Free Food Brings Avianca Fliers Back to Future: Corporate Brazil

Free airline food, a casualty of years of cost cuts, is making a comeback at Avianca Brasil as the closely held carrier woos fliers by not charging for meals, entertainment and roomier seating.

Focusing on service in Avianca Brasil’s coach-only cabins draws business travelers and helps the airline sell more seats on each jet than its domestic rivals, Chief Executive Officer Jose Efromovich said. Demand is so strong that this year’s 82 percent load level can be sustained even as new, bigger planes boost 2014 seating capacity by 30 percent, he said.