Toronto just got a new cheap flight direct to South America

Toronto just got a new direct flight to Bogota, Colombia and the fares won't blow the budget.

Direct flights from Toronto to Bogota started on Dec. 3 on Avianca, a Colombia-based airline.

There is a travel warning for Colombia (the Canadian government suggests exercising a high degree of caution) so Bogota may not be the first place many people think of as a travel destination. But Avianca is promoting tourism with the new flights, and Colombia does have stunning rainforests, wildlife and world heritage sites.

Still, if you aren't ready to travel to Colombia, the direct route from Toronto to Bogota is part of an expansion for the airline that includes 11 new routes connecting destinations in South and Central America.

The flights are offered on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and tickets start at $209 one-way.

"We want our Canadian clients to have the best travel experience at competitive prices, to explore Latin America through one of the largest networks in the region," said Rolando Damas, Avianca's general director for North America, the Caribbean, and Asia.

The flights will be operated in Airbus A320 aircraft with capacity for 150 passengers, which represents an offer of about 4,000 weekly seats available to travellers.

Despite recent fears over Omicron, prompting people to cancel travel plans, Colombia hopes the new route will prompt a return to tourism.

"We celebrate the launch of this new route with the Canadian market. It is an important step towards the recovery of our tourism industry," said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia, the government agency in charge of promoting tourism in Colombia.

Avianca is emerging from bankruptcy with plans to compete with low-cost carriers on price while keeping parts of the business that made it Latin America’s second-largest airline before the pandemic hit. https://t.co/teSUAlwGLa

— Bloomberg (@business) December 3, 2021

Avianca ran into some financial trouble, going into bankruptcy restructuring at the beginning of lockdowns when the tourism industry took a nose-dive. But this month the airline successfully achieved agreements with its creditors, raised new investments of $1.7 billion, and obtained approval for its plan of reorganization.

With the new reorganization, the company is focusing on affordable prices, and expanding its flight network in Latin America.