Viva’s Aggressive Expansion Continues With New Colombian, International Destinations

Colombian low-cost carrier Viva Air continues its growth as it takes delivery of new Airbus A320neo aircraft and deploys them to its ever-expanding network of destinations. In just the past two weeks, Viva has announced the addition of several new Colombian cities and frequencies.

Viva CEO Félix Antelo.

Of the 14 domestic routes that started operations, five are completely new destinations for Viva: Valledupar, Neiva, Pasto, Villavicencio, and Armenia. Also, Viva will be flying from its Medellín hub to Pereira, Armenia, Villavicencio, Valledupar, Riohacha and Pasto. From its Cali air base, it will fly directly to Monteria for the first time. As for Cartagena, new routes connect the coastal city with Villavicencio, Cúcuta, Armenia, Pasto, and Neiva. Viva also now connects Bucaramanga with Santa Marta, and finally San Andrés directly with Pereira and Armenia.

“The start of our ‘Vuelta a Colombia’ with the 14 domestic routes, evidences our constant growth and the desire to bring air inclusion to every corner of the country. This is just a sample of what our domestic and international expansion plan will be. We foresee the opening of 30 more international routes in the next years. This start of operations is possible thanks to the work as a team that we carry out with authorities, local tourist entities and key players, who facilitated the growth of our route network and, with this, they allowed that through Viva the travelers could go through all of Colombia. We are proud to continue opening opportunities and destinations for flying more,” said Félix Antelo, president & CEO of Grupo Viva.

Cali, Colombia — Cancún, México

On March 22, Viva started flying to Cancún, México from Cali, Colombia, adding to its connectivity from Medellín and Bogotá to the popular Méxican beach destination. The new Cali route will have three weekly flights from Cali starting at $159, and as low as $109 each way, originating from Mexico. Viva expects 50,000 passengers on this route its first year, and the “Viva Effect” should lower competitors’ prices as much as 30%, says the airline.

“The official start of this international route shows that our commitment to Cali is overwhelming. We know that this destination has had an excellent reception by Colombian and Mexican travelers, and that it will favor the tourism, business and economic development of both countries. Today we connect these two cities that in turn will provide the possibility for travelers to visit many more destinations in our network of connections in Colombia, Central America and South America,” said Antelo.

Cali – Cancun

• Three flights per week: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
• Start of operation: 22 March 2022.
• Expected passengers per year: 50,000
• Final price each way from Cali: $159 USD
• Final price each way from Cancun: $109 USD
• Viva Effect: reduction of market rates by 30%

Armenia — Medellín, Cartagena, San Andrés

Starting the week of March 25, Viva began flights connecting the city of Armenia, Quindió in the heart of Colombia’s coffee country, to the major cities of Cartagena and Medellín, along with direct flights to the idyllic Colombian Caribbean archipelago of San Andrés. These new routes fit with Viva’s avowed strategy to be ‘The King of the Beaches.’ Viva expects the two new routes to Cartagena and San Andrés will take 100,000 travelers to these maritime destinations in its first year of operations, while the Medellín – Armenia route is expected to transport more than 66,000 passengers in its first year of operations. The Armenia-Medellín connection is designed to mesh well with the flight schedules to Lima, Cancun, Mexico City and Punta Cana, in order to facilitate connections to these destinations for travelers from the “Eje Cafetero” (Coffee Country).

“At Viva we consider that the Eje Cafetero is a fundamental territory for the growth and tourism development of the country. We want to reach the region to continue betting on air inclusion, and we believe that our Super Low-Cost model represents an excellent option for everyone when traveling inside and outside the country,” said Antelo.

Cartagena – Armenia

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Friday and Saturday.
• Start of operation: 25 March 2022

Armenia- Medellin

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
• Start of operation: March 28, 2022

San Andrés – Armenia

• Weekly frequency: Wednesday and Saturday.
• Start of operation: 30 March 2022.

Pastó — Medellín & Cartagena

Last week, Viva also started flying jet service between the southwest Colombian city of Pastó, Nariño with Medellín and Cartagena, three times a week, and rates as low as $134,000 Colombian Pesos each way; about $36 USD.

