Colombia’s Avianca starts long-haul growth with Dreamliner

Colombia’s national carrier Avianca has taken delivery of its first ever Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The arrival marks the start of a major expansion and renewal of Avianca’s long-haul fleet. Along with orders for up to 20 B787-8s, the airline also has outstanding orders for 10 new Airbus A350 aircraft.

“The addition of the first Boeing 787-8 to Avianca’s fleet is a milestone for commercial aviation and for our airline, which strives to bring the most advanced aviation technology to our passengers,” said Avianca’s president & CEO, Fabio Villegas Ramirez.

“With this aircraft, we continue to fulfil the dream this company has had from the beginning: to make better and better connections between Latin America and the world, while giving our customers more enjoyable flights aboard airplanes designed to provide the greatest comfort along with maximum operational performance.”

Avianca’s Dreamliners will be configured to carry 250 passengers – 28 in business class and 222 in economy. The aircraft are initially likely to be deployed on regional routes to destinations including Lima and Buenos Aires. But Avianca has also said it plans to deploy them on routes to Europe in future.

The Bogota-based national carrier becomes the second Latin American airline to operate the Dreamliner, following Chile’s LAN Airlines.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com