It is always problematic to use terms like "should" and "ought" in the context of economics. Either something is economically viable or it isn't. If it isn't then it can only exist when it is financed through subsidies and that means the tax payer has to pay for it, whether he uses it or doesn't. Is it fair when people who don't fly have to pay to keep aircraft running for others? That is the problem with "fairness". It always depends on the definition, it is highly subjective and the people who have a tendency to complain the most about things being "unfair" to them also have that tendency to care the least whether something is unfair to others. And no, I am not some heartless elitist who doesn't care about poor people. I am poor myself. I am 45 years old and flew 8 times in my life and out of those 8 flights 6 were business trips that were paid for by the company I worked for (still cheap coach class, by the way) and the 2 flights I did pay for myself cost me months worth of salary and I had to save up for 7 or 8 months and could still only afford because I was still living rent free at my parent's home at the time. That is just my situation and I have to deal with it. I'm not expecting other people to subsidize me flying somewhere.
Yes, but that ignores that in Colombia the AVERAGE wage is around $250 a month. Even LLCs in Colombia cater to the more wealthy in society. Pretty much everyone on board this flight is going to be, by Colombian standards, at least upper middle class.
Correction: In Colombia, driving from Bogota to Medellin could take a whole day due to bad roads, so being able to complete the journey on a 45 minute flight is a big deal for locals. You are correct that LCC's are hugely important in Colombia, otherwise most people couldn't afford to fly. The proposed merger between Viva Air and Avianca would hurt Colombians, and I hope that the government can put guardrails in to ensure that air travel remains affordable for the people.
10:08 The bus ride between Bogotá and Medellín is 8 hours because of the terrain but yeah, I agree LCCs are important to countries like Colombia which the cities aren’t far apart but the terrain makes them a long journey to get to
We are sad to see Viva grounded but we should have more news this week; the fusion with Avianca may be approved. Viva truly revolutionised air travel here for us! Yes, they cram the seats in there but it is fine for the shorter flights. The flights to EZE and GRU must have been pure torture.
Great flight. When I see maps, fastest road trip between these two cities nearly 9 hours because of mountainous terrain. That's why flying is popular. When I see the logo, it's remind me about something in my country.
I was already subscribed to the channel but after watching you fly the route I have made the most (since i live in Medellin) makes me feel even happier. Thanks for this amazing vid man!
As always, excellent recording of your flight. Although VIVA's failure is really unfortunate for travelers who rely on it for reasonably priced travel in the region, I don't feel bad for the airline's management, as I think it's a positively disgraceful excuse for an airline. I had three utterly horrendous experiences with this shameful operation while traveling in Perú in 2019; VIVA got away with mistreating its passengers with impunity and just kept on doing the same to thousands of others. Torrents of complaints resulted in no improvement in its operations and zero action on the part of governmental consumer protection agencies. In my opinion, VIVA deserves to fail - and good riddance. I only hope that an LCC run by honest management and staff will replace it and provide the service that passengers deserve.
Not going to happen unfortunately David, Viva will either be dissolved or integrated to another company in the days to come. Luckily Jetsmart is there to save the day and fill that gap left by them in the country ..
I flew them in Peru last November and was pleasantly surprised; Viva felt like a very friendly, modern, and professional LCC; better than their US or European equivalents. Sad to hear they’ve grounded all their planes.
Your timing couldn’t have been better flying Viva just a week before they stopped flying (hopefully temporarily). It’s a very complicated financial and legal situation that stems back to Avianca trying to acquire Viva since almost a year ago in April 2022. We can only hope that everything is sorted out and one of the three airlines that have now become interested in acquiring Viva save them.
I was supposed to fly Viva Air a couple of months ago but they denied me boarding. My original flight would have departed a couple of hours later but unbeknownst to me, they changed the departure time. My flight arriving from MEX landed a half hour early, giving me an hour to get through customs, check in, and security. I tried to check in with the app but it wouldn’t work. I got to the counter 35 min before departure but the agent told me I was too late, so I missed the flight. They didn’t have another flight to Bucaramanga until later in the evening, and it wasn’t a nonstop, so I booked an Avianca flight leaving a couple of hours later. I’m sad for Viva closing but honestly, Avianca has always had very inexpensive domestic fares with lots of frequency, so I don’t think they’ll be missed. I’ve always had great experiences on Avianca. I agree with you, that girl’s voice on the boarding announcements is annoying.
Thanks to a TV show called Airport Security: Colombia I already know how hectic things can get at El Dorado Airport. Security is super tight and you really can’t screw up going through customs or you’ll be in serious trouble
I did fly with Air Berlin the day before they shut down. The main flight attendants held a short teary eyed speech at the end of the flight and the passengers applauded dutifully.
