Avianca’s website (shown above, click on the headline image to enlarge) clearly states the longstanding policy that has been in place, that as of January 25, 2020 states: “If you are a LifeMiles Gold or Silver member, you can access the Gold lounge.” Nevertheless, the struggling airline is turning away its own most loyal customers.

VERY POOR: According to FlightStats, Avianca 9328 is rated “Very Poor” with 0.1 out of 5 stars for on time performance! “The score, 0.1 shows that this flight has on-time performance characteristics better than 0% of all other flights in the FlightStats database.”

Affected passengers may file complaints with Colombia’s Superintendencia de Transporte (click here if you feel your rights or commitments have been violated).

At a time when new airlines are entering the Colombian market at an unprecedented pace and competitor LATAM has a new alliance with Delta Airlines giving passengers more options in and out of Colombia than at any time in history, is this going to save the airline? Is it going to pay off the $375 million in additional debt that Avianca has taken on since defaulting on its borrowing?

Avianca (NYSE: AVH; BVC: PFAVH) is already under investigation and facing a potential $49 million peso fine by Colombia’s Superintendencia de Transporte, or transportation regulatory authority for systematic noncompliance of passenger itineraries and violation of passengers’ contract of carriage.

The once-admired airline has been embroiled in scandal that has seen people jailed, labor unrest, mismanagement and drama in recent years. Since former chairman Germán Efromovich lost control last year, Avianca’s control fell into the hands of US based United Airlines, itself infamous for breaking guitars, baiting and switching its own frequent flyers, killing bunnies, and having doctors dragged off airlines to give his seat to someone else.

Now, with a new CEO, is this part of Avianca’s new strategy for success? It isn’t mentioned in Avianca’s “plan 2021” that is supposed to “strengthen the company’s competitiveness…” No press releases regarding the sudden stinginess were issued to alert passengers, and the above photo shows the policy as listed on the company website on January 25, 2020.

Meanwhile, several new airlines are entering Colombia, low cost carrier Viva Air continues to grow (as Avianca shrinks), and LATAM has now partnered with Delta, the airline awarded as “The United States’ Leading Airline to South America 2019.”

New airline alternatives: arrivals & expanded routes to Colombia: 2016-2020:

• • • Wingo
    • Plus Ultra
    • Spirit
    • Viva Air
    • JetSmart
    • Interjet

Avianca has not had to compete on price in the past, but on their route structure and their domestic lounges: workspaces for business travelers in Colombia’s airports. (A decade ago, they even competed on passenger experience!) Their lounges outside of Bogotá are not impressive by any standards but provide a secure workspace for business travelers. Commuters and day-travelers on business between Colombian cities typically don’t check luggage so the checked baggage allowance isn’t so important as a place to charge a phone, pull out a laptop, and catch up on work.

The airline has a dismal 2 star rating (out of 5) for on-time performance so travelers are likely to be stuck a while in the hub airport.

There are silver lounges in places like Medellín’s José Maria Córdova airport, but those do no good. It’s when one is stuck in Bogotá with Avianca’s frequent cancelled flight (like the journalist’s Flight 9328 on January 24). The airline has a dismal 2 star rating (out of 5) for on-time performance so travelers are likely to be stuck a while in the hub airport; Bogotá’s El Dorado International. This in contrast to Viva Air’s #1 on-time performance and Copa’s 5 star rating for on-time performance. After a canceled flight, at least frequent travelers could wait in the lounge. After all, travelers would rather get home on time than sit in a lounge because their flight has been delayed or canceled. In such cases, the lounge is not a perk but a consolation.

Read also: Avianca Has the Second Worst On-Time Arrival Rate Among Major Latin American Airlines

After writing this glowing review in 2016 calling Avianca “my preferred Airline,” a lot can change in 4 years. For the past 3 years, I would book directly on Avianca’s “Programa Preferencia” corporate website, meaning more profit for the airline by not sharing commission with aggregators such as Expedia, not even checking competitive carriers, and always purchasing the more expensive fare classes, never the “promotional fares.” I would imagine, the definition of an ideal passenger.

But now, is there any reason to continue flying Avianca? This editor is having trouble thinking of any. I’ll be spending down my accumulated miles, but it’s time to try out some of these new, better performing contenders, now that we have choices.

Filed as editorial/opinion

In a statement issued by the ministry on December 21, the decision to shutter Picap was due to “the critical situation in legal, financial and accounting matters, and above all to provide a solution to the safety of users of the transportation sector, and legality through adequate provision of transportation service.

Unlike Uber, Picap offers an option for motorcycle rides in addition to private cars. “The activity undertaken by CAP Technologies is illegal because it is not authorized to provide public transportation service, and also because the law prohibits passengers on a motorcycle, said the ministry in a statement, even though it is generally legal in Colombia to carry passengers.

These moves come not because of impartial arms-length investigations according to the head of the taxi syndicate Hugo Ospina, but because of a deal cut between the taxi leaders and President Ivan Duque for the taxi leaders not to join other unions and groups in massive protests against the deeply unpopular government.

Ospina said proudly in a video he published on Facebook that the administration of President Ivan Duque agreed to shut down the platforms in a deal that the taxi syndicates would not join the November anti-government protests in exchange for Duque doing their bidding regarding alternative mobility such as Picap, Uber, Lime, and others.

In addition to ride hailing platforms, Ospina declared war even on rented electric scooters after winning a court ruling against Uber last month. “We are going to sue the technology platforms that the state declared illegal!” said Ospina in a radio show last month by Semana magazine.

Bogotá suffers from world-class traffic jams, sometimes taking hours to travel short distances. The scooters are seen by many as a popular ecologically friendly alternative that moves commuters quickly through the city’s bicycle lanes. Other cities like Medellín don’t have Bogotá’s traffic woes but suffer from high pollution levels due to geography and other factors. Medellín sits in a valley for example, reducing air circulation and bringing pollution due to emissions to unhealthy levels.

• In November,  an organized crime ring of taxi drivers were captured for robbing foreigners in the city center of over $140,000 USD.
• In 2014, seven Bogotá taxi drivers were extradited to the US for murdering an off-duty DEA officer in a botched robbery attempt.

Taxi services in Bogotá suffer a very poor reputation, contributing to the popularity of ride hailing services, which are at times even more expensive—at least compared to official rates. Unlike Medellín and other Colombian cities, taxi operators in Bogotá use a fare system that makes it extremely difficult for the passenger to ascertain the correct legal fare, which is not what the meter says, but based on a formula on a chart that is indecipherable to many locals and most foreigners.

See also: Guest Opinion: A Signal of Caution For Direct Investment in Colombia—Über VP of Global Public Policy

Above photo courtesy of Supertransporte, Superintendencia de Transporte