A is for Avianca

My travel companions and I getting ready to board the plane…

Hooray! Colombian airline Avianca has begun to fly directly between London and Bogota, this is fantastic news for anyone who has ever considered visiting this magical country. You no longer have to touch down somewhere in Europe or North America but will simply be transported directly to El Dorado. To make matters even better the flights are over night and eleven hours seem more like four. Being petrified of flying this certainly makes Colombia (and other parts of the world more accessible). The planes offer plenty of in-flight entertainment and I have now become a millionaire three times over (I’m a games addict, what can I say…). In addition, the food is good and the seats as comfortable as expected for a long-haul flight.

Avianca is also the airline which serves domestic flights in Colombia and as our journey continues once we get to Bogota I must say I am really impressed by domestic offerings. There is a lot that low budget European airlines could learn to make travelling a much less distressing experience. On offer is free juice and biscuits, there is an even more extensive list of entertainment on offer and all the seats are leather (and much more comfortable than those used on their international flights).

Prior to going I spent three weeks crying over imagined panic attacks which I am pleased to say did not materialise. Over night flying is cool, with the shutters down I can pretend I’m on a bus or a train surrounded by snoring strangers!