Under the terms of the deal, the airline will receive brand placement on the official team jerseys. Additionally, the club’s fan interaction area, previously known as the Fútbol305 Zone, has been rebranded as the Avianca Fútbol305 Zone. This activation is intended to provide fans with direct access to players and team events.

The move marks a strategic effort by Avianca to consolidate its presence in the Florida market, which serves as a primary hub for its North American operations. According to Rolando Damas, the airline’s sales director for North America and Europe, Miami is a critical gateway connecting the US with Latin America.

Data provided by the carrier indicates a period of growth in its US operations. In 2025, Avianca transported more than 4,900,000 passengers to and from the US, representing an increase of more than 6% compared to 2024 figures. During that same period, the airline operated 34,200 flights within its US network.

Currently, Avianca operates more than 400 weekly flights across 14 US cities. Its Florida operations specifically include more than 100 weekly flights departing from Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa. These routes provide connectivity to destinations in Colombia, Ecuador, and Central America, as well as broader links to more than 80 destinations across 25 countries.

Miami FC executives noted that the partnership coincides with the development of world-class facilities in South Florida. Nathan Krum, the club’s chief marketing and revenue officer, stated that the collaboration is part of a broader vision to increase community accessibility and global connectivity.

Avianca is a member of the Star Alliance and is part of the Abra Group. The airline group includes several subsidiaries such as Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A., Taca International Airlines S.A., and Avianca Ecuador S.A.. In 2025, the consolidated group transported approximately 37,000,000 customers globally, operating a fleet of 140 aircraft including Airbus A320 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner models. Its loyalty program, LifeMiles, currently maintains a membership base of approximately 15,000,000 individuals.

The financial terms of the sponsorship were not disclosed, though it follows a trend of Latin American carriers increasing marketing spend within US professional sports to capture a larger share of the diaspora and tourism markets.

This expansion occurs within the context of a growing US coffee market. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the US is projected to increase its coffee bean imports by 800,000 bags, reaching 22.3 million. In 2023 and 2024, the primary suppliers of coffee beans to the US were Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, and Honduras.

Data from the National Coffee Association (NCA) and Grand View Research indicates that 67% of the US adult population consumes coffee daily, with 45% of that group choosing specialty coffee. The consumption of specialty coffee has seen growth, particularly among younger demographics such as Gen Z and Millennials, with approximately 66% of adults aged 25 to 39 who are regular coffee drinkers having tried specialty coffee within the past week.

Sebastián Mejía, Vice President of International Business at Juan Valdez, stated, “The United States represents considerable market potential for us, due to both the high number of coffee consumers and the increasing consumer interest in innovation, experience, and sustainability.”

Current Juan Valdez store locations include Miami International Airport, the Florida Mall in Orlando, CityPlace Doral, and International Drive. The company has announced plans to establish new stores in Miami Springs, near Miami International Airport; Fulcrum Orlando, a business center; Wynwood The Dorsey in Miami; and Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise.

Juan Valdez was established in 2002 by the FNC and is named after the long-standing icon representing Colombian coffee. In 2021, the company received B Corporation certification, an achievement of its social and environmental performance. The company’s business model aims to provide added value to Colombian coffee growers through brand recognition and royalty resources generated from global sales.

Headline photo: A Juan Valdez Coffee Shop in Jardines mall, Llanogrande, near Medellín. (@ Loren Moss)

“Receiving two nominations was an honor for us, and to have been awarded the Most Improved Network award is undoubtedly a recognition of the effort of an entire team to offer greater connectivity and access to air transport. The year 2024 was historic, consolidating the largest network in our history and transporting the largest number of passengers in 105 years. We are proud to bet on new destinations and strengthen our offer in the United States,” said Claudio Vélez, Senior Vice President of Network and Alliances at Avianca.

Connectivity between the United States and Latin America

Avianca reaches 21 routes that directly connect the United States with Latin America. The routes are:

1. Miami-Medellín.
2. Orlando-Medellín.
3. New York-Pereira.
4. New York-Medellín.
5. Guayaquil-New York.
6. Quito-New York.
7. Fort Lauderdale-Medellín.
8. Cartagena-Miami.
9. Cartagena-New York.
10. Cali-Miami.
11. Cali-New York.
12. Bogotá-Tampa.
13. Bogotá-Chicago
14. Bogotá-Miami.
15. Bogotá-Orlando;
16. Bogotá- New York.
17. Bogotá-Washington.
18. Bogota-Fort Lauderdale.
19. Bogotá-Dallas.
20. Bogotá-Boston.
21. Barranquilla-Miami.

