The shareholders of Avianca Group and Viva Latin America, with a presence in Colombia and Peru, signed an agreement for the two airlines to be part of the same business group.
Both companies agreed that following the pandemic it is necessary for airlines to think of new ways of operating, which allow them to last over time and be economically sustainable. For this reason, they decided to combine the experience of Avianca, owner of 215 routes, with the low-cost model of Viva and its 60 routes.
Its idea is to become a major player in the air transport market in the region, offering more possibilities to the consumer, with a robust loyalty program, with a more efficient cost structure that allows better prices to be granted, and with a network of routes that allows greater connectivity, said Roberto Kriete, main shareholder and president of the Board of Directors of Avianca.
According to Declan Ryan, founding partner of Viva, this merger will allow us to continue with the growth and expansion strategy, maintaining the banner of air inclusion and strengthening the company.
The merger not only unifies the economic rights of both groups but also stabilizes their economic profile and Declan Ryan, founding partner of Viva, will add a place on the board of directors of the new conglomerate.
The integration needs the approval of the authorities in Colombia and Peru. In our country, the procedures will have to be done before the Aerocivil, which will possibly request a concept from the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce. If all the authorizations are obtained, both companies would have a more stable financial profile that would allow them to accelerate investment, innovation and growth. Until the closing of this edition, Aerocivil had not received a formal request.
are competitors
As long as all the paperwork is completed, the two airlines will continue to be competitors. EL COLOMBIANO had access to the communication that Avianca sent to its employees in which it explains that as long as regulatory authorizations are not requested and obtained, the way in which users, suppliers, employees and entities relate to airlines will continue to be the same. same.
And he adds: “It is essential that they know that Viva is and continues to be competition, the same or more than ever… taking into account that we continue to be competitors, our behavior towards Viva must be the same as with any other player in the market, maintaining our commercial aggressiveness, information confidentiality policies and route strategy”.
In fact, Avianca insisted to its employees that “more than ever the regulator will fulfill its role of monitoring independence between the two airlines, so it is essential that we think and behave like true competitors.”
Now, following several years of labor crisis in Avianca, the company maintained that this alliance will not affect existing labor conditions and agreements.