Contributor - South America

Richard Pedicini

A hundred days into running Avianca Holdings, Colombia’s flagship airline and the world’s second-oldest, Anko van der Werff expressed a desire to return to management fundamentals at the ALTA Airline Leader’s Forum in Brasilia on Monday. “We want to get back to the basics of running an airline,” he proclaimed.

 


Van der Werff announced good news on several fronts, the first being the approaching end to a difficult year for the airline. “The best news about 2019 is that it’s almost over,” he joked. The carrier, assailed by the financial difficulties of its former controller and the bankruptcy of sister firm Avianca Brasil, found itself heavily in debt. But 87 percent of bondholders have agreed to exchange $550 million of bonds due in May 2020, and an agreement with United Airlines and Kingsland Holdings on the terms of a $250 million loan gave the company breathing room.

 


Van de Werff affirmed the start of the airline’s resuscitation. “We've improved our on-time performance by 20 points, and it's now in the low eighties, which puts us among the top 15 airlines in the world,” he said. “We've signed a few important deals,” including a codeshare with Gol following a previously announced codeshare with Brazil's Azul.

 


It had already announced new routes from Bogotá to Montevideo, Uruguay, and Asuncion, Paraguay. “We are looking with confidence at 2020, when we are planning four new destinations, including some in Brazil,” van der Werff continued. “The ALTA meeting was good timing. We met with the minister [of infrastructure] and with ANAC, who were here this morning,” allowing discussion of the proposed new destinations.

 


The failure of Avianca Brasil, which left thousands of unemployed workers and travelers holding worthless tickets, left resentment against in Brazil against the Avianca name. Van de Werff responded to hostile questioning by patiently explaining that Avianca Holding and Avianca Brasil—to which he referred by its corporate name OceanAir—were commonly owned but separate companies, with separate management and finances.&nbsp; Ticket sales by Avianca Holdings in Brazil have already risen to levels above those of last year, before Avianca Brasil's troubles landed it in bankruptcy protection, suggesting that the message is resonating.

 


“There are complicated decisions and moments ahead, but we're making progress. We're looking forward to celebrating Avianca’s 100th anniversary in five or six weeks,” he concluded.

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