Avianca Reviews 1,801

Worst Customer Service Experience ever. I had one thing wrong with the name on my ticket and they wanted to charge me $99 to make the change. I will admit I was very upset and yelled at hearing this, Then when I asked to cancel the ticket because I had purchased it less than 24 hours since I purchased the ticket, the manager "Trevor" refused to cancel it. He told me I had to do it online, then stated he would block me from doing this, and he did. The system would not allow me to do it. It was the worst experience I ever had with an airline

Bought the tickets to Bogota half of the year ago. They charged me twice by error, terrible customer service experience (bot not working, tickets not working, gets you ages to get through to the staff), took a lot of time to get that sorted, but I received my money back after some back and forth.
Then today, at the flight day, it turned out despite my booking being active (app and email) the ticket is not linked to it and I cant flight. Took me ages to get some input from Avianca, they told its the bank issue (and yet, booking was active so no way for me something could be wrong and no info fromt Avianca) and hung up on me. Again, whatsapp bot not working, ticketing system also. I dont have my money and I dont have a ticketi….

IF ANYONE IS SEEING THIS PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND SAVE YOURSELF THE PAIN AND SUFFERING. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS AIRLINE NO MATTER HOW CHEAP. I'M USUALLY A VERY CALM AND UNDERSTANDING PERSON BUT THIS AIRLINE IS THE WORST. THEY'RE CROOKS, WITH BAD ATTITUDES. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

After booking with these idiots, you'll receive a ridiculous amount of marketing emails (only Latin American airlines seem to do that for some reason) which I found extremely annoying. After sending multiple emails about it, asking to unsubscribe (the emails do not have an unsubscribe button or the button doesn't work...), they said to I had been removed from the database to only recieve many more marketing emails after a few weeks.

They don't understand customer service.

Too bad there isn't a lot of competition in Guatemala so they get away with this behavior.

The Avianca website is a disaster.

It is so primitive that it doesn't even provide the option for multi-city flights. Then, when you try to use it, it stops all the time. Removes some of your data, like my zip code, then tells me I haven't completed all the needed data. I'd like to buy from it, but the site makes it impossible. How can an airline succeed when let down by such a crap website?

I think in airlines, there are 5 categories, in descendent order: good, mediocre, bad, worse, and Avianca. The seats are incredible uncomfortable and you can't recline, the food I wonder if it can be called food, I use a walker and request assistance, and every airline gives me a seat in row under 10, but Avianca gave me 27D I will never, ever, ever used them again.

I recently had a horrible experience with Avianca. After purchasing a ticket, I later tried to request a refund and was told that refunds were not available. The only option offered was to reschedule my trip for an additional payment of $200, with no other alternatives provided. In the end, I received no refund, no credit or voucher, and my flight was not changed. I paid for a service I never received, they basically stole my money.

if you want to do yourself a favor don't waste your money doing business with Avianca. They do not deserve even a one-star rating, but I had no other option when leaving a review.

To be fair, the customer service agents who answered the phone were okay—not great. That said, it’s hard to expect much from a company that treats its customers this way.

no support and getting spam-emails with link that doesn't work

Based on my experience, Avianca is the worst airline company.

I read the reviews before I phoned and was expecting to be fed up. Instead I spoke to a charming and helpful man who explained exactly what I had to do and how to fill in the online form I had to complete. I was extremely happy with my customer service experience and the outcome from the UK help line. I would definitely book with them again.

Worse company in the world. The only company ever to charge you for seats next to each other in an intercontinental 12 hour flight! If you think the ticket you bought is cheap you have to consider that you'll pay hundreds of pounds more on top for seats and luggages that you normally would not pay with any other company for an intercontinental flight.

Lost my luggage for 48 hours, and when asked about compensation they said “that is not part of their policy”.

Does not answer their mails or anything.

Never again.

Avianca Airlines has to be one of the most frustrating and poorly run carriers out there. Their customer service is abysmal, their systems are unreliable, and they seem designed to make redeeming miles, vouchers, or even basic bookings as difficult as possible. I regret ever giving them my business and strongly advise others to steer clear.
We had vouchers issued after flights canceled during the pandemic—something many airlines handled reasonably well—but Avianca made using them a nightmare. The website constantly glitches, errors out during searches, or fails to apply credits properly. When I finally got through to agents (after endless transfers, long holds, and dead-end chats), no one could resolve it. It felt deliberately obstructive.
Their LifeMiles program is equally broken for redemptions. Award availability is scarce, prices are inflated, and the booking process fails repeatedly due to “technical issues.” You end up wasting hours only to get nowhere. On top of that, they nickel-and-dime you relentlessly: fees for carry-ons, seat selection, even basic amenities on long flights. What starts as a “cheap” fare balloons with extras, making competitors far better value.
Customer support is non-existent in any meaningful way. Calls get bounced between departments, agents are unempowered or unhelpful, and resolutions never come. It’s exhausting and infuriating.
Bottom line: Avianca treats passengers like inconveniences rather than customers. Their incompetence has cost me time, money, and peace of mind. I will never fly them again and urge everyone to choose a more reliable airline—there are plenty out there that actually value their passengers. This experience has been one of the worst in my travel history.
1/5 stars (and that’s being generous—they don’t deserve even that).

