The following tables present selected summary consolidated financial and operating data as of the dates and for the periods indicated. We prepare consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB in U.S. dollars. You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements together with the notes thereto included in this annual report, “ Presentation of Financial and Other Information ” and “ Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects. ”

The selected consolidated financial information as of December 31, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.

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Not applicable.

Not applicable.

An investment in the American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of the ADSs could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below are those known to us that we currently believe may materially affect us.

Risks Relating to Our Company

Although we experienced an increase in revenues in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, we may experience decreases in revenue or profitability in the future.

Although the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, we experienced an increase in revenues, primarily as a result of higher average fare and yields, higher cargo and other revenues and the appreciation of the Colombian peso against the U.S. dollar (which caused the dollar-equivalent amount of our revenues earned in Colombian pesos to increase), in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, we experienced a decrease in revenues, primarily the result of lower yields, which were caused by increased competition, new competitors and the depreciation of the Colombian peso against the U.S. dollar (which caused the dollar-equivalent amount of our revenues earned in Colombian pesos to decrease). These factors acted as leadways to our business, more than offsetting growth in our capacity and traffic. There is no assurance that these factors will not negatively affect our business in the future. Prospective investors should understand that our future results of operations are subject to significant uncertainties.

We seek to grow by expanding our service to new markets and by increasing the frequency of our flights to some of the markets we currently serve. We cannot assure you, however, that any future growth will improve our overall profitability and may, in fact, damage our profitability. When we commence a new route, our load factors tend to be lower than those in our established routes, and our advertising and other promotional costs tend to be higher, which may result in initial losses that would have a negative impact on our consolidated results of operations as well as require a substantial amount of cash to fund. We also periodically offer special promotional fares, particularly in connection with the opening of new routes. Promotional fares may have the effect of increasing load factors while reducing our yield on such routes during the period that they are in effect.

During 2017, Latin America presented a slight recovery after facing a challenging scenario due to the fall of commodity prices, especially fuel, which had collateral effects in the economies of the region, such as a downturn in economic growth rates, a significant currency devaluation, an increase in inflation and a decline of international investments, affecting the demand for air travel and overall performance in our home markets. The high dependency of these economies on commodities have weakened their performance. Although commodity prices recovered partially during the last year, which is reflected in the modest increase in the GDP forecast of each country as reported by The International Monetary Fund, we cannot assure you that this trend will continue.

Also, the capacity increase and low fare strategy of North American airlines in our core markets, led by low cost carriers aided by the decline of fuel prices, may continue to affect our and other Latin American airlines revenues.

In 2018, we intend to expand our network by opening routes to new destinations and we may have a moderate growth in capacity. Our growth and profitability depend on the number of markets we serve and our flight frequencies, which in turn depend on our ability to identify the appropriate geographic markets upon which to focus and to gain suitable airport access and route approval in these markets. According to ALTA, air travel in Latin America grew at rates of 5.8%, 3.8% and 5.1% in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. We cannot assure you that this growth will continue in the future or that any new markets we enter will provide passenger traffic that is sufficient to make our operations in those new markets profitable. Any condition that would prevent or delay our access to key airports or routes, including limitations on the ability to carry more passengers, the imposition of flight capacity

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restrictions, the inability to secure additional route rights under bilateral agreements or the inability to maintain our existing slots and obtain additional slots, could constrain the expansion of our operations. See “—Risks Relating to Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Central America and Other Countries in which we operate.” In light of the factors mentioned above, we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully achieve profitability or expand our existing markets, and our failure to do so could harm our business and results of operations, as well as the value of the ADSs.

If our new aircraft are not delivered or placed into service on time, our competitive position and results of operations are likely to be harmed.

We have entered into several agreements to acquire up to 124 Airbus A320 family, One Boeing B787-8, three Boeing B787-9, and two Airbus A330 between 2018 and 2025. On January 2018, the Company signed two Aircraft Sale and Purchase Agreement, one between V Air Corporation and Avianca, and the other between Transasia Airways Corporation and Avianca, each agreement for one A321-200 aircraft with delivery dates in February 2018. On April 30, 2015, the Company signed a Purchase Contract for a total of 100 A320 New Engine Option (NEO) family aircraft to be delivered between 2019 and 2024. As a result, Avianca S.A and Grupo Taca Holdings Limited are jointly and severally liable for all of the commitments and obligations set forth in the Purchase Contract, under which we shall make pre-delivery payments to Airbus at predetermined dates. In line with our initiatives directed towards enhancing profitability, achieving a leaner capital structure and reducing the current levels of debt, on April 2016, we negotiated with Airbus a significant reduction of our scheduled aircraft deliveries for 2017, 2018 and 2019 and certain changes to the type of aircraft (both upgrades and downgrades), but did not alter the total deliveries scheduled between 2018 and 2025. On December 2017, the Company signed two Assignment, Assumption and Release Agreement, one assigning five A-320 family aircraft to Muisca Aviation Limited and other assigning four A-320 family aircraft to Tejo Aviation Limited. As a result, we have a different schedule for advanced payments and aircraft acquisition. On July 2017, the Company signed and amendment to the Boeing Purchase Agreement to include one additional 787-8 to be delivered in October 2018. Also, on September 2017, a Supplemental agreement with Boeing was signed to upgrade our 3 787-8 to be delivered in 2019 to 787-9. The timely delivery of these new aircraft by Airbus and Boeing is subject to a number of uncertainties including (i) the fact that Airbus or Boeing may be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual delivery obligations as a result of production capacity constraints or otherwise, (ii) the aircraft delivered to us may encounter unexpected safety or other operational problems and could be grounded, as has happened in the past to B787 aircraft operated by other airlines and (iii) our inability to obtain necessary aircraft financing for any reason.

Even if our new aircraft are delivered on time, certain additional risks may delay our ability to put them into service immediately, including:

These and other such risks may significantly delay our ability to implement the critically important continuing modernization of our passenger and cargo fleet. While our jet passenger operative fleet had an average age of approximately 6.86 years as of December 31, 2017, our total operative fleet had an average age (including both passenger and cargo and jet and turboprop aircraft) of approximately 7.48 years as of that date. Our ability to remain competitive and to achieve improvements in operating efficiencies is heavily dependent on the prompt modernization of our fleet, and any disruptions of, or delays in, our proposed modernization program may significantly harm our business by eroding our competitive position, delaying our ability to reduce operating costs and complicating our ability to retire our older aircraft on schedule.

Underperformance of aircraft ordered from Airbus and Boeing may adversely impact our operations and financial results.