It isn't like there is a lack of options on that route. On the MDE-BOG route, Avianca has 16 flights, LATAM has 12, Ultra has 4 and Wingo has 1. Adding in Medellin's alternate airport (EOH), EasyFly has 5 flights and Satena has 4.
Hello David. Interesting trip report. Surprised to see the advertisements on the doors of the carry-on baggage storage. LCCs are necessary in places like Columbia for citizens who want to avoid the time-consuming bus trip. Let's hope they continue. Keep up the good work!
Colombia is a mountainous country. Thats the main reason air connection is so important. Viva Air was doing well, this operational stop has to do with legal issues. Not financial.
I used this Airline when call Viva Colombia (from Ryanair) had good prices, flight on time and normal service, i think was good, after his new name to Viva Air troubles started, delays, expensive prices, cancells and airline abuses to the passengers, financial problems and today is stoped on ground, maybe will fly again but wounded and the next Jet Smart's operation between Colombian routes soon, probably Viva Air can´t get hold.
I would hope, whatever flight I'm on, that I'd have a more desirable plane than the a320. I'm told that both the CRJ-900 and ERJ-195 are better regional jets than the a320 is.
Hey David i am fan of your videos .. I have a question which i thought of asking you earlier how do you decide your destination basesd on what basis and also how do you decide the airline you want to travel . I definitely need your answer and what is the procedure to join your team 😁
I'm not saying I wouldn’t agree with you on keeping flying accessible to everyone - I mean, without low cost airlines I probably wouldn’t even fly myself - but nowadays (at least where I live) they try to make it less attractive to fly such short routes in such a cheap way, because of climate change. I wonder what you guys think of this.
It makes perfect sense when good alternatives are available. However, here in Europe, the debate around this topic is treated too Euro-centric. We are in a very blessed situation to have a dense network of high-speed rail as an alternative, so do China and Japan. But as soon as you look some of the world's largest LCCs, you'll see that they're in countries where no such alternative is available. In Colombia you could switch to a 10h bus ride, yes, but is that really a suitable alternative? However, as soon as you look at countries like Indonesia or Malaysia, you don't really have any alternatives, because they're all islands.
@@simply_aviation Okay, I don't know much about the alternatives outside of Europe 😅 but so far it sounds logical to me. Yes, high-speed rail is a good alternative, but still, I often read/hear flying is still the cheaper option, at least within Europe. Although I think time savings, just like you mentioned in the video, also might be a thing here.
Great podacst episode about Viva Air's current situation:
aviationweek.com/air-transport/podcast-colombia-losing-airline
"Air travel should not be a privilege of the wealthy, but accessible to as many people as possible". Couldn't agree more!
It is always problematic to use terms like "should" and "ought" in the context of economics. Either something is economically viable or it isn't.
If it isn't then it can only exist when it is financed through subsidies and that means the tax payer has to pay for it, whether he uses it or doesn't.
Is it fair when people who don't fly have to pay to keep aircraft running for others?
That is the problem with "fairness". It always depends on the definition, it is highly subjective and the people who have a tendency to complain the most about things being "unfair" to them also have that tendency to care the least whether something is unfair to others.
And no, I am not some heartless elitist who doesn't care about poor people. I am poor myself. I am 45 years old and flew 8 times in my life and out of those 8 flights 6 were business trips that were paid for by the company I worked for (still cheap coach class, by the way) and the 2 flights I did pay for myself cost me months worth of salary and I had to save up for 7 or 8 months and could still only afford because I was still living rent free at my parent's home at the time.
That is just my situation and I have to deal with it.
I'm not expecting other people to subsidize me flying somewhere.
Yes, but that ignores that in Colombia the AVERAGE wage is around $250 a month. Even LLCs in Colombia cater to the more wealthy in society. Pretty much everyone on board this flight is going to be, by Colombian standards, at least upper middle class.
Correction: In Colombia, driving from Bogota to Medellin could take a whole day due to bad roads, so being able to complete the journey on a 45 minute flight is a big deal for locals.
You are correct that LCC's are hugely important in Colombia, otherwise most people couldn't afford to fly. The proposed merger between Viva Air and Avianca would hurt Colombians, and I hope that the government can put guardrails in to ensure that air travel remains affordable for the people.
@@SebastianRamirez-tl8ne 👍🏿
10:08
The bus ride between Bogotá and Medellín is 8 hours because of the terrain but yeah, I agree LCCs are important to countries like Colombia which the cities aren’t far apart but the terrain makes them a long journey to get to
We are sad to see Viva grounded but we should have more news this week; the fusion with Avianca may be approved. Viva truly revolutionised air travel here for us! Yes, they cram the seats in there but it is fine for the shorter flights. The flights to EZE and GRU must have been pure torture.
