Colombia-based Avianca to begin nonstop flights from Las Vegas to San Salvador
Avianca Airlines — South America’s second-largest commercial air carrier — will launch nonstop air service between Las Vegas and San Salvador, El Salvador, in July, the company announced Tuesday.
The nonstop round trip service between Harry Reid International Airport and El Salvador International Airport is scheduled to begin July 15 and operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Avianca, based in Colombia, will use a twin-engine, 180-seat Airbus A320 with a capacity for 180 passengers.
“The Latino community is one of the most important in the United States, so we want to provide the best options to connect with the region,” Rolando Damas, Avianca’s sales director for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, said in a news release.
“In addition, we know that the Central American region is increasingly positioning itself as an attractive tourist destination for U.S. travelers, especially for surf lovers, who can find in Avianca the ideal option to travel to the best destinations with first class waves.”
Avianca is an acronym for “Aerovias del Continente Americano,” or “Airways of the American Continent.”
The airline joins Panama-based Copa Airlines as among the Central America-based air carriers serving Las Vegas nonstop. Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus and Volaris offer nonstop flights to and from destinations in Mexico.
In addition to the Las Vegas route, Avianca will open two other direct routes from Boston and Orlando to San Salvador. During 2023, the company plans to strengthen its connectivity to Latin America and has already launched a route connecting Boston to Bogota.
Avianca has code-share agreements with several international air carriers and with Chicago-based United Airlines.
Reid officials and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has been working to rebuild its international market after the COVID-19 pandemic cut into the number of foreign flights to and from Las Vegas.
The airport reported 438,527 passengers from foreign countries for the first two months of 2023, more than double the number of passengers compared to the same period last year.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
