On Wednesday, after a lengthy review, Colombia’s civil aviation authority (Aerocivil) authorized Avianca and Viva Air’s merger. Viva Air temporarily ceased operations as it awaited the final decision from the government, as it couldn’t face its financial obligations without the support of Avianca.

The six requirements they must meet

Aerocivil’s approval had six conditions both Avianca and Viva Air must fulfill to mitigate the possible effects their merger could have on free competition across Colombia. The six requirements are:

  1. Viva's passengers' rights must be respected. They should get reimbursement for canceled flight tickets, and those with tickets pending execution must be allowed to fly. The ultra-low-cost carrier must respond correctly after its “unilateral decision to cease operations.”
  2. The airlines must return slots that would aggravate the saturation levels at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) both in the winter and summer seasons. By returning these slots, the airlines will avoid increasing the entry barriers to access Colombia’s largest airport. In the past, Avianca pledged to give up to 155 slots in this hub.
  3. Viva’s low-cost business model must be kept.
  4. The airlines must return frequencies on the Bogota-Buenos Aires route, which is particularly impacted. In January 2023, three airlines flew between these two cities. Avianca and Viva operated 21 weekly flights (14 and seven, respectively) to Ezeiza International. At the same time, Aerolíneas Argentinas flew once daily to Jorge Newbery Airfield.
  5. Both airlines must establish a fare cap on routes where they remain as the only operators.
  6. Finally, they must guarantee the dynamism in routes subject to greater concentration after their merger.

Finally, Aerocivil added that the interested parties in the merger (Avianca and Viva and third parties, such as Ultra Air and LATAM Airlines) could appeal the approval.

Avianca will review the requests from Aerocivil

In a statement, Avianca said the Colombian government took seven months to authorize the merger between the two companies. Now, Avianca will review the requirements set by Aerocivil to determine their viability.

Airbus A320-251N HK-5360 VivaColombia MMMX Mar 30 2022 SF 01(1)-1
Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar.

“Viva Air no longer has the same capacity –route network, planes, employees– that it had before temporarily suspending operations. This factor must be analyzed in detail to determine the relevance of the conditions established by Aerocivil.”

Avianca added that the merger approval is not 100% guaranteed since third parties can appeal the decision. Until that happens, the airline can’t intervene to rescue Viva Air financially and will be unable to resolve the stranded passengers’ problems.

Simple Flying reached Viva Air for comment. The airline has not released a statement yet.

Viva Air’s current status

The ultra-low-cost company with domestic branches in Colombia and Peru ceased operations on February 28, 2023. According to data from ch-aviation, the airline currently has 16 inactive planes in Colombia (six Airbus A320ceos and ten A320neos) and zero in Peru.

Viva Air has not operated a flight in 23 days, and every hour that goes by makes it more difficult to restore their operations. Additionally, the airline’s public confidence has taken a toll after leaving thousands of passengers stranded in the last few weeks. Avianca alone has helped over 70,000 stranded passengers in 103 routes, employing five additional planes on this mission.

Do you think approving Viva and Avianca’s merger was a good idea? Let us know in the comments below.