Colombia’s Avianca Holdings and Avianca Brasil, the two airlines controlled by the Efromovich brothers, are seeking separate international partners, including in the Middle East, while maintaining a long-term goal of merging.
"We are under confidentiality agreements" and many companies have shown interest, said Jose Efromovich, the chairman of Avianca Brasil, in Sao Paulo. "We are looking for a partner anywhere in the world. In the Middle East, in Europe, in the United States, in the Americas. Everything is possible, but it needs to make sense."
Etihad Airways and Avianca Brasil in June announced a codeshare partnership.
Under the agreement, Etihad will put its EY code on domestic flights operated by Avianca Brasil, while Avianca Brasil will put its O6 code on Etihad flights between Abu Dhabi and Sao Paulo.
The Efromovich brothers continue to pursue a merger of the two Aviancas that would create a single airline that flies all over South America. "It can happen in a month or it can happen in five years, but it is going to happen," Jose Efromovich said. "It is normal, it is rational, this was the goal when all this was conceived.”