Avianca Prepares for Cuban Launch

Colombian national carrier is making final preparations for the launch of its new Bogota – Havana connection. The airline will inaugurate flights on the route from March 30, 2012, increasing travel options for inbound and outbound tourism between Latin America and the Caribbean. The link will be operated twice weekly using an Airbus A319 with capacity for 120 passengers, 12 in Business Class and 108 in Economy.

In the past year an estimated 30,000 O&D passengers travelled between Bogota and Havana on the weekly flights of Copa Airlines and Cubana. This market has seen steady growth over the past five years with traffic increasing by around 76.0 per cent during the period. The O&D demand has risen on a year-on-year basis with numbers up approximately 15.0 per cent in the last 12 months.

“With the launch of the Bogota-Havana-Bogota route, Avianca aims to consolidate the connectivity options for the tourist market in Latin America, providing leisure and recreation destination alternatives in the Caribbean,” said Fabio Villegas Ramírez, President, Avianca. “We are delighted to offer our clients this new route to Havana, a destination renowned for its history and natural attractions.”

Alongside the point-to-point traffic, the schedule of the new service has been devised to allow passengers from the Caribbean connections to the principal cities in Colombia, as well as the main capitals in the region, including Caracas, Quito, Panama, and Sao Paulo. There is an estimated demand of around 50,000 O&D passengers between Havana and the wider Colombian market and the table below highlights the largest O&D flows from the Cuban capital to destinations across South America.