Avianca doubles down on Florida, adds new route from Miami to Central America
Latin American airline Avianca is on a growth tear to the U.S. this year, making good on its year-end promise to add at least five new routes to Florida.
The Star Alliance carrier will connect Guatemala City's La Aurora International Airport (GUA) and Miami International Airport (MIA) daily starting May 10. Avianca will fly an Airbus A320 with up to 180 seats on the route.
Schedules from aviation analytics firm Cirium show that the route is Avianca's fifth to the U.S. from Guatemala City and its sixth systemwide so far in 2025. Other new links include Bogota's El Dorado International Airport (BOG) to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Tampa International Airport (TPA) and Medellin's Jose Maria Cordova International Airport (MDE) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
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The airline that restructured under Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the pandemic is growing to the U.S. at an impressive clip. In the first half of the year, seats are scheduled to increase 9% year-over-year, Cirium data shows. That follows a 25% jump in seats in 2024.
While Avianca has grown across the U.S., Florida figures highly in its U.S. expansion. Seats to the Sunshine State are scheduled to increase 19% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, or about a quarter compared to 2019.
"Florida has historically been a key gateway for connections to Latin America, which is why it is essential for us to contribute to reuniting families, boosting tourism and promoting business," Avianca CEO Frederico Pedreira said in December.
The airline's rapid Florida expansion has it on track for a potentially new crown: the largest foreign airline in the state. Avianca is already on its way to regaining its title as the second largest from LATAM Airlines in the second quarter — it slipped as low as fifth in 2022 during its restructuring — and remains second only to Air Canada. And while the Canadian airline maintains a sizable lead, it faces mounting head winds to U.S. travel demand and has said it will reduce schedules "on the margins."
Avianca has also indicated that it plans to add new service to Fort Lauderdale from Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (MGA) in Managua, Nicaragua, this year. It has not announced a date for the new flights.
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On the Guatemala City-MIami route, Avianca will face off against American Airlines and Frontier Airlines, Cirium schedules show.
Below are details of Avianca's new Guatemala City-to-Miami nonstop:
- MIA-GUA: Departs 1:45 p.m. and arrives 2:25 p.m., all times local
- GUA-MIA: Departs 3:25 p.m. and arrives 8:10 p.m., all times local
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