We expect our fleet renewal plan to result in increased fuel efficiency, crew productivity, and lower training costs leading to higher operational efficiency and flexibility. However, if the aircraft do not perform as expected, their introduction may not result in the aforementioned benefits, and additional cost will be incurred associated with their purchase and with the replacement of older aircrafts. Although our agreements with Airbus and Boeing would permit us to receive compensation under certain circumstances in

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the event these aircraft fail to meet their agreed specifications, we can offer no assurance that compensation received, if any, would adequately compensate us for the loss of the anticipated benefits of the new aircraft; however, we do track the guarantees with our manufactures and manage the claims, if any. As a result, in 2017 we received compensation for a fuel performance claim against Boeing for $1.2 million. The incurrence of the additional financing costs to purchase these aircraft and the additional cost of retiring portions of our current fleet without achieving the related increase in efficiency and cost reductions could have a negative impact on our business, operations and financial performance.

Integration of new aircraft and return of old aircraft into our fleet may be costly in terms of financial and human resources.

We currently expect to integrate approximately 128 new aircraft and four used Aircraft into our fleet between 2018 and 2025 and may exercise purchase rights for additional new aircraft. We may experience difficulties in integrating these new aircraft into our fleet. In addition, we face risks in integrating new types of aircraft into our existing infrastructure and operations, including, among other things, the additional costs, resources, space, personnel and time needed to hire and train new pilots, technicians and other skilled support personnel. We may also face significant difficulties selling the aircraft we own in a short period of time at favorable prices and returning our leased aircraft and engines on reasonable terms due to rigorous pre-return inspections by the lessors, which can lead to lengthy and costly negotiations during which we are obliged to continue making lease payments for unutilized equipment. Our failure to integrate these newly purchased aircraft into our fleet as planned might require us to seek extensions of the terms for some leased aircraft. Such unanticipated extensions may require us to operate existing aircraft beyond the point at which it is economically optimal to retire them, resulting in increased maintenance costs. If new aircraft orders are not filled on a timely basis, we could face higher monthly rental rates. We also have a large inventory of spare parts and components for our current fleet and we may not be able to sell this inventory at favorable prices.

We may not be able to obtain the capital we need to finance our growth and modernization strategy.

We seek to implement our growth and modernization strategy by providing increased frequencies to markets where we believe demand for air travel exceeds availability of flights, replacing our existing fleet with a new fleet and expanding our cargo activities, among other capital-intensive initiatives. The majority of our aircraft are subject to favorable long-term operating leases or are financed on favorable terms. We may be unable to obtain similarly favorable financing for our new fleet. We intend to rely upon internally-generated cash from our operations and additional debt financing in the domestic and international capital markets to fund our growth and modernization strategy. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or obtain sufficient funds from external sources with favorable financing terms. Failure to generate sufficient cash flow or to obtain such financing could result in us paying higher financing rates or being unable to accept delivery of the new aircraft, which may result in defaults under our aircraft purchase contracts with Airbus, Boeing and ATR or in the delay or abandonment of some or all of our planned expenditures, which, in turn, could adversely affect our competitive position and our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.

We have significant indebtedness and financing costs and expect to incur additional indebtedness and financing costs as we modernize our fleet and seek to grow our business.

We have substantial and increasing fixed financial costs in connection with our aircraft financing obligations. As of December 31, 2017, we had $3,752.1. million of total debt outstanding. Our interest expense was $183.3 million in 2017. For the year ended December 31, 2017, our aircraft rental expense under aircraft operating leases aggregated $278.8 million, and our facility rental costs aggregated more than $32.5 million. In addition, we have entered into agreements to acquire up to 128 Airbus A320 family, one Airbus A300F and six Boeing B787 to be delivered between 2017 and 2025, of which seven were delivered in 2017. On April 30, 2015, the Company signed a Purchase Contract for a total of 100 A320 New Engine Option (NEO) family aircraft to be delivered between 2019 and 2024. In line with our initiatives directed towards enhancing profitability, achieving a leaner capital structure and reducing the current levels of debt, in April 2016, we negotiated with Airbus a significant reduction of our scheduled aircraft deliveries for 2017, 2018 and 2019 and certain changes to the type of aircraft (both upgrades and downgrades), but did not alter the total deliveries scheduled between 2017 and 2025. As a result, we have a different schedule for advanced payments and aircraft acquisition. Avianca and Taca are jointly and severally liable for all of the commitments and obligations set forth in the Purchase Contract, under which we shall make pre-delivery payments to Airbus at predetermined dates. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Part F. Contractual Obligations” for information on the magnitude of such financial commitments.

A high level of leverage may have significant negative effects on our future operations, including:

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If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our debt, we may be required to refinance all or a portion of our existing debt or obtain additional financing. We cannot assure you that any such refinancing would be possible or that any additional financing could be obtained. Our inability to obtain such refinancing or financing may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have experienced ratings downgrades in the past.

Major rating agencies, including Fitch and Standard and Poor’s, have downgraded us in the past, suggesting the likelihood that we will be able to repay our existing debt obligations has diminished, and may do so again in the future. If we were to experience a ratings downgrade, this would likely make it difficult for us to refinance our debt and may increase our interest expenses, which could damage our financial condition and results of operations. A default on any of our debt obligations would likely have a negative impact on the market value of the ADSs.

We have significant off-balance sheet arrangements.

We have significant off-balance sheet arrangements, which must be taken into account in evaluating our overall level of leverage and financial health. As of December 31, 2017, the balance of our aircraft off-balance sheet arrangements was $1,001.7 million, primarily related to obligations under our operating leases for aircraft in our fleet. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Part E. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements.” The amount of these off-balance sheet arrangements may grow in the future as we incorporate new aircraft into our fleet under our fleet plan, many of which could be through operating leases.

Our existing debt and lease financing arrangements contain restrictive covenants and events of default that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us.

Several of our financing arrangements and several aircraft leases contain a number of covenants and restrictions including limits on our ability and our subsidiaries’ ability to incur additional debt and make certain investments. Some of these covenants require that we comply with specified financial ratios and other financial and operating tests. Our access to certain borrowings under our financing arrangements is conditioned upon our compliance with minimum debt service coverage, capitalization ratios, cash levels and maximum leverage ratio. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Part B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Debt and Other Financing Agreements.”

Complying with these covenants may cause us to take actions that make it more difficult to execute our business strategy successfully and we may face competition from companies not subject to such restrictions. Moreover, while a breach in these covenants has no consequences in terms of acceleration of debt, it would impose restrictions on additional indebtedness that Avianca S.A. can incur outside of fleet financing and ground support equipment. We have in the past and may in the future fall out of compliance with financial covenants in our debt agreements.

