An Avianca charge on your card statement is almost always the ticket fare plus one or more add-ons: a checked bag, a chosen seat, a flight change, a pet fee, onboard Wi-Fi, or something similar. Avianca uses an unbundled pricing model, so the total you paid depends on the fare tier you booked and everything you added on top. Whether any of it is refundable depends on which fare you bought, where you bought it, and why you want the money back.
What Your Fare Tier Actually Included
Avianca sells tickets in several tiers, and the tier decides what’s already paid for and what shows up as a separate charge. Every fare includes one free personal item up to 45 × 35 × 20 cm that fits under the seat in front of you. Beyond that, inclusions vary sharply.
- Basic: personal item only. No carry-on, no checked bag, no seat selection, no free changes.
- Light: adds a 10 kg carry-on on international flights for tickets purchased from January 27, 2026 onward. No checked bag, no seat selection.
- Classic: personal item, 10 kg carry-on, one checked bag up to 23 kg in economy, seat selection, and airport check-in.
- Flex: same baggage as Classic, plus free flight changes and refund eligibility.
- Business Classic and Business Flex: personal item, carry-on, two checked bags up to 32 kg each, lounge access, and priority services.
If you booked Basic or Light and later paid for a bag or a seat, those show up as separate charges on your statement.
Checked Baggage Charges
Checked bag fees vary by route and by where you buy. Purchasing at avianca.com is consistently cheaper than paying at the airport, and buying at least 48 hours before departure avoids a late-purchase surcharge.
- Domestic Colombia: roughly COP 89,000 to COP 200,000 online, depending on the number of bags.
- Domestic Ecuador and Guatemala: USD 30 to USD 55 online; USD 50 to USD 75 at the airport.
- South/Central America and Caribbean international: USD 80 to USD 140 online; USD 135 to USD 190 at the airport.
- To and from North America: USD 80 to USD 200 online; USD 135 to USD 250 at the airport.
- To and from Europe: USD 95 to USD 170 online; USD 135 to USD 220 at the airport.
- From Canada: CAD 110 to CAD 280 online; CAD 185 to CAD 345 at the airport.
Overweight and oversized bags trigger surcharges on top. Standard limits are 23 kg for economy and 32 kg for business, with a maximum of 158 linear cm. A bag between 25 and 32 kg on a domestic Colombian flight adds COP 150,000; between 33 and 45 kg, COP 200,000. International routes within the Americas add USD 150 to USD 200 for the same weight bands. Overweight fees to Europe run USD 160 (or EUR 160 from Europe, GBP 120 from the UK), and bags over 32 kg are not permitted on European routes at all. Anything past 230 linear cm has to ship through Avianca Cargo, not as passenger baggage.
Seat Selection, Changes, and Onboard Charges
Seat selection is a paid add-on on Basic and Light fares, with the price depending on route, aircraft, and seat category (Premium, Plus, Economy, or emergency exit).
Flight change fees apply to voluntary changes on Basic, Light, Classic, and Business Classic. Typical amounts:
- Domestic Colombia: COP 125,000 to COP 150,000.
- Domestic Ecuador and Guatemala: USD 30 to USD 40.
- Within Central America: USD 160 to USD 210.
- Within the Americas, including to Canada: USD 200 to USD 220.
- To and from Europe: EUR/USD 215 to 250.
- From the United Kingdom: GBP 160 to GBP 180.
On top of the change fee, you also pay any fare difference and tax adjustment. Flex and Business Flex fares don’t charge a change fee, but fare differences still apply.
Onboard, economy passengers on routes within the Americas of 3.5 hours or less pay for food and drinks through the “Café del Cielo” buy-on-board menu, which takes Visa or Mastercard. Longer flights and all European routes include complimentary meals in economy. Wi-Fi is sold in messaging, browsing, and streaming tiers as either a one-hour pass or a full-flight pass. Streaming entertainment through “avianca on air” is free.
Pets, Sports Gear, and Instruments
Pet transport, limited to dogs, cats, and roosters, has to be booked at least 48 hours before departure. Cabin fees range from COP 80,000 for domestic Colombian flights to USD 170–235 for international routes within the Americas and USD 220 to Europe. Hold transport is more: COP 225,000 domestically, USD 250–290 internationally. High-season pricing (January, July, November, December) can add up to USD 20 when booked through points of sale, contact centers, or travel agencies.
Sports equipment often replaces a carry-on or checked bag on Classic, Flex, and Business fares at no extra cost when it’s within standard limits. Otherwise, fees start from COP 100,000 domestically in Colombia, around USD 140–150 to North America, and EUR 130–150 to Europe. Musical instruments fly free in the cabin if they replace your carry-on and fit within 120 × 20 × 30 cm and 10 kg; larger ones need to be checked or booked their own seat.
Wheelchairs and other mobility devices used because of a disability travel free and don’t count against your baggage allowance.
When Avianca Charges Are Refundable
Whether you can recover an Avianca charge comes down to three questions: what type of charge is it, what fare did you buy, and where did you buy it.
Refunds for add-ons like baggage or seat selection are generally available when Avianca cancels, significantly changes, or reschedules your flight. On Flex and Business Flex fares, you can request add-on refunds along with a ticket refund. Ticket issuance fees are non-refundable. Duplicate charges for departure taxes and airport fees are specifically listed as an eligible refund reason.
For flights to or from the United States, Avianca will automatically refund baggage fees if it fails to transport your bag for reasons not attributable to you, unless the bag is delivered within 15 hours of your arrival.
Country-specific rules also matter:
- United States: the 24-hour free cancellation rule covers the ticket price, but not add-ons like pre-purchased baggage.
- Colombia: you can withdraw within five business days of purchase for a full refund minus administrative fees, as long as the flight is at least five days out.
- Brazil: add-on refunds are available within seven days of purchase for online transactions.
All refund requests go through Avianca’s official form at refunds.avianca.com.
If Avianca Owes You a Refund and Isn’t Paying
Avianca has been penalized for slow refunds before. In November 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation fined the airline $750,000 as part of a broader enforcement action against six carriers for failing to provide timely refunds on canceled or significantly changed flights. Avianca was also ordered to pay $76.8 million in customer refunds. The DOT found that Avianca had violated federal rules against unfair and deceptive practices and had failed to meet its own customer service plan commitments. Avianca attributed the delays to the COVID-19 pandemic and its Chapter 11 proceedings, which began in May 2020. Under the settlement, $375,000 of the penalty was credited against roughly $4.4 million in voluntary refunds Avianca had already paid to passengers who weren’t legally entitled to them, and the airline was ordered to cease similar violations.
If you’re on a U.S. itinerary and Avianca isn’t refunding money you’re owed after a cancellation or major schedule change, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation in addition to pursuing the refund through Avianca’s own form. For duplicate or unauthorized charges you can’t resolve through Avianca directly, a dispute with your card issuer is the standard next step.