Surfers Beware! Charged 192$ for a surfboard one way! The bag was only 6 feet long and weighed under 25lbs. That alone is unacceptable, but to make it worse they clearly show on the Avianca website that a surfboard between North Americas and Central America is 140$ online and 150$ at the airport. The manager was dismissive regarding my request to honor the online price, which she would not even look at. To clearly advertise a price online and then price-gouge at the airport is Illegal!! The manager should have adjusted the price but instead she just walked away from me mid-sentence. Avianca needs to do better. Also the pre-flight surfboard check-in wasn’t working and had a different price from the 160$ on the website. I will NEVER fly Avianca again. United charges 35$ for a surfboard from SFO to SAL. I’ll take 1 stop in the future to avoid Avianca / Taca and their illegal scamming ways. Update** watched in horror from the plane as the baggage handler pulled my surfboard out and let the board bag slide thru his hands and smash into the tarmack instead of gently lowering it to the ground! I literally watched it from the plane! Opened the bag and peeled back the extra padding I encase my boards in every time (without ever being damaged) to reveal the tail of my 900$ surfboard is smashed. After my experience at SFO I’m not even surprised, but I’m beyond pissed. How can you charge 200$ to transport a surfboard and damage it from being careless and lazy!! They also managed to ding the nose, which had tons of foam protecting it. Unbelievable…

I recently had the pleasure of flying Avianca Air business class, and I must say, Avianca is truly back with top-tier service! Glenda, our flight attendant, delivered an exceptional experience from start to finish. From the moment we boarded, she was warm, friendly, and incredibly welcoming. Her cheerful demeanor, coupled with a calm and quiet tone, set the perfect mood for the journey. Glenda was attentive and professional, always a step ahead in ensuring we were comfortable. She effortlessly made excellent recommendations, demonstrating her mastery of the service language. When I asked for assistance with placing my baggage and logging on to Aviancaonair to enjoy the in-flight entertainment, Glenda was not only quick to help but did so with a smile and genuine kindness. Glenda also helped a customer who tried to sit on another passengers bulkhead reserved seat. She did a great job asking the person to move to their assigned seat, even though the person played ignorant. Her professionalism was matched by her impeccable appearance and calm demeanor, creating an air of effortless elegance throughout the flight. It’s clear Glenda takes immense pride in her work, and it shows in every interaction. This experience reminded me of why I always loved flying Avianca – the service is impeccable, the team is attentive, and the little touches make all the difference. Glenda truly elevated the entire journey, and I can confidently say Avianca is delivering world-class service once again. Thank you, Glenda, for making this flight such a delight!

In El Salvador we had to go through a second checkpoint to come to SF (understandable, that’s normal) but we also were not allowed to bring any liquids, including any we bought in the airport (we had already gone through one layer of security). But after the second checkpoint was only seating at the gate, with no water or bathroom. So they would not allow us to bring any water but did not provide any, and to use the bathroom you had to leave and go through security again. Doesn’t seem like a very reasonable/humane setup to me. Secondly, we got on the plane, I asked if I could go use the bathroom, the attendant said yes, and I got all the way to the back of the plane and another attendant said I could not. And wasn’t very polite about it, either.

I’m extremely hurt, disappointed, and frustrated with my recent experience with Avianca Airlines. I booked a flight last minute due to the sudden and heartbreaking passing of my grandmother. I received a confirmation email, a booking number, and all the flight details—everything appeared to be set. On the way to the airport, I tried to check in through the app and it wouldn’t let me. I thought maybe it was just a glitch. Once I arrived, I waited in a long line, grieving, only to be told that I wasn’t in the system. I showed proof—my confirmation, my booking number, and even screenshots from the Avianca app where it clearly said my flight was confirmed. To make it even more frustrating, I had also spoken with the Avianca chatbot on WhatsApp earlier that day. I sent my full name, reservation number, and received all the flight details again. I was reassured that I was confirmed on the flight. So how was it possible that when I arrived, I was told I didn’t exist in the system? It’s honestly ridiculous. The manager told me to wait, and I stood there for over an hour and 15 minutes, only to be told that while seats were available, the system wouldn’t let her assign me one. I was left with nothing. On top of the emotional pain, I wasted gas, paid for the bridge toll, paid for parking, and ended up with absolutely nothing. Worst of all, I missed my grandmother’s funeral — something I can never get back. In the middle of my grief, all I needed was a little compassion and support. Instead, I was treated like an inconvenience. Avianca made an already painful day even worse. This experience was not only stressful but deeply upsetting, and I hope no one else has to go through what I did.

For those passengers who put their trust in avianca airlines i have a story to share there's a time that I decide to get in to plane avianca from sfo-san salvador it was a Thursday evening last three years terrible experience customer service before I aboard a plane from the gate at sfo the male at the counter tried to be the owner not only from avianca however from the sfo airport too shame , I was walking thru the counter when said hold but hold what I was ready to board the plane just the individual tried to show his attitude to charged more👎🏻 for the luggage carry on👎🏻