Avianca A320 Greetings from Bogotá, where I’ve just begun a short but exciting trip to Paris. The first leg of my journey was a three-hour flight from Miami to Bogotá aboard Avianca’s Airbus A320 in business class. This product has undergone several branding changes over time—it was previously called “Premium” and is now labeled “Business Class Americas.” For simplicity, I’ll just refer to it as business class.
So, how does Avianca’s narrow-body business class hold up? Honestly, it occupies a bit of a strange space in the market. It offers the service level you’d expect from a Latin American business class, but the seat design doesn’t quite measure up. It’s definitely better than flying economy, but compared to other business class offerings, it wouldn’t be high on my list of preferences.
I wanted to share some quick impressions from the flight, with a full trip report coming soon.
The seat design on Avianca’s A320 is one of the most unusual I’ve seen. There are twelve business class seats arranged across three rows in a 2-2 layout. However, rather than having actual business-class seats, Avianca retrofitted standard economy seats, removing the middle one and transforming it into a large shared tray table. Unlike business class on most intra-European flights where the middle seat is simply blocked off, Avianca has widened the two outer seats by removing the armrests, offering a bit more shoulder room.
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Each seat features an AC outlet and a USB-A port, a welcome addition. While the width was comfortable enough, the legroom was disappointing—the seat pitch was only 33 inches. That’s pretty tight for business class, especially when the person in front reclines, and even more so if, like me, you have an aisle seatmate who refuses to get up when you need to use the bathroom.
All things considered, this is one of the weaker complex products you’ll find in business class. That said, the modified tray setup in the middle makes it more comfortable than the average short-haul European business class seat. It’s clear Avianca wanted to bring business class back to regional routes without significant investment, and they’ve done that in a practical, if imperfect, way. Some regional competitors like LATAM don’t offer business class at all—just premium economy, which is essentially economy with a blocked middle seat. So in that context, Avianca’s approach makes some sense.
On the comfort front, business class passengers received a small pillow and blanket. It’s not luxurious, but still a step up from what some carriers provide on similar routes.
As for the onboard service and meal, I’d say the experience was average—maybe slightly below. Since this was a morning flight, breakfast was served, with options including pancakes or an omelet. I opted for the omelet, which turned out to be cheesy and slightly greasy, accompanied by a small fruit bowl and bread from the basket. It was edible, but nothing memorable.
Beverage service included both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, though I ran into a typical regional frustration—no real milk for coffee, just powdered creamer. This seems to be the norm across many Latin American airlines, and I still don’t understand why. It doesn’t seem like stocking a few small milk containers would be all that difficult or costly.
The cabin crew was generally pleasant, if not particularly proactive. They delivered the initial service with a smile, but after that, they were mostly absent from the cabin. There were no follow-up drink runs, which felt somewhat lacking for a business class experience. Sure, I could have used the call button, but it would have been nice to see them pass through at least once more.
Avianca doesn’t currently offer Wi-Fi on its A320s—at least, not on my flight. They’ve indicated plans to roll it out, but as far as I can tell, there hasn’t been much progress. On the bright side, there is a streaming entertainment option available to use with your own device. The content selection was modest, including about 40 movies, a couple dozen TV shows (some with multiple episodes), and a few games. Still, I’d recommend downloading your own entertainment before boarding, just to be safe.
Overall, Avianca’s A320 business class feels like a product built on compromise. The seats are a creative retrofit and the soft product checks some essential boxes, but nothing about the experience really stands out. It’s fine for a short regional hop, especially if you’re avoiding economy—but if you’re expecting something more premium, you may be left wanting.
