Originally Posted by KMiami
This week, Avianca was offering upgrades on their Lima- Bogota flight for $60 to members of their program or Delta's. I decided to take it and it was worth it for a three hour early morning flight.
Their Business Class on the 767 was odd. It was an older plane and the seats have electronic controls, but they didn't work. There is a second hidden button that allowed manual recline. Overall pretty comfortable, but I have never seen that before.
Does anyone know if Avianca usually offers low cost upgrades on other international routes?
I've flown Avianca twice this year (third trip on Friday) from JFK-Medellin. In January, I bought an upgrade at check-in (JFK) for $230. On the return, they charged $230 plus tax ($265).
In Feb, I was told at JFK check-in they were running a "special": $179 to upgrade. On the way back I went from Medellin to Bogota to JFK. They wouldn't let me upgrade in Medellin, but I was able to upgrade in Bogota for $230 (apparently they didn't get the memo about the "special").
The re-issued boarding pass says J class, but I've only been given miles based on the fare initially purchased via internet. I'll try to get the J miles credited after my next trip, but even if that doesn't work, it's still a good deal.
Also, they run a 767 from BOG-JFK. The electronic controls did work. It was a 2-1-2 config - great service. They seem to be in the process of upgrading their 757s. The new seats recline almost flat - best I've seen on a 757. Not so on the old 757s - they don't even have a closet for your coat and the lav opens out and is blocked by the overhead monitor showing movies - I can barely wedge myself into the lav!