Avianca eyes 5 new routes from Florida to Latin America in 2025

27.12.2024 - 17:25 / thepointsguy.com / Spirit Airlines / United Airlines

Colombian airline Avianca is plotting a big U.S. expansion in 2025.

The Bogota-based carrier announced five new proposed routes Thursday, each of which would bring new nonstop Latin American flights to the state of Florida.

As part of Avianca's planned expansion, the carrier would launch its first-ever service from Tampa International Airport (TPA). And, it would add new (or additional) direct links between South Florida and destinations in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Colombia itself.

In announcing the proposed expansion, Avianca executives spoke to strong demand for its service in the Sunshine State:

"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 a statement Thursday.

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All of Avianca's proposed routes announced Thursday are subject to government approval. As such, the carrier has not yet announced start dates for the service.

That said, here are the routes the airline says it's eyeing:

This service would give the Tampa Bay region its first-ever service aboard Avianca — not to mention a direct link to South America, which it currently lacks.

Fort Lauderdale would be the fourth continental U.S. city with a nonstop Avianca flight to Medellin. The carrier currently flies from the Colombian city to Miami, Orlando, New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Medellin has seen an uptick in nonstop service from the U.S. of late, with United Airlines recently launching flights to the city from Houston.

Avianca will have some competition on the FLL-MDE route, which is currently flown by both JetBlue and Spirit Airlines.

This isn't an entirely new route. Avianca last flew between Miami and the Costa Rican capital in 2022.

This addition by Avianca should inject some competition onto the MIA-SJO route, which is currently flown by Miami's leading carrier, American Airlines.

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Avianca last flew this route in 2022, as well.

Currently, American is the only airline to operate service between the two cities.

Avianca is also proposing service between Fort Lauderdale and Managua, Nicaragua. As part of the setup, the aircraft would then continue on from Managua's Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (MGA) to El Salvador International Airport (SAL) in San Salvador — so travelers would likely be able to either book direct (one-stop) service to San Salvador, or book a nonstop flight to Managua.

The airline will likely announce more specific details of all of this service at a later date, though.

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