product wins by a long shot.
Bottom line
I’m happy I finally had the chance to fly Avianca’s unique Airbus A320 business class. The airline has an unusual hard product, where the middle seat is blocked, but in a more comfortable way than you’ll find within Europe. Beyond that, the soft product is roughly what you’d expect for regional business class on a Latin American carrier, with an okay meal, decent service, etc. It’s like Copa, but a bit less comfortable.
Let’s hope my connection in Avianca’s 787 business class is better…
What’s your take on Avianca’s A320 business class?
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