Have flown Avianca numerous times without any trouble at all beyond the usual Avianca annoyances. Hence one star beyond one.
A flight change currently costs a ridiculous USD $300.
However, beware if you ever have to cancel your flight. Make a careful note of every exact date and time you call, the name of the person you spoke to, and of every single transaction you make online; none of this will ever be emailed to you or available to you. Be prepared to call and call and call and have any and every excuse you could possibly ever invent thrown at you, and be prepared to wait a year for your refund. I have gone though countless policy changes that nobody knew about. Just about every time I call I have to wait until mañana, Monday, next month, next year... why? Because my request cannot be processed at this time, because I need to call back to speak to a supervisor to see if they can expedite... expedite what? I requested a refund for a cancelled flight eight months ago, why has it not even begun to be processed?
After eight months of this nonsense I was finally informed that my refund was approved and I should see it after the 15th of the next month. Why so long? Avianca has been holding my money for more than eight months and frankly I need that money. Well, I was told, I should be happy because my refund was approved. I still have to wait for more than a month before I can even complain about it again should that be necessary, and at this point I am pretty sure it most probably will be necessary.
I have read some pretty awful reviews about this airline and in all honesty for the most part they've been good enough in my limited experience. My nightmare with Avianca began eight months ago when I cancelled a flight with them instead of paying yet another $300 in change fees - for two change fees I can buy an additional flight, especially with another airline. Now I am dealing with the continued frustration of constant MAÑANA. Avianca is a Colombian airline but if they do business with the rest of the planet they really need a more up-to-date business model. I for one am never flying with Avianca again if I can possibly avoid it.
I wrote the above review in February 2018. It is now May 2018 and I have yet to receive my refund. Upon calling I am told that a special case will be opened on your behalf - I have lost count of how many special cases have been opened. I began sending emails some 4 weeks ago; when I get an email answer they get my name wrong and apologize for the delay, as refunds must be approved by managers. My refund was approved - and authorized - three months ago. Im still waiting. After numerous subsequent emails I was provided with an additional email address. Have not heard anything. I am now writing 2-3 emails a day demanding an update on the status of my refund. Its been almost a year now. They have more than USD $720 of my money.
July 2018: after more countless emails to Avianca's Refund Central Department and three other avianca.com email addresses where I was given every runaround and excuse under the sun, I finally received a check for less than half the amount that was owed to me. In June all information pertaining to my refund had completely disappeared from Avianca's website; it didn't occur to me that this was possible so I hadn't printed it.
During this whole ordeal I heard from various friends and family members who have been egregiously screwed over by Avianca in numerous ways over more than 50 years.
Needless to say I am never using this airline again.