Great flight. When I see maps, fastest road trip between these two cities nearly 9 hours because of mountainous terrain. That's why flying is popular. When I see the logo, it's remind me about something in my country.
Let's hope that they return to the skies...
I was already subscribed to the channel but after watching you fly the route I have made the most (since i live in Medellin) makes me feel even happier. Thanks for this amazing vid man!
Nice trip report like always. It's a shame they've grounded all their planes.
I see why the airline didn't last. There aren't enough ads in that cabin!
As always, excellent recording of your flight. Although VIVA's failure is really unfortunate for travelers who rely on it for reasonably priced travel in the region, I don't feel bad for the airline's management, as I think it's a positively disgraceful excuse for an airline. I had three utterly horrendous experiences with this shameful operation while traveling in Perú in 2019; VIVA got away with mistreating its passengers with impunity and just kept on doing the same to thousands of others. Torrents of complaints resulted in no improvement in its operations and zero action on the part of governmental consumer protection agencies. In my opinion, VIVA deserves to fail - and good riddance. I only hope that an LCC run by honest management and staff will replace it and provide the service that passengers deserve.
Not going to happen unfortunately David, Viva will either be dissolved or integrated to another company in the days to come. Luckily Jetsmart is there to save the day and fill that gap left by them in the country ..
Nice landing!! Sad they´re not existing any longer. Thanks for the video.
nice video, Colombia is such a great country, I hope I'll go back there some day 🙂
Thanks for saying My country is a great one❤️
I flew them in Peru last November and was pleasantly surprised; Viva felt like a very friendly, modern, and professional LCC; better than their US or European equivalents. Sad to hear they’ve grounded all their planes.
Your timing couldn’t have been better flying Viva just a week before they stopped flying (hopefully temporarily). It’s a very complicated financial and legal situation that stems back to Avianca trying to acquire Viva since almost a year ago in April 2022. We can only hope that everything is sorted out and one of the three airlines that have now become interested in acquiring Viva save them.
We’ll miss you Viva💔. Great video though!
I was supposed to fly Viva Air a couple of months ago but they denied me boarding. My original flight would have departed a couple of hours later but unbeknownst to me, they changed the departure time. My flight arriving from MEX landed a half hour early, giving me an hour to get through customs, check in, and security. I tried to check in with the app but it wouldn’t work. I got to the counter 35 min before departure but the agent told me I was too late, so I missed the flight. They didn’t have another flight to Bucaramanga until later in the evening, and it wasn’t a nonstop, so I booked an Avianca flight leaving a couple of hours later. I’m sad for Viva closing but honestly, Avianca has always had very inexpensive domestic fares with lots of frequency, so I don’t think they’ll be missed. I’ve always had great experiences on Avianca. I agree with you, that girl’s voice on the boarding announcements is annoying.
Thanks to a TV show called Airport Security: Colombia I already know how hectic things can get at El Dorado Airport. Security is super tight and you really can’t screw up going through customs or you’ll be in serious trouble
I did fly with Air Berlin the day before they shut down. The main flight attendants held a short teary eyed speech at the end of the flight and the passengers applauded dutifully.
El dorado is very nice airport.
Hope viva air continues its airline
Por fin mi país siuuuu / my country siuuu
Dude these are the best aviation videos I've seen!
Let's hope they will be back great video 📸
Nice Video and Ride!
It isn't like there is a lack of options on that route. On the MDE-BOG route, Avianca has 16 flights, LATAM has 12, Ultra has 4 and Wingo has 1. Adding in Medellin's alternate airport (EOH), EasyFly has 5 flights and Satena has 4.
Nice and true words at the end of the video 👍🏼
Hello David. Interesting trip report. Surprised to see the advertisements on the doors of the carry-on baggage storage. LCCs are necessary in places like Columbia for citizens who want to avoid the time-consuming bus trip. Let's hope they continue. Keep up the good work!
When my cat throws up, the color looks somewhat like that livery.
They are the best
I love Viva Air
Amazing trip report David!
Great Video : )
R.I.P Viva Air We miss you.
What a short flight!
Compared to Avianca and Wingo, I really like Viva Air the most!
Colombia is a mountainous country. Thats the main reason air connection is so important. Viva Air was doing well, this operational stop has to do with legal issues. Not financial.
It's almost 8 hours by car to Medellin from Bogota
I never knew there was another ULCC that had a yellow paint job, tight seats, and being planned to merge. Welp, now there's still one
You make awesome content.
