Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a host of problems for Russian airlines, but for those of other countries it has created valuable opportunities. In May, the UK government imposed sanctions on Russian airlines, preventing them from using slots at UK airports.
With the departure of Aeroflot from London Heathrow International Airport, much sought-after slots became available and it was a surprise that Avianca was chosen as the only Latin American and Caribbean airline to add four additional weekly frequencies from Bogotá, increasing its capacity from 3,500 to 5,500 seats.
After several days of resolutions, Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) has revealed the names of the six airlines that will be able to add frequencies at Heathrow in the 2022-23 winter season:
– Avianca and China Airlines; with 4 frequencies per week.
– Virgin Atlantic, Vistara and jetBlue; with 7 weekly frequencies.
– Westjet; with 3 weekly frequencies.
Avianca currently operates one daily flight from Bogota with Boeing 787-8s, but the new slots will increase its offer to 11 flights per week. Aeroflot had 64 slots, which were distributed by Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) among the six carriers mentioned above.
According to data obtained by Aerocivil, the London-Bogota route welcomed 160,548 passengers in 2019, with an average occupancy rate of 89.94%.
Source: Aviacionline
