Lufthansa and Avianca sign Cooperation Agreement

Colombia's national airline Avianca signs a code-share cooperation deal with Germany's Lufthansa, allowing customers of both airlines to book seats on the other airline's flights.

In future, passengers arriving from Frankfurt will transit seamlessly on one ticket to selected Colombian domestic connections operated by Avianca. The six destinations from Bogotá represent the country’s biggest cities: Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Medellin and Pereira. The Colombian flagship carrier operates flights to those destinations with Airbus A319s and A320s as well as Boeing 757s jets. In turn, Avianca passengers can use their ticket on Lufthansa long-haul flights from Bogotá to Frankfurt – an additional option to the existing Avianca flights to Madrid and Barcelona. Codeshare flights will shortly be available for booking.

Subject to the granting of air traffic rights, codesharing is to be extended in a second phase to international South American routes served by Avianca as well as to selected European connections operated by Lufthansa out of Madrid and Barcelona.

In Avianca's press release Fabio Villegas Ramirez, the airline's CEO, said, "This code-share agreement ... is an important step in the service goals we have set. With its implementation, Avianca expands its route network, offering more options to Colombians and Latin Americans who now reside in Germany and Europe."

Lufthansa operates 76 long-haul flights per week between Europe and South America, according to the Lufthansa press release. Avianca currently flies to 22 domestic destinations and 22 international destinations in 15 different countries.