Avianca Transported more than 30.5 Million Passengers in 2018

Avianca Holdings S.A. (NYSE: AVH) (BVC: PFAVH) transported more than 30.5 million passengers in 2018 through all of its airline subsidiaries. This was up 3.5% from 2017, while its annual RPK (the industry metric of “revenue passenger kilometers”) jumped by 8.7% year over year.

The overall passenger increase was assisted by a 4.3% growth in international travel last year. Overall, Avianca companies transported 13.1 passengers internationally in 2018.

Growth in domestic markets, which the Bogotá-based carrier categorizes as Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, was up 3.0% with nearly 17.4 million travelers.

READ MORE: Avianca Opens New Domestic VIP Lounge in Bogotá’s El Dorado Airport

In Colombia, Avianca suffered a setback in 2017 due to a prolonged pilot strike. Fighting for better pay and benefits, among other grievances, around half of the airline’s pilots in the Andean nation went on strike for seven weeks before the ACDAC union came to terms with the company. Avianca canceled thousands of flights during the labor impasse.