Avianca and Viva filed an appeal before the Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil) and they proposed a series of initiatives that seek to keep the low-cost airline in operation, that is, Viva.
“In line with the intention and will of Avianca and its shareholders to actively participate in the rescue of Viva, the two airlines filed an appeal before the Civil Aeronautics and exposed before this entity and the Government their willingness to propose solutions that resolve the concerns of the authority in its objection to the request for both companies to be part of the same business group”read a statement released this followingnoon.
In order to ensure that the air sector is for everyone and that the connectivity of Colombia, its regions and its travelers are the priority, five strategies were proposed.
The first one decrease in the participation of these companies in the El Dorado airport in Bogotá, The bet is to return a relevant percentage of slots -landing and takeoff permits- to Aerocivil and assign slots with assets -associated- to competitors, with the aim that other airlines can, if they wish, grow their operations in that terminal .
Viva’s survival was insisted on: “Maintain the brand and its low-cost model; preserve the greatest number of jobs, keep a number of its planes and the operation of the routes in which Viva flies exclusively”.
Likewise, there was a rate protection on the three routes in which both airlines become 100% operational as a result of the transaction.
“Promoting regional connectivity: Offer codeshare or interline agreements with Satena on routes where it is the only operator, strengthening the social role of this company to give more competitiveness to the isolated territories of the country”, is another of the lines of work.
Finally, the maintenance of Viva’s interline agreements was mentioned, to ensure the connectivity that this company provides to passengers and other airlines.
In this regard, Adrian Neuhauser, president of Avianca, commented that “we are open and willing to continue building the history of Colombia and contribute to strengthening the air market so that the country is increasingly more and better connected. For this reason, we put on the table different alternatives so that the authority can study them in light of protecting the largest number of formal jobs; maintain the regional connectivity that Viva offers; as well as your brand and what makes it special. All this, aimed at ensuring the general well-being of air transport users, especially those who have flown for the first time thanks to Viva”.
The statement added that “as it is public, Viva is going through a complex financial situation, product of the impact of two years of pandemic and exacerbated by the marked rise in the price of fuel evidenced during this year, as well as by the devaluation of the Colombian peso.
Avianca, for its part, indicated that it trusts the country’s institutions so that these alternatives are taken into account with the aim of protecting passengers, jobs, and promoting connectivity to give Colombians more access to air transport.
In the event that the final decision of the authorities makes it impossible to rescue Viva and its consequent effects, Avianca, within the legal and operational capacity it currently has, will do everything possible to meet the demand and needs of the country before the possible disappearance of a competitor.