Our maintenance costs will increase as our fleet ages.

Because the average age of our operative fleet was approximately 7.36 years as of December 31, 2017, our fleet requires less maintenance now than it will in the future. As of December 31, 2017, our jet passenger operative fleet had an average age of approximately 6.70 years, our cargo fleet had an average age of approximately 19.38 years and our turboprop operative fleet had an average age of approximately 5.67 years. Our maintenance costs can be expected to increase significantly, both on an absolute basis and as a percentage of our operating expenses, if our fleet ages and such fleet is not replaced or the warranties covering such fleet expire and are not renewed.

We depend on strategic alliances or commercial relationships, such as our membership in Star Alliance, in many of the countries in which we operate, and our business may suffer if any of our strategic alliances or commercial relationships terminate.

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In many of the jurisdictions in which we operate, we have found it in our interest to maintain a number of alliances and other commercial relationships. We depend on these alliances and/or commercial relationships to enhance our network and, in some cases, to offer our customers alternative services that we could not otherwise offer. If any of our strategic alliances and commercial relationships, in particular with Star Alliance or its members, deteriorates, or any of these agreements are terminated, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected.

We depend on a limited number of suppliers for our aircraft and engines.

One of the elements of our business strategy is to reduce costs by operating a simplified fleet of ariplanes. As of December 31, 2017, of the 191 aircraft that comprised our total fleet (including three aircraft we lease or sublease to an entity indirectly controlled by José Efromovich, OceanAir Linhas Aereas S.A., or OceanAir, which conducts business under the trade name Avianca Brazil, two to Aerolitoral S.A. de CV and three wet lease aircraft; during 2018, we have received seven aircraft, two passenger A330-300, one A330-300 wet lease, two A321-200, two A320 Neo to 198 total fleet) 136 were Airbus. Our jet fleet also includes 10 Embraer aircraft, and we have also entered into agreements to acquire up to 13 Boeing B787-8 Dreamliners, three Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners to implement our long-haul strategy. As of December 31, 2017, 12 Boeing 787-8 have been received, also we have two Airbus A330 and 1 Boeing 767 on a wet lease contract. Our turboprop includes 17 ATR and 13 Cessna As a result, we are vulnerable to significant problems associated with the Airbus, Embraer, Boeing or ATR aircraft or the engines that power them, including design defects, mechanical problems, contractual performance by the manufacturers or adverse perception by the public that would result in customer avoidance or in actions by the FAA or other regulators resulting in a reduced ability to operate our aircraft.

If any of Airbus, Embraer, Boeing or ATR or the manufacturers of the engines that power them were unable to perform their contractual obligations, or if we are unable to acquire or lease new aircraft or engines from aircraft or engine manufacturers or lessors on acceptable terms, we would have to find another supplier for a similar type of aircraft or engine. If we have to lease or purchase aircraft from another supplier, we could lose the benefits we derive from our current fleet composition. We cannot assure you that any replacement aircraft would have the same operating advantages as the Airbus, Embraer, Boeing or the ATR aircraft that currently comprise our fleet that would be replaced or that we could lease or purchase engines that would be as reliable and efficient as the engines that currently power them. We may also incur substantial transition costs, including costs associated with retraining our employees, replacing our manuals and adapting our facilities. Our operations could also be harmed by the failure or inability of Airbus, Embraer, Boeing or ATR or the manufacturers of our engines to provide sufficient parts or related support services on a timely basis.

Our business would be significantly harmed if a design defect or mechanical problem with any of the types of aircraft that we operate were discovered that would ground any of our aircraft while the defect or problem was corrected, assuming it could be corrected at all. For example, in September 2017, we discovered some issues with some of our TRENT 1000 engines of our Boeing B787 fleet, which has led us to preemptively ground and fix one of our Dreamliners. The use of our aircraft could be suspended or restricted by regulatory authorities in the event of any actual or perceived mechanical or design problems. Our business would also be significantly harmed if the public began to avoid flying with us due to an adverse perception of the types of aircraft that we operate stemming from safety concerns or other problems, whether real or perceived, or in the event of an accident involving those types of aircraft. Carriers that operate a more diversified fleet are better positioned than we are to manage such events.

Our operational growth depends on the airport infrastructure in our hubs at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport, Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport and El Salvador’s International Airport Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez.

Our business is heavily dependent on our operations at our Bogotá hub consisting of El Dorado International Airport and Puente Aéreo . During 2017, approximately 77% of our domestic flights and approximately 33% of our total international flights either departed from or arrived at our Bogotá hub. As a result, any significant interruption or disruption in service at El Dorado International Airport, or any other condition adversely affecting the international competitiveness of the Bogotá hub, could have a serious impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

The hub-and-spoke structure of many of our operations is particularly dependent on the on-time arrival of tightly coordinated groupings of flights to ensure that passengers can make timely connections to continuing flights. Like other airlines, we are subject to delays caused by factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, adverse weather conditions and increased security measures. El Dorado International Airport currently faces significant traffic congestion due to the lack of capacity in flight and ground operations. IATA is currently tracking progress of the advisory services given to the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority to improve overall runway capacity and ground movement patterns at El Dorado International Airport, the implementation of new flight procedures took place in October 12 of 2017 allowing the optimization of air space. Such improvements include the optimization of the capacity and efficiency of El Dorado International Airport by designing a new navigation procedures and implementing best practices in air traffic control. Although the capacity of the air side should no longer be a limitation, the capacity of the ground side (parking positions) is the strongest restriction and prevents the terminal capacity increase in Bogotá. We cannot give any assurance that IATA’s solutions will in fact be implemented as planned, or that, if implemented, they will be successful in alleviating the current congestion.

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If the expansion of El Dorado International Airport is not carried out timely, this will likely constrain significantly our ability to grow and adversely affect our ability to maintain the competitiveness of our business model. Delays inconvenience passengers, reduce aircraft utilization and increase costs, all of which negatively affect our profitability. During periods of fog, rain, storms or other adverse weather conditions, flights may be cancelled or significantly delayed. Cancellations or delays due to weather conditions, traffic control problems and breaches in security could harm our operating results and financial condition. In addition, the number of gates at El Dorado International Airport need to be increased to accommodate demand, which currently exceeds the airport’s capacity.