Headline photo includes Sebastian Porras, Network Planning Specialist, and Claudio Velez, Senior Vice President of Network. Photo credit: Avianca.

The proposed flight schedule is as follows:

This new route will enhance Avianca’s existing operations between Colombia and the United States, which currently include connections to Miami, Orlando, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Chicago, Washington, and Boston.

“We continue to strengthen connectivity between the Americas. We are very excited to bring our customers closer to this incredible city, known for its great urban art district, and to promote cultural, commercial, and tourist exchange between both regions. In addition, the new operation to Dallas is added to the three direct routes that we announced at the beginning of the year to the United States, allowing our travelers to enjoy 21 routes between this country and Latin America during the high season,” said David Alemán, Avianca sales director for Colombia.

Tickets for the Bogotá-Dallas route are available for purchase through Avianca’s official channels, including their website, mobile application, physical sales points, and authorized travel agencies.

The initiation of this route is subject to governmental approval.

Headline Image: Airbus A320 operated by Avianca. Photo credit: Avianca.

Expanded Florida-Latin America Connectivity

Avianca aims to strengthen its presence in Florida by introducing routes linking:

• Fort Lauderdale with Medellín and Managua.
• Miami with San José, Costa Rica, and Guatemala City.
• Tampa with Bogotá, marking Tampa’s first direct connection to Latin America in nearly 50 years.

This brings Avianca to 16 routes between Florida and Latin America

With these additions, Avianca’s total direct routes from Florida to Latin America would increase to 16, reinforcing its position as a major operator in the region.

“Avianca recognizes Florida’s historic importance as a gateway to Latin America,” said Avianca CEO Frederico Pedreira. “We aim to enhance opportunities for family reunification, tourism, and business growth. In 2024 alone, we transported over 4 million passengers on more than 27,000 flights between the U.S. and Latin America. These new routes address our customers’ needs for direct connectivity to key destinations.”

Tampa, one of Florida’s largest metropolitan areas, will connect directly to Bogotá. From there, travelers will have access to over 75 destinations across 25 countries in the Americas and Europe. Additionally, domestic connections in Colombia will link travelers to cities such as Medellín, Cartagena, Cali, Quibdó, and Leticia. Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport (TPA), commented, “The Tampa-Bogotá route is significant, offering the first direct connection between TPA and Latin America in decades. This service will benefit business and leisure travelers while providing new opportunities for cultural and commercial exchanges.”

Carmen Caballero, President of ProColombia, highlighted the importance of the Tampa-Bogotá connection. “This route strengthens ties between Colombia and the U.S., our largest tourism market, and expands Colombia’s connectivity in Florida, including Miami, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale. Together with Avianca, we continue promoting Colombia as a world-class destination for tourism and commerce.” Avianca plans to conclude 2024 with a network of 165 routes across more than 25 countries, including eight new destinations. This expansion underscores its commitment to increasing connectivity and supporting regional development. The new operations are subject to approval by relevant government authorities, including the Fort Lauderdale-Managua route, which requires permissions under Fifth Freedom rights through San Salvador.

Specifically for this summer high season, the Bogotá-based carrier will be operating six international routes between:

• Cali and New York
• Cali and Miami
• Cartagena and New York
• Cartagena and Miami
• Medellín and Orlando
• Pereira and New York

Tickets are already available across each flight.

The routes will be operated on A320 aircraft with capacity for 180 passengers, representing an increase of more than 11,000 seats each week across all six routes.

“We continue to bet on Colombia as a connectivity hub in Latin America and part of that commitment has been to strengthen our point-to-point operation to provide more direct connectivity to the regions of Colombia while facilitating the arrival of more tourists to get to know the country of beauty,” said David Alemán, sales director for Colombia and South America at Avianca.

To begin, there will be two routes offered on LATAM:

• • • Orlando to Bogotá (LATAM)
    • São Paulo to Los Angeles (LATAM)

According to the airlines, the latter new addition to the Chilean airline’s portfolio will be the only direct route between Brazil and the US West Coast.