Avianca are awful and do not want to help there customers in anyway. We flew from Santiago Chile to Madrid, Spain with a stop over in Bogata Columbia. Our connection was extremely short due to Avainca changing the time of our first flight but keeping the second flight. We were told that we would be able to make the connection. Due to further delays leaving Santiago and the plane landing very far out in Bogata we had to sprint to make the connection for our flight to Madrid. Our checked bags did not make the connection and in Madrid we had a third flight on to Ireland which we did make staff in Santiago aware of this. There was no Avianca staff in Madrid to help us with a claim, it all had to be done online. Once our lost bag claim was put in we contact Avianca via phone and they were extremely unhelpful and giving us incorrect information repeatedly over the next 3 weeks. They sent my bag to Madrid and told me I would have to collect it there. When I told them this was not possible due to living in Ireland, they told me they would investigate being able to send it to Ireland and during this time they sent my bag to Bogata and told me I would have to go there now to collect it. It eventually got sent to London and when I called the representative there who sent me the collection information Jose, he let me know as I didn't live there he would send the bags to Ireland. He was the only helpful Avainca employee. I recieved my bag back with a cut in the side which was knife as the waterproof cover I had over it was not ripped and one of my locks on my bag were cut off. They are now refusing to provide us with any sort of compensation for all our troubles. Avianca are awful and do not want to help in anyway

Terrible aircraft, awful service, completely chaotic check in, lounges that have the worst food an drink imaginable. Avoid at all cost.

Avoid this company. Rude customer service. Canceled flights without any explanation. Flight crew is rude.

My flight was cancelled, and Avianca did not respond. No answer, no help. To be able to get home, I had to book and pay for another flight (with Avianca!). I created a case by phone and another online: two months later, still no answer... THE ONLY WAY TO HAVE AVIANCA RESPOND IS PUTTING A CLAIM AT THE SUPERINTENDENCIA DE TRANSPORTE.

Staff are so RUDE, no customer service, we spend nearly £3000 with couple of internal flights, I had 3 confirmation emails stating I had booked vegan food but nothing on flight! No apology just gave me a couple of black coffees on an 11 hour flight. Then on return home our cases had been opened with a note to say they had been opened both cases are now broken and unusable. They weren’t cheap cases! Tried to get compensation but their complaints department is non existent only generic emails if you email , phone has nobody to speak to. I urge you not to use this airline it’s diabolical. We are very well travelled and once expected Ethiopia airlines to be bad but they were 5Star. Aviance could certainly learn from them it will cost us to buy new cases. Definitely should have paid extra for a decent airline.

I am leaving this review to warn other passengers about Avianca’s shocking lack of responsibility and customer support.

On 31 October, I flew Madrid → Quito with a connection in Bogotá. At the airport, Avianca offered me compensation if I gave up my seat and flew the next day. I accepted. I eventually arrived in Quito, but my checked luggage did not.

For the next 2–3 weeks I dealt with a complete nightmare: endless phone calls, emails, and multiple trips to the airport (around 1 hour each way) trying to locate my bags. The luggage was only found weeks later, after significant inconvenience and stress.

Then I spent over two months chasing the compensation Avianca promised. After multiple complaints, it was finally issued.

However, the worst part happened on my return journey. On 19 January 2026, I arrived three hours early for my return flight from Quito to Madrid, only to be told at check-in that my ticket had been CANCELLED. I never requested this cancellation and was never informed. Even more frustrating, I continued receiving Avianca emails with flight status updates, check-in reminders, and baggage options right up until departure, which clearly gave the impression my booking was active.

Avianca staff offered no assistance and no alternative options. I was told the only solution was to buy a new flight on the spot, costing around five times more than my original ticket.

This level of incompetence and lack of customer care is unacceptable. I will never fly Avianca again and I strongly advise others to avoid them.

This airline does not want make any money at all. And certainly does not want to hold on to any customer at all. Tried to speak with them twice and threw and both times they just hang up the telephone line when you ask difficult questions.