The accelerated operational growth of El Dorado International Airport during the last years has allowed us a better use of the actual capacity. As a consequence, IATA changed the level of slot coordination for Bogotá from one to three starting on October 25, 2015. This classification is given to airports such as John F. Kennedy (New York), Narita, Changi, Charles-de-Gaulle, Frankfurt, Madrid Barajas and Mexico City international airports, among others, that meet the following conditions contained in IATA’s Worldwide Slot Guidelines:

In June of 2014, we moved some of our domestic operations from Puente Aéreo domestic terminal to El Dorado International Airport in order to improve connectivity between our international and domestic flights. We implemented a second phase of such reorganization on October 26, 2014, and the operation of 55% of our then daily domestic flights from El Dorado International Airport. In 2017 we continued with this process, moving the routes of San Andres and Valledupar from Puente Aéreo to El Dorado International Airport. Although the new airport benefits our customer experience, a new operation scheme may also present challenges in coordination, planning and costs. The expansion plan of the El Dorado International Airport announced by the Colombian government seeks to increase the terminal capacity and size, improve its infrastructure, its process and customer service and its benefit operations by 2018. At the end of 2015, the new control tower infrastructure was finalized and began to operate on April 1, 2016 using significant technology improvements. In addition, this expansion plan also includes: increase of operations per hour, implementation of new and more efficient navaids and flight procedures, high speed taxi ways, runway extensions, an addition of 27 new gates (for a total of 54 at the airport), more space for passenger terminals (such as areas related to customer service, new commercial and food court areas) and new VIP lounges. We may experience difficulties in our operations during this expansion process and we cannot assure that the expansion will be successful or be completed within the expected time frame.

Lima’s Jorge Chaves Airport is one of our three hubs, where we operate daily more than 69 national and international flights. One of the major operational risks we face on a daily basis in this airport is the limited number of parking positions. Additionally, the indoors infrastructure of the airport limits our ability to manage connections and launch new flights due to the lack of gates and increasing security and immigration controls.

Lima Airport Partners (LAP), the concessionaire of Lima’s airport, plans to expand the airport’s capacity with a second runway, more parking positions and a new terminal for passengers. These expansion plans started in 2017. IATA began to provide advisory services to the Peruvian Civil Aviation Authority to improve overall runway capacity and ground movement patterns at Jorge Chaves Airport. Therefore, we expect that for the next few years, Lima’s airport’s capacity will remain as it is today, limiting our ability to grow and affecting our competitiveness in the country and in the region.

Furthermore, we operate more than 89 daily international flights at El Salvador International Airport. Our operational growth in this region depends on the airport’s infrastructure. Due to the growth in the number of flights in each of the banks, the operation in remote parking positions has increased, the gates capacity is more limited and the equipment for the security controls to special destinations are not enough to attend our passengers. These events could limit our ability to manage connections and operations according to our standards.

We are in the process of incorporating new information technology systems, the phase-in of which may have a negative impact on our general ledger systems and other related IT systems we use to process our accounting transactions.

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In 2017 we defined Avianca´s IT roadmap which contains the main strategic projects to be developed from 2017 to 2020. While we are in the process of incorporating new information technology systems, the phase-in of which may have a negative impact on our general ledger systems and other related IT systems we use to process our accounting transactions. We are in the process of incorporating new information technology systems to improve our flight operations and integrate our legacy Avianca and Taca systems. We worked to implement our new flight operations systems during 2017 and we will continue doing it during 2018, we cannot assure you we will be able to do so. Our incorporation of these new systems is intended to help us reduce costs, enhance customer satisfaction and increase operating efficiencies; however, these new systems may not deliver the benefits we seek. In addition, in the short term, the phase-in of these new systems may result in lower service and operating performance, which could adversely affect how our customers perceive us. Also, in transitioning to new systems, we may lose data or experience interruptions in service, which could harm our business.

We face significant challenges which may limit our ability to grow our cargo business.

Our cargo business is highly sensitive to macroeconomic conditions and to significant competitive pressures. The air cargo business is generally volatile and reacts quickly to changes in economic conditions. For example, a decrease of a certain percentage in GDP or consumer demand often results in a disproportionately larger decrease in demand for air cargo services, as cargo customers elect to suspend restocking orders and reduce existing inventories and/or to use cheaper forms of transportation for their goods. Although 2017 was the strongest year of global international air freight growth since 2011, RTKs grew more than twice as fast as global trade volumes during 2017 (9.9% measured in revenues ton per kilometer). Acording to IATA, international RTKs flown by airlines based in Latin America grew in 2017 by 5.8% and 10.3%, in North America.

A competitive environment and excess capacity in most markets continuously puts pressure on yields. This situation may be worsened by the increased deployment of freighter capacity in certain routes by competitor airlines and strong passenger growth in widebody aircraft, adversely affecting yields and market share and therefore expected profitability.

Cargo demand and flows are unidirectional, and dependent on a small number of product categories. This structural imbalance between inbound and outbound flows poses a challenge to freighter operations as lack of demand in a particular direction may force airlines to rely on different markets in order to maximize loads on return flights. Product concentration may also enhance this challenge, as the volume of goods that we transport on a specific direction may be strongly affected by any event that negatively affects the production of these goods (for example fresh flowers from Ecuador and Colombia).

We rely on third parties to provide us with parts and services.

We have entered into agreements with, and depend upon, a number of suppliers for our parts and engines for both provisioning and maintenance. We also have entered into agreements with third-party contractors to provide us with call-center services, catering, ground handling, and baggage handling and “below the wing” aircraft services. It is our general policy that our agreements with suppliers and third-party contractors are subject to termination on short notice. In some cases, we would be forced to pay penalties for terminating contracts on short notice and our contractors have also the right to terminate on short notice the agreements entered into with us. The termination of these agreements or our inability to renew these agreements or to negotiate new agreements with other providers at comparable rates could harm our business and results of operations. Further, our reliance on third parties to provide essential supplies and services on our behalf gives us less control over the costs, efficiency, timeliness and quality of those supplies and services. We expect to be dependent on such agreements for the foreseeable future, and, if we enter any new market, we will need to enter into additional similar agreements.

Our business is highly regulated and changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate may adversely affect our

business and results of operations.

Our business is highly regulated and substantially depends upon the regulatory environment in the countries in which we operate or intend to operate. For example, price controls on fares may limit our ability to effectively apply customer segmentation profit maximization techniques (management techniques that use passenger demanding forecasting and fare-mix optimization techniques to maximize profit for an airline) and adjust prices to reflect cost pressures. High levels of government regulation may limit the scope of our operations and our growth plans, especially in the event of deterioration of the relations between the countries in which we operate or the public perception of foreign companies in local markets. Accordingly, regulatory issues could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected if we fail to maintain the required governmental authorizations in the various jurisdictions where we operate. In order to maintain the necessary authorizations issued by the different civil aviation and consumer protection authorities in jurisdictions where we operate, we must continue to comply with applicable statutes, rules and regulations pertaining to the airline industry, including any rules and regulations that may be adopted in

the future. We cannot predict or control any actions that the civil aviation and consumer protection authorities or other aviation regulators may take in the future, which could include restricting our operations or imposing new and costly regulations.