Several new flights will begin on October 29:

• • • Medellín to Miami (LATAM)
    • Lima to Atlanta (LATAM)
    • Bogotá to Atlanta (Delta)

The route between Delta’s hub in Atlanta and the Colombian capital is not a new route, but does mark a second flight between the destinations for the US carrier.

Later this year, in December, Delta will also offer two “seasonal” routes:

In December, the announcements will continue with the inauguration of the new seasonal route

• • • Rio de Janeiro to New York (Delta)
    • Cartagena to Atlanta (Delta)

The two airlines announced the new flights while also marking he first year of their joint venture, which includes shared lounge access and miles-earning benefits.

A growth in connectivity between Atlanta and Latin America has been been one of the main outcomes of Delta partnering with LATAM.

“In Atlanta, Delta’s main hub and the largest in the world, the alliance reached another important milestone by approaching nearly one million seats offered on 3,500 flights to South America,” said the airlines in a statement. “This growth was driven by a 50% capacity increase on key routes connecting to LATAM’s hubs in São Paulo, Brazil, Bogotá, Colombia, Lima, Peru, and Santiago.”

They also touted significant capacity growth in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.

(Photo credit: LATAM)

The Dominican Republic has a very strong reputation as a tourist destination, but now, a group of entrepreneurs hope the country can become both a hub for travel in the way that Copa has made Panamá a connection point, and home for a competitive low-cost airline with Caribbean flavor. Finance Colombia’s executive editor Loren Moss was able to speak to Victor Pacheco Mendez, the CEO and co-founder of Santo Domingo based Arajet. The low cost airline startup is already running routes between the Dominican Republic and regional destinations throughout Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, México, Central America, even island destinations such as Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and Jamaica.

Finance Colombia: I remember years ago there used to be Dominicana de Aviación but then for a very long time there has been no flag carrier in the Dominican Republic. The founder of VIVA—one of the co-founders, William Shaw was in the region, he was working on something but then he left to go and do other things; why has it been such a challenge to get an airline launched to cover the Caribbean and to be based out of the Dominican Republic?

Victor Pacheco Mendez: Well, I think that if you, if you research the failures within the whole Caribbean, you find that the list is huge, so there is a reason for that and a lot of it has to do with, most of the carriers that have tried to start in the region have been mainly opportunistic carriers that find some ethnic roots or somebody with some money that thinks that they can do some type of operation, but this is the first time that somebody really tries the ULCC (Ultra Low Cost Carrier) business model in the Caribbean.

Arajet CEO and founder, Victor Pacheco Mendez

So, I think that the first thing was figuring out what was the right model and once we did that—and William was one of my seed investors so, William was with us, I hired him in the beginning. At that time, we were called Flycana. A good friend of mine, William. But eventually his dad was falling ill, he was living in Mexico and he got the opportunity to go to Interjet and basically, of course he continues to be a shareholder in Arajet, but he left to do that.

And it took us out a long time, to get Arajet done because it was about putting together the right pieces; it was about convincing the government on changing regulations, to legislate on behalf of the commercial aviation space, it was about being able to compare the DR fiscally to other hubs and be able to convince the government that we have to able to have to have the corporate environment to be equal to other jurisdictions so that a local carrier could compete within the same, let’s say, environment, and that wasn’t the case when we started the journey so, we had to advocate and we continue to do so, we still have some what we called barriers that we are working [on] strongly with the government.

I think, if you see the newspapers of two or three days ago the [Dominican Republic] president said that he is sending from his office legislation that will make the DR (Dominican Republic) more competitive from a fiscal point of view. So, it’s been just a very difficult ride, just with the government piece alone has been very challenging and then besides that of course, we have assembled a team of experts that have built ULCC carriers in other continents, in other regions. In Latin América, for example, our COO is Garret Malone, who was the COO of Viva when Viva started in Colombia, eight years he was the COO of Sky Chile, so having Garret as COO tremendous experience, a veteran, it’s a great thing, he’s a great team member to have and then it was about finding the right capital provider.

