the boarding staff were incredibly officious. our carry-on case was borderline within dimensions but staff were not prepared to show ANY flexibility even though many others with larger carry-on luggage were allowed to board. we were understandably furious but the staff were incredibly disrespectful. we called the supervisor who eventually agreed to look on board the plane to see if there was room for our case (one case between 2 of us) and reluctantly agreed to allow us on. The staff on board were excellent though and realized we had been treated badly and were very helpful both in finding a place for our case, some distance from our seats, and helping us to retrieve it when we landed. We are regular travelers on Gol and have Diamante status and had chosen the better Conforto + seats, so we expected better treatment from the ground staff. Also the cabins are of a size that will only fit 3 cases of normal size with a large gap of about 30cm of wasted space. If our case were deemed to be oversize, which I dispute, the extra 1cm would not have made the slightest difference.
I did not like the way that baggage fees were charged. When I signed up for the flight, I knew that there were bag fees. However, the bag fees were so confusing that it felt like I was paying for overweight bags rather than just for having brought a bag with me. Also, the bag fees were based on the pair of tickets rather than per person. It seems to me that it should be first bag fee for passenger 1 and then first bag fee for passenger 2. I eventually got away with only paying $100 for two bags, but it was a struggle to understand the process. As for the flight, the seats were the standard uncomfortable seats that are on most Boeing aircraft. The airline aims to accommodate the standard height people, so us tall people are stuck. There was never an option to upgrade for leg room. It did not appear that there were any seats on the whole plane that had a little more leg room to even try to get. Other than that, I completely ignored the food for this red eye flight. I am not one to eat "dinner" at 2 am. They did not offer any drinks in the morning before landing. I recommend that you bring a bottle of water on board.
Lost luggage, people are not very nice to help you , I was just instructed to fill out a baggage claim online, they were not helpful when I had additional questions after I completed the form on my phone.
They are not ready for international flights, poor service and food, no screen info on the seat.
Horrible. I was never able to board the e flight as they had a glitch in their system that didn’t showed me as a passenger. I waited 2 hours at the front desk till they closed the flight, and they were not able to board me in it. They didn’t offer any sort of solution or refund. Such a disappointment. I would never flight with them again.
It was really bad. Inexperienced and rude people during check-in in Miami, a small and uncomfortable airplane, and problems with the airline caused me to lose my connection flight in Brasilia. Terrible experience!
Pretty terrible, was unable to check out of a flight through the app. Could not check in to my flights with the app. Had to call customer service but they were not much help. Nothing on my itinerary said I had to check in with American Airlines when I reached the United States. I almost missed my flight. I had to run to the gate and get dressed in the tunnel. GOL seemed really unorganized at the desks for check in and took a lot longer than other airlines
Awful experience, A/C didn't work, crew did not do anything about it
Gol has an interesting choice of words. When they say “priority access”, this means you’re boarding on the seventh or eighth group.
Great flight however unlike most airlines there is no WiFi and no power outlets. Overall good flight and would fly them again. Just make sure your devices have power and bring your own entertainment.
Late departure. When the flight arrived in Medellin the plane sat at the gate for 20 minutes waiting for a bus for us to get off the plane.
A few years ago long flights 6 hours or so used to have video screens and they offered ear phones. The food cart used to come and drinks. Now absolutely nothing. Avianca is as bad as Spirit Airlines. Avianca will now be my last choice when booking my next flight.
Terrible, We had to stay in Bogota for two days due to weather but the airline did not provide for the same day flight. Only two days later
Excellent flight and one of the smoothest landing I’ve ever experienced
The seats were very uncomfortable. I would have upgrade or got different flight if I knew. I usually sleep in the plane but I couldn’t sleep at all. Very uncomfortable. Also no food or drink everything was to purchase, and that’s u usual for international flight.
There isn't much space in-between seats and even water needs to be paid for during the flight.
Flew with our two children. Paid $380 to check two bags (one was overweight). They then left the bags behind on Sunday, December 21st, with all our family’s clothes and family Christmas presents. When we arrived at our destination they told us the bags had not arrived, and they thought (but didn’t know) they were still in Boston, but that there’d be a flight the next day and the bags would arrive the next day. The next day we found out there was no flight, now we’re hoping we get our bags before we fly back out. Meanwhile, trying to get any engagement or accurate information is a waste of time. The folks at the call center are just gatekeepers, who can’t connect with any departments that actually do things to solve a problem. Getting information is made deliberately difficult. My biggest regret is that I’ve had a number of awful experiences with Avianca traveling between the US and Colombia, and still let myself get suckered into buying these tickets because the schedule was great. Never again.
We were not aware carry-on bags cost extra until we arrived at the airport so, we were charged $240.00 for two small carry- on bags! There was a substantial fee for drinks and snacks. No wifi, or other entertainment was available. Waiting areas were crowded and uncomfortable.
please see previous response; it covers the whole travel trajectory.
I paid over $200 for seat selection for these flights and I was still stuck on long international flights in seats that do not recline and do not have the head support cushion. At this point basically all airlines have those for all seats, and this really took me by surprise and made me not ever want to travel on Avianca. The Kayak agent who called me for the seat selection (Donovan) was courteous, but it seems the system for this doesn't work. I was offered seat selection, for the $200+, but without being able to see what I was selecting, with no guarantee where I'd be...and then I still ended up in terrible seats. On my way to, and especially after, a very intense business trip, the seat situation really soured my experience.