Viva says it expects these Pastó connections to carry 100,000 passengers in its first year, connecting for the first time the southwestern city with Caribbean beaches. Viva says it is also reaching out to local tour operators and travel groups to develop long term relationships in order to develop Nariño’s tourism industry.

 Cartagena – Pasto

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.
• Expected passengers per year: 50,000
• Fare from: COP 143.429

Medellin – Pasto

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
• Expected passengers per year: 50,000
• Fare from: COP 134.170

Neiva—Cartagena

From March 23, Viva also began flying from the Benito Salas Airport in Neiva, connecting the capital of Huila to Cartagena, and enabling onward connections to destinations such as México City. With Viva now the only airline offering nonstop connections between the two cities for fares starting at $136,000 each way, the initial schedule flies Monday, Wednesday and Saturday weekly. Viva expects 50,000 passengers on this route during its first year of operations.

More details about the Neiva – Cartagena route:

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• Operations began: 23 March 2022.
• Fare from COP 136.000

Cali—Cúcuta

Starting March 22, Viva began flying between Cali, Colombia, and the city of Cúcita, on the border with Venezuela, with an expectation of the new route carrying 55,000 passengers its first year.

“The launch of this new Cali-Cúcuta route and the beginning of our ‘Vuelta a Colombia’ with the 14 domestic routes, evidences our constant growth and the desire to bring air inclusion to every corner of the country,” said Antelo.

More details about the Cali – Cúcuta route:

• Weekly frequency: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
• Start of sales: 28 March 2022.
• Fare from COP 89,000 each way

Major personnel announcements

Viva also announced that in March, former director of strategy Pablo Madriñan has been promoted to the new Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of the Viva Group due to his outstanding performance in his previous role. In his new role, Madriñan is in charge of network planning, revenue, ancillary services, sales, marketing, projects and alliances.

Madriñan has more than a decade of experience in the airline industry, including important positions in Latam Airlines and Tap Air Portugal, leading high-level teams in the areas of Planning and Network Strategy, as well as Revenue Management and Pricing. He holds a BS in industrial engineer from the Universidad de Los Andes and an MBA from the IE Business School.

Viva has also announced the return of Francisco Lalinde as Vice President of Operations and Chief Operations Officer and the arrival of Paola Giraldo as the new Vice President of People (Chief People Officer), who joined the company in November. Giraldo has more than 15 years of experience in Human Resources Management and administrative processes. The company wishes success to Juan Diego Zapata, former Director of Sales and Distribution in his new challenges.

Recent Viva domestic route announcements:

San Andrés – Armenia

• Weekly frequency: Wednesday and Saturday.
• Start of operation: 30 March 2022.

Bucaramanga – Santa Marta

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
• Start of operation: 29 March 2022

Cali – Montería

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
• Start of operation:29 March 2022.

Cartagena – Cúcuta

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Thursday and Friday.
• Start of operation:28 March 2022.

Cartagena – Armenia

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Friday and Saturday.
• Start of operation:25 March 2022.

Cartagena – Pastó

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
• Start of operation:29 March 2022.

Cartagena – Villavicencio

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday
• Start of operation:27 March 2022

Cartagena – Neiva

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
• Start of operation:23 March 2022.

Medellín – Pasto

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
• Start of operation:29 March 2022

Medellín – Valledupar

• Weekly frequency: Wednesday and Friday
• Start of operation:30 March 2022

Medellín – Villavicencio

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Friday and Sunday
• Start of operation:27 March 2022

Medellín – Pereira

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
• Start of operation:18 March 2022

Medellín – Riohacha

• Weekly frequency: Wednesday and Saturday
• Start of operation: 19 March 2022

Armenia- Medellín

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
• Start of operation: March 28, 2022

New international routes:

Medellín- Punta Cana

• Weekly frequency: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
• Start of operation: 18 March 2022

Cali-Cancún:

• Weekly frequency: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
• Start of operation: 22 March 2022

Photo © Loren Moss