As part of ANATO's Tourism Showcase, Travel2latam spoke with Rolando Damas, Sales Manager for LATAM, USA and Europe at Avianca.
Tell us a little about your role. Have you been given more responsibilities recently?
Originally, I was in charge of North America. About three years ago, I was assigned to Central America, and a year and a half ago Europe was added. I manage all sales and marketing activities in those regions with specialized teams in each one.
What's new at Avianca?
There are always new things. The main ones are the new routes that we are launching in March and May, which are very important for us. Some of them are:
Tampa-Bogota, Colombia
Miami-San Jose, Costa Rica
Miami-Guatemala
Fort Lauderdale-Medellin
Dallas-Bogota
Tampa is a new destination for Avianca, correct?
Yes, this is our first time operating in Tampa. It is a rapidly growing city located on the west coast of Florida, close to Sarasota and other areas of interest. This route will allow passengers to connect through the Bogotá hub to other destinations in South America, such as Peru, Chile and Argentina.
How do you define a new destination in a company like Avianca?
The decision is made by the Network Planning team, which uses advanced technology to analyse the potential of each market based on airport and demand data.
Speaking of the other routes, you also mentioned Dallas-Bogotá…
Yes, we already operate a flight from Dallas to El Salvador, but this is the first time we are flying from Dallas to Bogota. It is a strategic destination for us.
In addition, they are resuming routes such as Miami-Guatemala and Miami-San José.
Exactly. These are routes that we have operated in the past and that we are now reactivating. In addition, we continue to operate flights with a stopover in El Salvador, but these new options allow travel from Miami to Guatemala and San José without having to make a stopover.
Medellín has also gained prominence, right?
It is a booming city, especially in the US market. We currently operate two daily flights between Miami and Medellin, and now we are adding the Fort Lauderdale-Medellin route. We are also adding Fort Lauderdale-Managua, which strengthens our presence at that airport. We now have three daily flights from Fort Lauderdale: to Bogota, Medellin and Managua.
We are constantly growing. In addition to routes, we have also strengthened our product offering, such as the Insignia class and the Business Class Americas service.
What is the Insignia class about?
This is our Business Class product on long-haul flights to Europe from Bogotá, Medellín and Cali. It features full-flat seats and a menu designed by chef Álvaro Clavijo. We currently offer four daily flights from Bogotá to Madrid, as well as routes to Barcelona, London and Paris.
And what does Business Class Americas offer?
This is a Business Class product on our narrow-body aircraft, with seats in the first three rows, food service, pillow and blanket. We currently have it on 34 routes and continue to expand its availability.
Is Avianca receiving new aircraft for all these routes?
Yes, although there are delays in the delivery of wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 787. However, we have an order for Airbus A320 NEO, which will be arriving in the next few months.
Finally, what's new for passengers from Latin America?
In addition to our connectivity options, we highlight the partnership with Gol from Brazil through the Abra Group. Thanks to this, we now offer a direct Bogotá-Brasilia flight operated by Gol, but with a codeshare with Avianca. This allows us to strengthen our presence in Brazil and improve connectivity within the country.
We are also continuing with our Travel Tailored strategy, which allows passengers to choose between different fare levels based on their needs: from economy options without luggage to Business Class with greater flexibility and benefits.