Colombian flag carrier Avianca has informed US regulators of its intent to launch a Bogota-Orlando pairing in July of this year.
Avianca currently holds authority to serve the route, and the carrier has been evaluating a launch to Orlando for more than year. Currently the carrier's US gateways are Fort Lauderdale, John F Kennedy International in New York, Miami International and Washington Dulles.
Avianca's planned service is a four times per week offering with Airbus A319 aircraft, it states.
If Avianca ultimately launches the new flights, it will compete directly with JetBlue Airways, who has been serving Bogota-Orlando since 2009 and currently offers seven weekly flights in the market, according to the Innovata database.
Demand is steadily building between North America and Colombia. Data from the Colombian civil aviation authority show that 2.3 million passengers were transported from Colombia to North America in 2010, a 38.7% rise. Roughly 87,839 passengers travelled on the Bogota-Orlando pairing last year.
In late 2010 the US and Colombia reached an open skies agreement to take full effect at the end of 2012.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
