June Jurisdictional Update – Colombia

José Elías Del Hierro Hoyos- Colombia:

We are in the middle of the integration between Avianca and Viva Air. This is the third integration in which Avianca has been involved, and not with good results.

People are concerned about what will result. In the past, after Avianca’s integration with ACES, the airline went into chapter 11.

Some of the concerns with this integration are whether the level of Viva’s service will go down or a monopoly will form among the suppliers. For example, Colombia has a problem with slots at the Bogota Airport. Avianca and Viva already take about 65% of the slots in the prime time between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. So, it will be interesting to see what will happen after the integration and the role played by the authority in charge of approving this transaction.

A third Spanish Carrier and another North American Airline are flying to Colombia. A Chilean company is trying to operate domestically here.
The NDC, the new way the airlines distribute tickets, are jumping the GDS. A lawsuit has started for those avoiding this regulation, and a Colombian judge will rule on this.

Corporate aviation is growing in Colombia, such as the use of Gulfstreams and Dassault resources.

The Colombian police will acquire eight aircraft from Legacy and Embraer. However, investigators are looking into this because they think it’s not necessary to acquire this kind of aircraft by the authorities. Typical investigations on the use of public resources in the purchase of expensive aircrafts.