Colombian ULCC Viva has revealed plans to enter Latin America’s largest aviation market as the airline continues to join up more dots across the continent.
The carrier, which recently signed an interline agreement with Mexico’s Viva Aerobus, intends to begin flying to Brazil’s business capital São Paulo this summer. Flights will connect Medellín (MDE) and São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) three times per week from June 22.
“The opening of this new destination is very important: it strengthens our hub in Medellín as a global hub, which will allow Brazilians to connect directly with Cartagena, San Andres, Santa Marta, among many other destinations in the domestic network and international destinations such as Cancun, Punta Cana, and Mexico City,” Viva CEO Félix Antelo said.
The new international route is part of Viva’s ambition to grow its footprint on regional routes in Latin America, taking share from legacy carriers. Speaking to Routes in 2021, Antelo said the airline sees a big opportunity the ULCC to increase its presence outside of Colombia’s domestic market.
To capitalize on this, Viva is building its presence in Medellín, the second-largest city in Colombia. The “Hub Medellín” project hopes to make air connections from the city as important as ones from capital Bogota’s El Dorado International (BOG).
New services launched from Medellín over the past 12 months include flights to Mexico City (MEX), Cancun (CUN) and Orlando (MCO). The carrier is also increasing its domestic offer over the coming weeks with plans to open six new services from MDE as part of a wider 14-route expansion plan…