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We are also subject to international bilateral and multilateral air transport agreements that provide for the exchange of air traffic rights between the different countries, and we must obtain permission from applicable governments to provide service to domestic and international destinations. Bilateral aviation agreements as well as local aviation approvals frequently involve political and other considerations beyond our control. A modification, denunciation of or withdrawal from one or more bilateral agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The suspension or revocation of our permission to operate in certain airports or destinations or the imposition of other sanctions could also have a material adverse effect. A change in the administration of current laws and regulations or the adoption of new laws and regulations in any of the countries in which we operate that restricts our route, airport or other access may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot give you any assurance that existing bilateral agreements among the countries in which we are based and to which we fly, and permits from local and foreign governments, will continue, or that we will be able to obtain more traffic rights to accommodate our future expansion plans.

Further, if we are unable to obtain favorable take-off and landing authorizations at certain high-density airports, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain all requested authorizations and slots in the future because, among other factors, government policies regulating the distribution of the authorizations and slots are subject to change.

In addition, certain of the bilateral air transport agreements, including, among others, agreements of Colombia with Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Chile, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Netherlands and Costa Rica contain the requirement that our relevant operating subsidiaries must be incorporated and have their principal domicile, management, operations, technical maintenance and offices in certain designated countries. Also, all of the agreements negotiated by El Salvador (except for the agreements with Ecuador, Colombia, Emirates, Qatar and Chile) contain a clause that our airline in El Salvador (Taca International) remains substantially owned and effectively controlled by Salvadoran nationals. A substantial part of the agreements negotiated by Costa Rica also contain ownership and control requirements.

Other bilateral air transport agreements, including, among others, agreements with the United States, United Kingdom and Brazil, respectively, contain requirements that we remain substantially owned and effectively controlled by a national governmental entity or its nationals. We cannot assure you that national citizens, directly or indirectly, will continue to own and control a majority of our capital stock indefinitely. For example, if for any reason Germán Efromovich, José Efromovich and/or Roberto Kriete, who each have different citizenships and are the beneficial owners of all of our common stock, cease to have substantial ownership of our capital stock, or the effective control of our management and operations ceases to be exercised by nationals, or if we fail to continue to have our corporate domicile, administrative headquarters, and our base of operations within each territory, we may no longer comply with the requirements of Colombian bilateral agreements and, as a result, our route and landing rights in a number of important countries may be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. A modification, suspension or revocation of one or more permission from applicable foreign governments or a modification or denunciation of or withdrawal from one or more bilateral agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—Part B. Business Overview—Regulation.”

As of December 31, 2017, approximately 73.3% of our total fleet was U.S.-registered. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, and the European Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA, are our most significant foreign government regulators. For example, the FAA from time to time issues directives and other regulations relating to the maintenance and operation of aircraft that require significant expenditures. FAA requirements, which apply to our U.S.-registered aircraft, cover, among other things, collision avoidance systems, airborne wind shear avoidance systems, noise abatement and other environmental issues, and increased inspections and maintenance procedures to be conducted on older aircraft. We expect to continue incurring expenses to comply with these and other international government regulations, and any increase in the cost of compliance could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Additional new regulations continue to be regularly implemented by various U.S. and European agencies, including, among others, the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration, or TSA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the European Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA. We cannot assure you that the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions to which we fly (including, without limitation, immigration and security regulations, which directly affect passengers) will not change or that new laws adverse to us will not be enacted, and any such events may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

There is a trend in some countries of the region (for example, Colombia, Brazil, Aruba, Curacao, Mexico, USA, Paraguay, Perú, Dominican Republic and El Salvador, among others), that aim to establish new passenger’s rights, and imposes changes to airlines Contracts of Carriage or limit their scope, based on consumer protection law. If we do not comply with those regulations, an investigate procedure we may be subject to investigation, potentially resulting in sanctions or fines, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We are working closely with the regional and local airline associations to ensure that any obligations imposed are not unnecessarily burdensome.

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Our reputation and financial condition would be harmed in the event of an accident or major incident involving our aircraft or aircraft of the types we use.

Between 1988 and 1993 Avianca had four serious accidents involving significant fatalities. More recently, in 2008, one of Taca’s aircraft had an accident involving five fatalities after landing in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. An accident or major incident in the future involving one of our aircraft could result in significant claims by injured passengers and/or relatives, as well as significant costs related to the repair or replacement of a damaged aircraft and its temporary or permanent removal from service.

We are required by our creditors and the lessors of our aircraft under our operating lease agreements to carry liability insurance. The insurance coverage and conditions set forth in our liability insurance policies are in accordance with the practice for internationally recognized airlines and comply with the requirements of the aviation authorities in the countries we operate. However, if the insurance coverage is not sufficient to cover the potential liabilities incurred from a loss, we may suffer a significant financial impact as we would be liable for any amounts exceeding our insurance coverage. Our insurance premiums may also increase significantly due to an accident or incident affecting one of our aircraft. Substantial claims resulting from an accident in excess of our related insurance coverage or increased premiums would harm our business and financial results. Moreover, any aircraft accident or incident, even if fully insured, could cause the public to perceive us as less safe or reliable than other airlines, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and business prospects. Our business would also be significantly harmed if the public were to avoid flying with us due to an adverse perception of an aircraft type, safety concerns or other problems, whether real or perceived, or in the event of an accident involving an aircraft of a type that we operate.

We are subject to litigation that could negatively affect our profitability and cash flow or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our future profitability and cash flows could be affected by an adverse ruling in any of the potentially significant lawsuits currently pending against us or that may be filed against us in the future. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in any such lawsuits.

On September 20, 2017, the Colombian Association of Civil Aviators union (“ACDAC”) unilaterally initiated a cease of activities as no agreement had been reached in a labor dispute between the union and Avianca S.A. The cease of activities lasted for 51 days and caused the cancellation of 14,337 flights, approximately 50% of our flights, during that period.

On September 25, 2017, Avianca S.A. filed a lawsuit with the Superior Court of Bogotá to declare the illegality of the strike. Such motion was granted by the court on October 6, 2017. Subsequently, ACDAC filed an appeal but such decision was upheld by the Labor Chamber of the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice. ACDAC submitted an application with the court for additional clarification of the judgment as well as an annulment. However, on February 8, 2018, the Colombian Supreme Court denied the motions presented by ACDAC and, therefore, the judge’s decision declaring the strike illegal became final.

