Avianca signs codeshare agreement with Lufthansa

Avianca of Colombia and Lufthansa are to offer their customers selected flights under joint flight numbers in a new codesharing agreement.

In this first phase of the agreement, passengers from Frankfurt using Lufthansa transatlantic flights to Bogota, can connect with Avianca domestic services to Colombia's six largest cities: Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Pereira, Cartagena and Bucaramanga.

In addition, Avianca passengers can use Avianca issued tickets on the Bogotá to Frankfurt route operated by Lufthansa.

The codesharing agreement was signed on Wednesday 09th March 2011 by Stefan Lauer, CEO Group Airlines and Corporate Human Resources at Lufthansa and Fabio Villegas, Chief Executive Officer of Avianca.

The new arrangements will be available for booking once governmental approval is finalised.

Lufthansa currently operates five weekly flights from Frankfurt to Bogotá with an Airbus A340-600 aircraft.

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 und Barcelona. In the pipeline, too, are plans for Avianca passengers to accrue and redeem award miles on all codeshare routes in the Miles & More frequent flyer programme, beginning in the second half of 2011.

Referring to the Agreement, the Executive Chairman of AviancaTaca, Fabio Villegas Ramirez, said:

"The codeshare flights on Lufthansa complement the existing Avianca-Taca time codeshare agreements. With the implementation of this first phase, Avianca expands its route network, offering more options to Colombians and Latin Americans who want to get to Germany. Similarly, the offer is extended to more destinations in Colombia and Latin America for travellers from Germany. "

Colombia’s national flagship airline Avianca (Aerovías del Continente Americano) serves 22 destinations in a dense domestic network as well as a further 22 international destinations in 15 countries in North, Central and South America as well as Europe (Spain).

The airline has its hub in the Colombian capital Bogotá. It is noted for its reliable flight operations and a comfortable cabin product in a two-class configuration (Business, Economy) on all routes. Avianca also possesses an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate denoting its high safety and quality standards.

Avianca-TACA serves more than 100 destinations around the world, operating a fleet of more than 150 modern short, medium and long range aircraft. The group directly employs almost 12,000 people and has more than three million members in its combined loyalty program.

In November 2010 Avianca-TACA was invited to become a full member of Star Alliance in a process which will take approximately 18 months.

Notes:

Avianca currently fly 15 times each between Bogota and Madrid and four times a week between Bogota and Barcelona. Easy connections are available from London Heathrow using British Airways and Iberia. Extra direct flights operate six days per week between Cali and Madrid plus two flights per week between Medellin and Madrid.

Details of the newly announced codeshare flights are as follows:

Routes with LH Codeshares and AV as Operating carrier:

Bogota – Barranquilla LH9634 AV8530

Barranquilla – Bogota LH9633 AV9535

Bogota – Bucaramanga LH9636 AV9470

Bucaramanga – Bogota LH9637 AV9463

Bogota – Cali LH9628 AV073

Cali – Bogota LH9629 AV9216

Bogota – Cartagena LH9630 AV9754

Cartagena – Bogota LH9631 AV9545

Bogota – Medellin LH9640 AV9300

Medellin – Bogota LH9641 AV8435

Bogota – Pereira LH9644 AV8505

Pereira – Bogota LH9643 AV9918

Routes with AV Codeshares and LH as Operating Carrier

Bogota – Frankfurt AV6502 LH543

Frankfurt – Bogota AV6503 LH542

 

 

 

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