If it wasn't a cloudy day landing in MDE, you would have seen a spectacular views of the mountains during the approach.
3:18 lol at guy struggling to get his bag in the bag sizer
Kro ith ❤
Viva Air Is Another Airlines Havent Flown With.Great Work
I guess that is going to be the 1st and last trip report with that airline
It seemed like a good airline for an LCC. I’m sure better than most of the US LCCs.
Was there any indication when you booked the flight or even when you actually flew that Viva was on the verge of ceasing operations?
Absolutely not. It was business as usual.
They were selling tickets right before they ceased operations
What a soft touchdown, great stuff. Shame that they're grounded, hopefully they'll be back in the air soon.
I used this Airline when call Viva Colombia (from Ryanair) had good prices, flight on time and normal service, i think was good, after his new name to Viva Air troubles started, delays, expensive prices, cancells and airline abuses to the passengers, financial problems and today is stoped on ground, maybe will fly again but wounded and the next Jet Smart's operation between Colombian routes soon, probably Viva Air can´t get hold.
Hello, can you make a report about the Volaris airline here in Mexico? And from Felipe Ángeles Airport (NLU).
Viva Air era mi aerolínea favorita y me fue bien con ellos viajando económico, que lástima que se van😞
En realidad todavía no de ha liquidado Viva. Toca esperar que dice la aerocivil
@SimplyAviation can you travel to Vietnam and review Vietnam Airlines/other airline from Vietnam?
I would hope, whatever flight I'm on, that I'd have a more desirable plane than the a320. I'm told that both the CRJ-900 and ERJ-195 are better regional jets than the a320 is.
must try Cebu Pacific or Air Asia in Manila
He already tried cebu pacific dubai to manila
Idk about air asia though
He has done Air Asia and Cebu Pacific, actually. Both long haul flights, too.
Hey David i am fan of your videos .. I have a question which i thought of asking you earlier how do you decide your destination basesd on what basis and also how do you decide the airline you want to travel . I definitely need your answer and what is the procedure to join your team 😁
One can dream
God bay Viva Air
*Goodbye
Probably not, they are trying to fly again, but won´t be easy.
Viva Air RIP [*] 😢
probably not, they are trying to fly again, but won´t be easy.
Good trip report. It's always good when you guys upload a new video.
Now add this one to the "dead airlines" playlist LMAO
7:40
Can you do a Fiji Airways A350 review?
can you fly to lituhuanian airport in Vilnius or Kaunas
I hope someday you should make a brutally honest video on Volaris airlines
Please go to Eygpt
first view and first comment! its been a wild week
And you're not first.
Can you try pal B777-300 flight to California 😌
5:11 you are right that voice is worst for a safety instruction.
I thought viva air went out of business?
Cheers
How do you make that animated intro?
The plane has 2 years ago
I was supposed to fly GRU-MDE-BOG, however we all know what happened.
Not gonna happen. Their fate’s been sealed since JetSmart is going to be operating domestic flights in Colombia.
Rip
Can u review the air India new 777-200lr business class try please😌😌😌
Honestly I also want to be a full time flight reviewer as an adult
What a shame and how lucky David can show us how VIVA looked like
I'm not saying I wouldn’t agree with you on keeping flying accessible to everyone - I mean, without low cost airlines I probably wouldn’t even fly myself - but nowadays (at least where I live) they try to make it less attractive to fly such short routes in such a cheap way, because of climate change. I wonder what you guys think of this.
It makes perfect sense when good alternatives are available. However, here in Europe, the debate around this topic is treated too Euro-centric. We are in a very blessed situation to have a dense network of high-speed rail as an alternative, so do China and Japan. But as soon as you look some of the world's largest LCCs, you'll see that they're in countries where no such alternative is available. In Colombia you could switch to a 10h bus ride, yes, but is that really a suitable alternative? However, as soon as you look at countries like Indonesia or Malaysia, you don't really have any alternatives, because they're all islands.
@@simply_aviation Okay, I don't know much about the alternatives outside of Europe 😅 but so far it sounds logical to me. Yes, high-speed rail is a good alternative, but still, I often read/hear flying is still the cheaper option, at least within Europe. Although I think time savings, just like you mentioned in the video, also might be a thing here.
why do you not speak spanish
:D D: :/ :( :)
HOLA CHICOS COMO ESTAN SOY DE BOGOTA
youre in a foggy day
0:14 WHAT THE HELL???
??
@@MattFand around plane
@@Ssb2freddyYou mean the traffic pattern before arrival?
@@MattFand yes
Nice and true words at the end of the video 👍🏼