Avianca Expands Canadian Network with New Montreal Route

Avianca, the Colombian carrier, is set to enhance its North American route network with the introduction of a new service connecting Bogota, Colombia’s capital, to Montreal, Canada. This expansion follows Avianca’s first foray into the Colombian-Canadian market over two years ago when it initiated flights between Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Avianca also operates flights to Toronto from San Salvador, El Salvador.

The forthcoming expansion will see Avianca, a member of the Star Alliance, operating four weekly flights to Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), with service commencing on March 31. The airline will deploy Airbus A320 aircraft on the 2,815-mile (2,446-nautical mile) route, providing a total of 1,200 weekly seats between the two cities.

Since Avianca entered the Canadian market from Colombia in December 2021, the airline has transported approximately 350,000 passengers on over 2,800 flights between the two nations.

Rolando Damas, Director of Sales for Avianca in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, notes, “Currently, more than 120,000 Colombians live in Canada, and over 20,000 Canadian residents visit Colombia each year. Undoubtedly, this new route will facilitate greater connections for tourists, students, and businesses between the two countries.”

As of now, Avianca’s Star Alliance partner, Air Canada, is the sole operator of nonstop flights between Bogotá and Montreal. Air Canada flies the route three times per week using Airbus A330-300 equipment. With the addition of Avianca’s service, the number of weekly seats on this route will surge to more than 2,900 for travelers in both directions.

Avianca’s flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, departing BOG at 2:20 p.m. and arriving in YUL at 10:05 p.m. The return leg will depart at 11:25 p.m. and arrive back in Bogota at 4:39 a.m. the following day. Air Canada’s flights from YUL to Bogotá are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Stéphane Lapierre, Vice President for Airport Operations and Air Services Development at Aéroports de Montréal, welcomed the news, stating, “For an international airport like ours, this is great news, especially as this route will offer arrivals and departures at less busy times of the day, which fits perfectly with one of our recent strategies for developing our air services.”

Avianca’s plans to expand its international service from Bogota come in the wake of LATAM Airlines Group’s announcement of a new route from BOG to Madrid, commencing in July 2024. Additionally, Brazil’s GOL Línhas Aéreas has confirmed the addition of a fifth-freedom service between BOG and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The airport’s recent success stories also include the launch of Edelweiss Air’s 2X-weekly Zurich-Bogotá-Cartagena-Zurich flights in November 2023. It’s worth noting that Bogota’s airport will host Routes Americas 2024, further cementing its status as a key aviation hub in the region.