On September 28, 2017, by resolution No. 3744 of 2017, the Ministry of Labor convened a compulsory arbitration tribunal, whose awards are comparable to collective bargaining agreements, to settle the differences regarding economic claims between ACDAC and Avianca S.A. The tribunal served Avianca S.A. with the award on December 11, 2017. Subsequently, Avianca S.A. filed a motion to clarify the terms of the award and another motion for annulment since, we understand, the tribunal exceeded its competence by rendering decision beyond the scope of its jurisdiction. On February 8, 2018, the arbitration tribunal accepted such motions and remanded the case before the Labor Chamber of the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice, who is the competent authority to rule on the recourse. As of the date of this annual report, the Colombian Supreme Court had not entered a final decision on this matter.

In addition, on April 16, 2018, Avianca S.A. initiated disciplinary procedures to 221 pilots and, in the first hearing, Avianca S.A. discharged 107 pilots, while 114 were sanctioned with unpaid leaves between one and eight days. All 221 pilots may have their case reviewed in a second hearing. As of the date of this annual report, 57 second hearings have been concluded and we expect the second round of second hearings to conclude approximately by May 24, 2018.

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Some of our subsidiaries are currently defendants to several lawsuits of other civil, commercial or labor nature originating from alleged acts or omissions related to their activities as carriers or as employers, with varying claims for damages on legal and contractual bases. See Note 31 to our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report.

In addition, there are several proceedings in which our subsidiaries are plaintiffs demanding that certain decisions of administrative authorities be declared null. If our subsidiaries do not prevail in such proceedings, not only will the decisions of the authorities remain effective, but our subsidiaries may also be required to pay penalties, sanctions or other additional amounts.

Finally, some tax returns filed on time with the different authorities are pending review in accordance with the applicable statute of limitations. The auditing of those tax returns may result in additional taxes, interest or penalties which could give rise to administrative proceedings with applicable authorities. Our business also makes us and our subsidiaries subject to potential lawsuits which have not yet materialized but in the future, could negatively impact our business.

Failure to comply with applicable environmental regulations could adversely affect our business and reputation.

Our operations are covered by environmental regulations at the local and national levels, in our hubs, focus markets and in foreign countries. These regulations cover, among other things, emissions into the atmosphere, disposal of solid waste and aqueous effluents, management and disposal of hazardous wastes, aircraft noise and other activities incident to our business. Future operations and financial results may vary as a result of such regulations. Compliance with these regulations and new or existing regulations that may be applicable to us in the future could increase our cost base and adversely affect our operations and financial results.

In Europe, aviation emissions have been subject to the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), also known as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme since 2012. However, in 2012 the European Commission’s and Environment Committee of the European Parliament temporarily suspended the inclusion of intercontinental flights. In 2014, the EU decided to revise the scope of aviation activities covered by the EU ETS, in order to support the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the development of a global measure to reduce aviation emissions. Under (Regulation 421/2014), the EU took measures, to limit the scope of the EU ETS for aviation to emissions in the years 2013-16, from flights departing and arriving in aerodromes located in the European Economic Area – EEA. Although, the EU- ETS only is fully applicable regarding those airlines that conducted intra-European flights, this directive requires us to submit annual emission reports in order to operate routes to and from EU member states.

In the 39th ICAO Assembly (October 2016), the ICAO adopted a Resolution creating the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), a global market-based measure aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2020 through carbon offsetting.

On 5 December 2017, ICAO released a State Letter seeking comments from States on the Proposal for the First Edition of Annex 16, Volume IV, which relates to the Standards and Recommended Practices for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The standards of Annex 16, Volume IV, will apply to all airlines operating international flights from 1 January 2019 and airlines will need to be prepared to comply with them by that date.

On this regard, and in order to further support the ICAO process and remaining work on the CORSIA, the European Commission is proposing to continue the current intra-EEA approach for aviation under the ETS. The final text of the regulation (Regulation 2017/2392) waiving the enforcement of EU ETS in respect of flights between Europe and third countries has been published in the Official Journal on 29 December 2017 and entered into force on the same day. As a result of the Regulation, the enforcement of EU ETS in respect of flights between the EEA and third countries is waived until 31 December 2023. The Regulation applies retroactively to all flights operated from 1 January 2017. As a result, operators will have no obligations under EU ETS in respect of flights between the EEA and third countries.

In order to reduce the administrative burden on operators with only a few intra-EEA flights, the Regulation gives operators that emitted less than 3,000 tons of CO2 from intra-EEA flights in a year the possibility to benefit from the same simplified procedures as small emitters: as an alternative to verification by an independent verifier, they can determine their emissions by using the EUROCONTROL small emitters toolIt is increasingly likely that we will be required to participate in some form of an international aircraft emissions program in the future.

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The EU also adopted the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive (Directive 2012/27/EU) (“EED”) to improve its energy efficiency in order to achieve the objective of saving 20.0% of energy consumption by 2020. The application of the EED to air transport raises two main issues: (i) when combined or replaced by an energy tax, the energy efficiency target may result in the taxation of fuel used in air transport and (ii) airlines will have to comply with the energy audit requirements in the different jurisdictions, which sometimes may apply for the same flights. The United Kingdom has already implemented the EED requirements into its legislation and we have been exempted from said requirements in the United Kingdom. However, in the case of Spain, the EED requirements have not been implemented into their legislation yet, and therefore, we cannot assure you if we will be exempted from complying with these requirements once they have been implemented into their national legal system.

Similarly, the Catalunya region has implemented a tax on nitrogen oxide (nox tax) emissions for its flights to and from the Catalunya region. Through international associations such as IATA, we have been contesting such taxes. Unfortunately, such tax is currently in force and we are required to pay such tax under protest, reserving our right to argue our position through other legal means.

Currently, we operate five routes to and from Europe, and service additional destinations through our code-share agreements. The cost of compliance with any international emissions program, including the ETS, EED and/or national taxes imposed, is difficult to estimate; however, these costs could be significant and could require us to reduce our emissions, purchase allowances or otherwise pay for our emissions, which could have a significant impact on our operating costs or impact the frequency of our flights to and from EU member states, we may be required to participate in some form of an international aircraft emissions program in the future.

In addition, failure to comply with these regulations could adversely affect us in a variety of other ways, including the suspension or revocation of our permissions and/or adverse effects on our reputation. Remediation obligations can result in significant costs associated with the investigation and clean-up of contaminated properties, as well as damage claims arising out of the contamination of properties or any impact on natural resources.

