Avianca Reviews 1,801

I want to share my ongoing experience with Avianca so others are aware.

Back in February, on my flight from Bogotá to Curaçao, my luggage was damaged. I reported the issue and have been trying ever since to receive a refund. Avianca initially gave me two options: travel credit or a cash refund. Due to the poor experience, I clearly chose the refund.

They then sent me a form to complete—but my bank isn’t even listed as an option on that form. I explained multiple times that I cannot proceed because the system literally doesn’t allow me to enter my details. Despite this, they keep sending me the same form over and over again.

Now, instead of resolving the issue, I’ve been told I must accept travel credit. That is not what I agreed to, and it feels extremely unfair.

This situation has been going on for months with no real solution. I hope by sharing this, others are aware and the company takes responsibility for properly handling customer claims.I’m sharing this so others know what to expect.

I paid $110 for my luggage on a flight with Avianca, and it was returned damaged. Despite reporting it and following all their steps, they still don’t want to compensate me.

On top of that, we also paid extra to sit together—and they still assigned us different seats. That’s simply unacceptable.

After months of emails, forms I can’t even complete due to their system errors, and being pushed toward accepting credit instead of a refund, I’ve completely lost trust in this airline.

This has been a very frustrating and disappointing experience, and I will not be flying with Avianca again. Passengers deserve better service and accountability.

Please be aware of situations like this when choosing your airline.

Definitely wouldnt fly with these again. The staff was rude, didnt hand out headsets so the tv screen was pointless, not that the selection was good. Asking staff for as much as a drink felt like a huge inconvenience and wouldn't return. Ive flown with just about every airline and this without shadow of a doubt was my worst experience.
Food was good though so it deserves its 1 star.

Worst airline ever, from operations to Customer services - They should NOT be in any alliances if they can not even handle their own operations

Unfortunately, I’m writing this review sitting in the airport in Bogata. Avianca had booked us on connecting flights through Colombia on route to Miami (onward to Canada). There was no way enough time was allocated between connections and we were stranded in Bogota for six and a half hours. This will cause a ripple effect throughout the remainder of our travel. Customer service representatives were completely disengaged with the situation, and offered no assistance or empathy. It was blatantly obvious they do not care about customer satisfaction.Avianca is going to have a hard time competing in the Canadian travel market, they don’t stand a chance. Shame on them.

The worse customer service, I had to change my flight because my mom was dying. I have to pay 420$ same as I have to pay for a ticket. And trying to get a refund system is so difficult to submit documents. I lost too much money. Even the last flight I took in February I was able to help a person in a emergency situation during a flight and saving the plane for look another airport to land.
Very very disappointed.

Without any doubt Avianca is the worst company I have ever dealt with in my 57 years on this planet.
Firstly I have flown to Colombia 3 times and 2 of the 3 outbound flights were cancelled - that does happen but seems a big coincidence when I've never had a cancelled flight on another airline from hundreds I have taken in my life.
Secondly, and UNFORGIVEABLY, the second time my flight was cancelled I filled in a compensation request (READ THIS - YOU ARE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION OF £520 ON LONG HAUL FLIGHTS. DO NOT MISS THIS IF THEY CANCEL A FLIGHT ON YOU)
I duly received the compensation for a second time as this is standard airline regulations which they must follow, HOWEVER...someone at Avianca received this compensation claim and without my knowledge they CANCELLED MY RETURN FLIGHT!!!!!!!
I only discovered this when I went to check in online 3 hours before departure, so I had to rush to the airport and buy another ticket which was now £250 more than the one I had booked.
When I finally got home and contacted Avianca, they claimed that I had requested a refund so they refunded me the return leg and indeed my credit card statement showed this to be the case, but if I had requested a refund they would not have allowed me to leave London in the first place because you cannot cancel one flight on a return-booking. It's either the whole booking or nothing.
I have spent at least 10 hours since then across at least 10 calls talking to their totally incompetent agents explaining this over and over again and I've raised complaints which all come back with the same ridiculous excuse that I requested a refund. I've told them over and over that I requested COMPENSATION, not a refund. These are totally separate things and despite asking numerous times, they can't show me any evidence of me requesting a refund and cannot explain why I was allowed to fly outbound if I had requested a refund on my booking. I give up with them - I am now taking the to small claims court for the difference in fare and speaking to my bank to get a 'Chargeback'
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE AVOID THIS AIRLINE - THEY DON'T LISTEN, THEY DON'T CARE, NO-ONE TAKES OWNERSHIP OF PROBLEMS. THEY ARE THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH IN MY LIFE

The website is broken and doesn’t let me buy my tickets directly from them, but I’m charged much higher fees for buying from a 3rd party or having to call their call centre to make a purchase. $135 usd for a checked bag one way and there is no way of knowing the price until after you buy the ticket snd go the check in. They do this so that their flights show up cheapest on aggregate sites, but after all the hidden fees, they're not actually cheaper. How is this legal? Shady companies like this will inevitably lead to more government regulations for airlines, at least, that’s what I hope.

I had a connection in Bogota, going from sao paulo to Dulles, in Washington DC. I enter the plane in Bogotá almost one hour before departure. I forgot my cell phone in the vip room, ( I was flying in what the company call business class). The VIP room was at 50 meters distance from where the plane departs, there was at least 3 peoples from the company standing on the door, not tripulation, on the outside. Nobody went to look for my cell even if I have asked. Then they told me if you want you can leave the plane but then you cannot return. You have a flight tomorrow and you can change without any cost, there is a place on the business class. I decided to go for my phone. Ok I got the phone, it was easy, and then I went to make the reservations for the next day, march 29. Surprise no place on business class, and I had to pay a fine of about 800 dollars, and we flu in economic.

