Avianca review by Valerie 2016-04-04

AV640 GUA-LAX, 31 MAR 16 – I was flying on a Business Class ticket (BOG-LAX), and arrived at my GUA-LAX connection holding a Boarding Pass with a 2C seat assignment. I learned from the Gate Agent rather by accident, that I had been reseated to EC (7K). I showed her my ticket receipt and Boarding Pass, and insisted on the seat I’d selected and/or an explanation of what had happened in the Avianca back office . Her only response was that her supervisor would come to explain why I had been moved to EC while holding a BC ticket. I called my company’s travel office, who called Avianca. By boarding time, I had a new seat assignment in 1K, and I saw what appeared to be a couple in my originally booked and adjacent seats. Cultural differences (and possible gender bias) aside, I’m puzzled at how commercial global airline can expect to stay in business and treat even a small niche of customers so badly. This part of my Avianca flying experience unfortunately eclipsed the overall trip. The score of 3, (rather than 0) reflects an excellent (787) outbound flight, and wonderful in-flight crew customer service overall.