After filing an appeal before Aerocivil yesterday to achieve the integration of Viva, this Thursday morning (24) Avianca held a press conference led by its CEO, Adrian Neuhauser, in which they provided more details regarding the plans and prospects of the ultra-low-cost carrier in case the Colombian government’s refusal is maintained.
“We are trying to avoid the death of Viva,” said Neuhauser, even acknowledging that competition would be eliminated on some routes but that prices would remain unchanged, given that Viva made Avianca change its business model.
“We understand that this is not an easy decision for Aerocivil,” continued the executive, although for that reason they have also expressed alternatives to improve the competitive environment such as strengthening interline agreements with Satena and returning slots at Bogota’s El Dorado airport. In the latter case, they have offered to make available 73 slots and 5 aircraft, which would bring the total number of slots freed in the Colombian capital to 105, about 40% of the ultra-low-cost airline’s current offer.
Adrian Neuhauser, CEO de Avianca, ahora en conferencia de prensa, sobre el recurso presentado ante Aerocivil: "Estamos tratando de evitar la muerte de VIVA". pic.twitter.com/Fv8hma50TY
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“There is an underestimation on the part of the regulator of what it means for Viva to disappear,” the executive added, emphasizing that they consider it essential to save VIVA since they believe they can do so in an economically rational manner, but also clarified that they are not willing to rescue it at any price.
“If Viva were to stop flying, the rest of the market would take those routes, even though it is difficult to immediately supply 20% of the market share. It takes several months to bring in airplanes, it takes months for Aerocivil to approve the airplanes, it takes months to incorporate crews, these are long processes. If it happens, we will make the effort, but it may take months or even years to return to normality,” said Neuhauser.
Richard Galindo, Avianca’s Chief Legal Officer added that “due to the urgency of Viva’s situation, we decided to urgently appeal the decision. The authority has two months to respond, but it would do it before, due to the situation. If the appeal fails, the integration process would end, and we would have to look for alternatives”.
Asked what employees think about the situation, Neuhauser said that employees and unions support them. “They understand that we are making an effort to keep Viva alive and to keep jobs,” he concluded.