We sold the business plan since 2017, 2018. We almost got funded in 2019 and then in 2019, we missed the boat, which is now a very good thing that we did, because then COVID came along. That would have been death! And then, in 2021 once the scare of COVID was leaving we went back to the institutional markets to sell our business plan again and we found a lot of interest. It was incredible, we were almost running an RFP to see who our capital provider was going to be and the main choice was not about valuation, for us the main choice was about who’s the right partner, who do we think as a firm, will support us and will believe in our vision of what we believe we can achieve with Arajet and about chemistry, you know

We ended up selecting Bain Capital and Griffin Asset Management just because we felt that with this guys were a good fit for us and now, I can confirm that having been working with them a little bit more than a year, that these are great partners to have, they, you know really believe in the vision that Arajet has.

Finance Colombia: Now, being based out of the Dominican Republic it’s interesting because for a long time the Dominican Republic has been an attractive tourist destination, but you have you already have some competition. For example, Viva flies between Medellín and Punta Cana, Wingo flies to Santo Domingo, if you look in other countries, American Airlines has historically jealously guarded its Caribbean routes and been very aggressive to try to battle competition when it comes between let’s say Miami and the Dominican Republic, or Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, which has always been a popular route. How would you stay profitable or reach profit and then defend your market and grow your route network against such entrenched competitors?

Victor Pacheco Mendez: Look, Loren, we’re not inventing the wheel. I think that we’re applying the game book or the playbook that other ULCCs have used before. If you look at our 18 routes that are now on sale at https://www.arajet.com/  we only have direct competition in three routes, meaning there are 15 uncontested routes. This [strategy allows us] to mature and give you that oxygen that you need. So, it’s about serving brand new routes and about a mix…about some competition but when we finish creating our network of 54 routes, we will only have direct competition in about 25 of them, at that point.

So, it’s about when do you launch routes where you compete and how you grow brand new, existing routes and you have to try to balance out that. But the good news, and what you can potentially say about us that we will not compete with one carrier for more than six percent of our entire network

Finance Colombia: Now, I look at your route network. You are covering in the Caribbean Kingston, (Jamaica) some of the small islands like Aruba, Curacao, Saint Martin. What about destinations like the US market or Puerto Rico which is “kind of-sort of” the US market but certainly with Puerto Rico’s close ties to the Dominican Republic; What are your plans there? Do you have plans to expand outside the Latin American countries?

Because it looks like you’re already very mature and well along the way as you go, and I would think that also Santo Domingo could be a good kind of a transit point, if look at it. I am not telling you what your strategy should be, but I’m kind of asking the question: If you look at what Copa has done by making Panamá a connector between South America and North America, I always wondered, let’s say if I was flying from the US through a Caribbean destination maybe to a destination in South America, is that all viable? Do you have that in your plans?

Victor Pacheco Mendez: Without a doubt. The reason why we will connect 54 routes from Santo Domingo is because Santo Domingo will be a hub where we will be transferring passengers. So, if you look at what we have done, imagine now when we go north, we are going to fly to 17 destinations in North America that includes Puerto Rico. when we go north, we are not only taking the DR up north now, we managed to get a footprint in South America and Central America and the Caribbean. So, when we go north, it gives us some leverage because in the US you do have more of a competitive environment.

So, you can’t get away with operating, you know, 80% of your routes brand new, you are going to have more competition. So, that’s why people ask us: “how come you don’t fly into the US?” Well, we will fly to the US. We will fly to 17 points into the US but we needed to get a base down South into Central America and the Caribbean so that when we do fly into the north, we have the possibility to offer connections.

Finance Colombia: That’s smart. I think that if you look at the airline that Mr. Shaw started, they went international, went into Panama a bit early in their life, and had to retrench and pulled back out. But when they got stronger, then they went into US and now they have routes into Miami and Orlando and, I know that they have publicly said that they have some other ones in the works going into South America…Brazil, Argentina now.

So tell me, you mentioned some of the institutional investors, tell me about maybe a little bit about your history and the management what’s your background, I would imagine that you have been in the airline industry?

Victor Pacheco Mendez: Yeah, I started initially—it was the first airline in the Dominican Republic to ever operate new generation equipment. I initially started with an (Airbus) A320 chartering out of the Dominican Republic. The more confidence I got, the more I learned. That’s how I got the idea of changing to a ULCC model, but Arajet exists on top of that. Arajet is a reformatting of that charter that was called Dominican Wings.

Before the airline activities, I was in commercial banking, financial services, business development, real estate development, but I come from a family…my grandfather is an entrepreneur by the name of Victor Mendez Capellán. All of his businesses where focused on the diaspora.

