Avianca says it is essential to save Viva and that merger does not affect competition
Avianca said Thursday that the integration with Viva Air does not harm competition, while considered “essential for the country” to save that low-cost company and said it does not seek to control the air market in Colombia.
“We believe it is essential for the country to save Viva,” said Avianca president Adrián Neuhauser at a press conference, who explained that the company he leads can do it “in an economically rational way.
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Avianca and Viva Air appealed on Wednesday the decision of Colombia’s Civil Aeronautics Authority (Aerocivil) to reject earlier this month the integration of the two airlines on the grounds that it could generate an undue restriction of competition, reported EFE.
The two companies filed this appeal before the Aerocivil and expressed their willingness to propose solutions to resolve the concerns of the authorities regarding the fact that both airlines are part of the same business group.
Neuhauser explained that “the weight has not been taken until today of what it means to lose an air operation with 10 years of existence, with 20% market share, 40 routes, 20 airplanes and 5,000 direct jobs”, in reference to Viva Air.
This situation, the executive added, would generate a major crisis that “would impact the entire sector including, without a doubt, Avianca and we want to avoid that impact”.
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For its part, Viva Air said in a statement that the approval of this alliance by the Aerocivil, guarantees the country’s air connectivity at low prices and that there is no monopoly with the intended merger.
The company considered that the assessments of market concentration or even monopoly “are inaccurate, given that, on the contrary, this is an open market to compete, and with guarantees of participation”.
The alliance with Avianca means for Viva, the communication adds, to have “a shareholder with financial backing that will help it to face the difficult context that all airlines are currently experiencing due to the adverse macroeconomic conditions”.
He also assured that the merger “would allow, contrary to what some say, to guarantee low prices to millions of travelers (…) All this is possible, if and only if the alliance with Avianca is approved”.
Viva Air recalls that Colombia, unlike other countries in the region, has one of the most competitive airline industries, as evidenced by the supply of domestic and international flights.
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