I was denied boarding by Avianca despite presenting a valid onward travel reservation with a verifiable PNR.

According to IATA Timatic, passengers are required to show proof of onward travel, not necessarily a fully ticketed flight. However, Avianca enforced a stricter requirement without clearly communicating it.

As a result, I was forced to purchase an additional ticket under time pressure at the airport.

This situation caused unnecessary stress and financial loss. The airline later refused compensation and justified the decision by referencing “country regulations,” which do not explicitly require a ticketed booking.

Very disappointing experience and unclear policies.

Never fly this airline. The are completely disorganised from the check in desks where the staff needed up to 4 people to print a boarding pass to the onboarding experience where their flights are consistently delayed while you wait for the cleaning staff to finish.

First and last time I travel with Avianca. Not only did they lose my suitcase and it arrived late, but it also arrived damaged and some items were missing. Terrible service.

In the past their prices in Canada were always advertised in the CAD but when you get to finish and paying, the exact same price coverts to USD which is false advertising. Called them several times to tell them and everyone I spoke with in customer service denied it. Their checked bag prices are through the roof. Bought a ticket from Air Canada through Avianca. Air Canada priced it at 35CAD and get to the flight and Avianca was selling it for 120USD. Paid 5x the price. I called the customer service rep about it and he started raising his voice at me, cutting me off and telling me that I am lying. They also have stopped giving any food or water on their flights. I will never give another penny to this airline. Please do yourselves a favour and book with any other airline.

They broke my new bought suitcase and made it unusable at an security inspection of a suitcase with literally only clothes inside and one small bag of cosmetic!!!!! Unacceptable to leave a suitcase with that much damage and not compensated they bend the metal zipper pulls that much that it doesn’t close anymore and the lock is absolutely left unusable and broken! Your airline is a shame!!! Nothing justifies this treatment of my property!!!

After our group had checked in our luggage and passed through security, a minor traveling with us was called over the loudspeaker to report to airline staff—without any attempt to contact or notify his guardian or chaperone. As a result, he was placed in a stressful and confusing situation, navigating an official request alone.
We were later informed that staff needed to search his luggage. However, this process was carried out without the presence, knowledge, or consent of his designated chaperone. At no point did airline personnel make a reasonable effort to involve an adult responsible for him. The lack of communication, especially given that this involved a minor, was both inappropriate and alarming.
Beyond the procedural issue, the manner in which the situation was handled came across as dismissive and inconsiderate. There seemed to be little regard for the vulnerability of a young traveler or the basic expectation of safeguarding minors during air travel.
This experience reflects a serious lapse in judgment and protocol. At a minimum, staff should ensure that minors are always accompanied by or communicated through their guardians in situations involving security or personal belongings. We hope the airline reviews its policies and staff training to prevent anything like this from happening again.
We cannot overlook how uncomfortable and unsafe this made our group feel, and we expect much higher standards when it comes to the care and handling of young passengers.

Avianca is the worst airline to fly in. I paid an upgrade for leg room but that's complete false advertising as there is no leg room in any seat including first class. On my return flight from El Salvador, the front desk robbed me at $135 per luggage being checked in. I'd rather fly a connecting flight than a direct flight on this terrible airline. Families with children, avoid this airline at all cost. Also, they don't let you place your carry on at the top storage and is kept empty. The staff is poorly trained in customer service and are unable to assist regardless of issue. Flyer beware on Avianca!

Avianca doesn’t care about their customers they never answer to complaints and low priced tickets include no luggage everything extra will cost and arm and a leg compared to other airlines

I was initially pleasantly surprised. Having read all the bad reviews I was bracing for the worst. But the plane was clean and comfortable enough for a transatlantic flight, so I was all set to wonder what all the fuss was about. Then… I ate the breakfast at the end of the flight and got terrible food poisoning. I know it was the airplane food because I was on that plane for 10+ hours and ate nothing after the flight as I felt sick shortly after the breakfast and didn’t recover for about 48 hours.

If you do choose to fly Avianca, please please avoid their food. It’s not just markedly bad compared to any other airline, it is literally poison. You have been warned!

Missed my departure flight and called Avianca to confirm my return wouldn’t be canceled. The agent assured me it was still active and that Avianca “is not like other airlines” and doesn’t cancel return flights. That was false.
The day before my flight, I found out my return had been canceled. Avianca claimed they “investigated” but couldn’t find the call recording and refused to take responsibility—even though there was space on the flight.
I was forced to rebook a one-way ticket for the same price as my original round-trip, essentially paying double for half the trip.
Dishonest and unprofessional. I won’t be flying Avianca again.

Despite the large number of negative reviews, I booked a RTN London-Bogota ticket with Avianca and was pleased with the service in economy. The on-line booking was straightforward. The flights were on time and the ground staff in both London and Bogotá was friendly and helpful. (I was travelling with a bicycle box.) The service during the flight was comparable to other airlines like BA and Air France with the big advantage that the flight is a direct one. The plane was a modern Boeing 787.

Where do we start?

- The gate was opened late due to personnel not arriving on time
- The seats are far too close from each other, I’m not a tall guy and I was super uncomfortable
- The seats were not reclinable (7 hour flight)
- It seemed to upset most of the tripulation when I asked for water, only one person in 4 flights was nice
- We were requested to pay for coffee (again, 7 hour flight)

And probably more things I’m forgetting about. Regrettable experience. Low-cost airline without low-cost pricing. Never again.