So, in the sixties, he was the first IATA travel agent in the country, and he was responsible for sending a lot of Dominicans to work in the free zones in New York when we were living through a depression in the DR, so thousands and thousands of families, he managed to help them finance their trips to go work there and eventually all of the family would join them. So after that, that brought in American Express, so he represented American Express in the DR, and then that success brought him Western Union and he was the first agent ever, when Western Union went International. DR was the pilot and it had to do with his entrepreneurial track record. So, today he is 94, and his company which is now a commercial bank conglomerate, tends to the diaspora and they still exclusively represent Western Union.

Finance Colombia: Remesas Vimenca? I know them well.

Victor Pacheco Mendez: Yeah. That’s my grandfather. That bug inside of me because I worked with him for many years—what else can we do for our people? What else can we do for the diaspora? And an airline was…it wasn’t really about an airline. Initially, it was about how can I lower travel [costs] for our people? And how can we continue growing and supporting them? The only thing was that he thought that my idea was too ambitious, so he didn’t support me with capital.

He supported me with his heart and wished me well, and that is why it took me too long to get this done because you know I’m not a wealthy individual. I had to find partners and I had to raise money. In 2018, I raised my first $2.5 million (USD) in order to get this done and then we capitalized Arajet and with Arajet, we the retail value of the order we did with Boeing with the help of Bain and Griffin was up to the tune of three billion dollars’ worth of aircraft.  I never imagined it was going to be such a big transaction.

You know, now, we are the first airline ever in Latin America to be born with brand new aircraft and I was trying to solve for lower fares for the country, but it was a tremendous amount of factors, when we we met the people from Bain and they saw the vision, they said, ‘you know, we really believe in this but a country without having a carrier, a successful carrier of this scale needs an OEM meaning an aircraft manufacturer to be in the country as strategic partner,’ my business plan was leasing aircraft.

And so they said, ‘look, we really need to sit down with you because we don’t believe in this unless there’s an OEM based in the DR and to do that we need to buy planes from them.’

And so now, Boeing is established in the DR and they accompanied Arajet from the maintenance, technical and flight point of view, which is tremendously helpful and is the first phase of a partnership that will be successful.

Finance Colombia:  Wonderful. I appreciate you spending so much time with us. I cannot think of anything more difficult than to starting an airline, the only thing more difficult is making it successful. So, we are really glad to see you and want to see your continued success.

Headline photo: Arajet approach at Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten (courtesy Arajet)

Ultra Air’s CEO Founder William Shaw, who also happens to be the co-founder of Viva Air told Colombian business magazine Portfafolio “The concern that we have is with the threat; with what the government just raised on the first day (the merger was announced, of “either you let us merge or we go bankrupt” to create a monopoly that is going to keep 65% of the Colombian market routes, and that can’t be good for the consumer.”

Avianca’s CEO Adrian Neuhauser fired back telling tourism industry journal Reportur that “Accusing Avianca of trying to make a monopoly, I believe is deflecting the discussion from what they are really trying to do, which is the low-cost competitors similar to Viva are trying to take advantage of the opportunity to let Viva die.

In the midst of such back and forth by executives of competing airlines, Viva issued a statement seeking to clear the airspace, without creating further turbulence, saying:

As we have mentioned on previous occasions, airlines in the world are going through complex times due to macroeconomic variables such as the record price of fuel, the devaluation of local currencies against the dollar and very high inflation, factors that affect our operation and represent a risk for the industry in general.

A macroeconomic moment like this presents us with great challenges that we are facing thanks to the benefits of the ‘Super Low Cost’ model, which includes cost efficiencies and flexibility in adjusting routes or company size. Notwithstanding the foregoing, one way of dealing with this complex moment is the possibility of enabling forms of integration and consolidation of alliances that allow for greater financial muscle in favor of the sustainability of the airlines and, therefore, of the sector itself, guaranteeing its long-term sustainability and growth. This is exactly what we are looking for from Viva; integration into Grupo Abra, to ensure the sustainability of Viva in the medium and long term.

Viva continues to receive new Airbus A320neo aircraft and operating normally, though as a privately held company, it is not obligated to issue financial results to the public that would offer insight into its actual financial condition. In recent weeks the airline has adjusted its route network, for example ending flights between San Andrés, Colombia and the coastal cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla. Flights between Orlando and Medellín have been reduced to a seasonal schedule.

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