Our ability to fly to the United States and the benefits of our strategic alliances or commercial relationships are dependent on the FAA’s continued favorable safety assessment of each of the three countries in which we have hubs.

The FAA periodically audits the aviation regulatory authorities of other countries. As a result of its audits, each country is given an International Aviation Safety Assessment, or IASA, rating. The IASA rating of each of Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador and Costa Rica is currently “Category 1,” which means that each such country complies with the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, safety requirements. As a result, we may continue our service from our hubs in such countries to the United States in a normal manner and take part in reciprocal code-sharing arrangements with U.S. carriers. Nevertheless, any of these ratings may be downgraded for a variety of safety and other reasons. If a downgrading occurs, we will be prevented from offering flights to any new destinations in the United States and from certifying new aircraft for flights to the United States; in addition, our U.S. air carrier code share partners will be required to suspend placement of their codes on our flights.

If any of the countries in which we have a hub or focus is downgraded to “Category 2,” our ability to fly to the United States from such hub would likely be significantly restricted. We cannot assure you that the governments of Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador and Costa Rica and their respective civil aviation authorities in particular, will continue to meet international safety standards, and we have no direct control over their compliance with IASA guidelines. If the IASA rating of any of Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador or Costa Rica were to be downgraded in the future, this could materially and adversely affect our service to the United States, causing us to lose revenue, including revenue from code sharing, as a result of reducing flight options to our customers.

We rely on automated systems to operate our business, and any failure of such systems could harm our business.

We rely on automated systems to operate our business, and any failure of such systems could harm our business. We are dependent on automated systems and technology to operate our business, enhance customer service and reduce operating costs. The performance and reliability of our automated systems and data center is critical to our ability to operate our business and compete effectively. These systems include our computerized airline reservation system, flight operations system, telecommunications systems, website, engineering and maintenance systems, check-in kiosks, in-flight entertainment systems and our primary and secondary data centers. Our website and reservations system must be able to accommodate a high volume of traffic and deliver important flight information. These systems require upgrades or replacement periodically, which involve implementation and other operational risks. Our business may be harmed if we fail to operate, replace or upgrade our systems or data center infrastructure or contracted services successfully.

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For some systems, we rely on the third-party providers of automated systems and data center infrastructure as well as for technical support. If the current provider were to fail to adequately provide technical support for any one of our key existing systems or if new or updated components were not integrated smoothly, we could experience service disruptions, which, if they were to occur, could result in the loss of important data, increase our expenses, decrease our revenues and generally harm our business and reputation. Furthermore, our automated systems cannot be completely protected against events that are beyond our control, including natural disasters, computer viruses, other security breaches, or telecommunications failures. Substantial or sustained system failures could impact customer service and ticket sales. We have implemented security and disaster recovery measures and change control procedures; however, we cannot assure you that these measures are adequate to prevent disruptions, which, if they were to occur, could result in the loss of important data, increase our expenses, decrease our revenues and generally harm our business and reputation.

We may incur substantial compliance costs and face sanctions if we fail to comply with U.S. and other international drug trafficking laws.

We are required to comply with strict drug trafficking laws mainly in Colombia, the United States and the European Union and are subject to substantial government oversight in connection with the enforcement of such laws. For example, the U.S. Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and Executive Order 12978 contain a list of persons designated by the United States government as drug traffickers. This list is periodically updated. Pursuant to these regulations, we may be subject to severe sanctions and reputational harm if we are found by the U.S. government to have intentionally or inadvertently assisted in the international narcotics trafficking activities of a designated person. Although we monitor this list in an effort to determine that we do not conduct business with any designated person, no assurance can be given that the counterparties with whom we do business in the future will not be subject to these regulations. In the event a counterparty of ours became a designated person, such party might face severe sanctions and as a result be unable to perform under their agreements with us.

We cannot assure you that we will succeed in complying at all times with such laws. For example, in August 2004, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York advised us that, because of several seizures from our aircraft of baggage, catering and cargo containing narcotics, our security practices and procedures were inadequate. We were required to engage an internationally recognized security consulting firm to identify and implement additional aircraft security measures and were also required to make additional investments in the area of aircraft and facility security. As part of our efforts to improve our practices, we elevated our security standards with respect to hiring and operating procedures and increased training and supervision. The requirement to maintain this consulting arrangement was lifted two years after it was initiated by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In the event, however, that we violate any U.S. or other foreign narcotics restriction in the future, we may be subject to sanctions, severe fines, seizures of our planes or the cancellation of our flights.

Our results of operations fluctuate due to seasonality and other factors.

We expect our quarterly operating results to fluctuate due to seasonality including high vacation and leisure demand occurring during the summer months of July and August and again during December and January. Actions of our competitors may also contribute to fluctuations in our results. As a result of this, our first quarter results are usually higher than our second quarter results. We are more susceptible to adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes, as a result of our operations being concentrated in Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean, than some of our competitors. As we enter new markets we could be subject to additional seasonal variations along with any competitive responses to our entry by other airlines. Price changes in aircraft fuel as well as the timing and amount of maintenance and advertising expenditures also impact our operations. As a result of these factors, quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results may not be a good indicator of our future performance. In addition, it is possible that in any future period our operating results could be below the expectations of investors and any published reports or analyses regarding us.

We are dependent on key personnel and we may be unable to attract and retain qualified, skilled employees necessary to operate our business.

Our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management team and key financial, operational and commercial personnel. Our employment agreements with members of our senior management team may be terminated by them at any time, without prior notice and without penalties. Furthermore, in certain countries we are not permitted to have non-competition agreements in place with members of our senior management team after termination of employment. In addition, our business is labor-intensive, and our operations require us to employ a large number of highly-skilled personnel including

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pilots, maintenance technicians and other skilled operating personnel. In some of the countries in which we operate, there is a shortage of qualified pilots and maintenance technicians or other qualified personnel, and we have faced turnover of our skilled employees, many of whom have left us to work in other countries where compensation is higher, we have to attract new people. Our business is also dependent on customer-service skilled employees, as we are focused on delivering superior customer experience, that skillset is a pre-requisite for all members of our Company.

Further, should the turnover of such employees (particularly pilots and maintenance technicians) increase, our training costs would be significantly higher. We cannot assure you that we will be able to recruit, train and retain the managers, pilots, technicians and other qualified employees that we need to continue our current operations or replace departing employees. We have dedicated recruiting teams focused on hiring new personnel, mainly for our hubs.

A failure to hire and retain such qualified employees at a reasonable cost could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Labor disputes may result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

There are currently sixteen unions covering our employees and ten of them are in Colombia: The National Workers Union of Avianca, the National Union of Aircraft Industry Workers, the Colombian Association of Flight Attendants, the Colombian Association of Civil Aviators, Association of Aviators of Avianca, the Colombian Association of Aircraft Mechanics, the Colombian Association of Flight Engineers, the Colombian Union of Air Transportation Workers, National Association of workers of the of Aircraft Industry and Airport Services and the Association of Tampa Cargo Workers. In Colombia approximately 20.8% of overall employees in Avianca S.A. belong to a labor union.

We also have employees covered by labor unions outside Colombia as follows: Three labor unions in Peru that cover 33% of our employees in Trans American Airlines S.A., two labor unions in Mexico that cover 100% of our employees in Taca de Mexico S.A., one labor union in Chile that covers 6% of our employees in Grupo Taca de Chile and one labor union in Argentina that covers 45% of our employees in Trans American Airlines S.A.

On September 20, 2017, the ACDAC initiated a cease of activities that lasted for 51 days and caused the cancellation 14,337 flights, representing approximately 50% of our flights during that period. The cease of activities ended on November 11, 2017 due to the union´s unilateral decision. Given the impossibility of reaching a direct agreement between ACDAC and Avianca S.A., the Ministry of Labor called the compulsory tribunal of arbitration to resolve the collective dispute between the parties. On December 11, 2017, the tribunal issued the arbitral award. Such award will be reviewed by the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice.

Also, given the strike held by ACDAC, Avianca S.A. initiated the legal actions for the declaration of the illegality of the cease of activities. On October 6, 2017, the Superior Court of Bogotá declared the illegality of the strike. Such decision that was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Justice-Labor Court on November 29, 2017. For more information see “We are subject to litigation that could affect our profitability and cash flow or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or result of operation.”

According to the Labor Chamber of the Colombian Supreme Court, Avianca S.A. provides an essential public service and, as such, strikes and work interruptions are forbidden by law in Colombia and other countries of Latin America; however, a slow down or stoppage or any prolonged dispute with employees members of any of these unions, or any other sizable number of our employees, could have an adverse impact on our operations. These risks are typically exacerbated during periods of renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements with the unions.

We cannot predict the occurrence or duration of any labor dispute with our unions or the terms of our future collective bargaining agreements, therefore we cannot accurately predict the impact of labor disputes on our financial results or operations. Any renegotiated collective bargaining agreement could feature significant wage increases, which could result in an increase in our operating expenses.

As of December 31, 2017, we had 11 individuals hired through nonprofit cooperative organizations. However, in 2010, the Colombian Congress passed Law 1429, which modified the legal regime of labor relationships for full-time employees in Colombia. As a consequence of these changes, we signed on October 31, 2017 a formalization agreement with the Ministry of Labor, by which we have been hiring all operational and administrative personnel as employees, as follows: a total of 3,530 workers where directly hired of which 1,688 were hired by Avianca and 1,842 were hired by SAI.

If we are unable to continue to successfully attract passengers to, and make direct ticket sales on, our website, our sales and revenues would be negatively impacted.

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Our direct e-commerce sales represented 20.0% of our passenger revenue in 2017 and the proportion of our sales through this channel has been growing in recent years. As a result, it is increasingly important that we are able to attract customers to our website and encourage them to purchase tickets online. Our direct online sales are particularly important to our business because they do not involve sales commissions paid to third parties.

In order to win shopper preference we may make significant capital expenditures related to our website. These will increase our expenses and there is no guarantee that these efforts will improve our online sales. If we are unable to process online sales, because of technological failures or cybersecurity attacks, it would damage our sales, revenues and potentially our reputation and customer relations.

Any interruption or destruction or loss of data in our information technology systems due to technical or operational malfunctions or cyberattacks could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to a variety of information technology and system risks as a part of our normal course of operations, including potential breakdown, invasion, virus, cyber-attack, cyber-fraud, security breach, and destruction or interruption of our information technology systems by third parties or our own personnel. Although we have security measures and controls in place that are designed to mitigate these risks, a breach of our security measures or a loss of information could occur and result in a loss of material and confidential information, breach of privacy laws and a disruption to its business activities.

In addition, information systems could be damaged or interrupted by natural disasters, force majeure events, telecommunications failures, power loss, acts of war or terrorism, computer viruses, malicious code, physical or electronic security breaches, intentional or inadvertent user misuse or error, or similar events or disruptions. Any of these or other events could cause interruptions, delays, loss of critical or sensitive data or similar effects, which could have a material adverse impact on the protection of intellectual property, confidential and proprietary information, and on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to maintain or grow our ancillary revenues.

Our business strategy includes expanding our portfolio of ancillary products and services. There can be no assurance that passengers will pay for additional ancillary products and services or that passengers will continue to choose to pay for the ancillary products and services we currently offer. Failure to maintain our non-ticket revenues could have a negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, specifically our trademarks and service marks, our ability to compete could be negatively impacted.

We own the rights to certain trademarks and trade names used in connection with our business including “ Avianca ” and “ LifeMiles ”. We believe that our names, trademarks and other related intellectual property are important to the success of our business. We protect our intellectual property rights through a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, applying for and obtaining trademark protection in Colombia, Central America, the United States and certain other countries throughout the world in which we operate our business. Any violation of our intellectual property rights or refusal to grant record of such rights in foreign jurisdictions may result in having to devote our time and resources to protect these rights through litigation or otherwise, which could be expensive and time consuming. If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights for whatever reason, it could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial condition.

We are exposed to increases in landing charges and other airport access fees and cannot be assured access to adequate facilities and landing rights necessary to achieve our expansion plans.

We must pay fees to airport operators for the use of their facilities. Passenger taxes and airport charges have increased in recent years, in some cases substantially. We cannot assure you that the airports we use will not impose, or further increase, passenger taxes and airport charges in the future. Any substantial increase in airport charges could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

Moreover, some of the airports to which we fly impose various restrictions, including limits on aircraft noise levels, limits on the number of average daily departures and curfews on runway use. In addition, we cannot assure you that the airports at which there are currently no such restrictions will not implement restrictions in the future or that, where such restrictions exist, they may not become more onerous. Such restrictions may limit our ability to continue to provide or to increase services at such airports.

Certain airports that we serve (or that we plan to serve in the future) are subject to capacity constraints and impose slot restrictions during certain periods of the day. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain a sufficient number of slots, gates and other facilities at airports to expand our services in the manner in which we are proposing to do so. It is also possible that airports not currently subject to capacity constraints may become so in the future. In addition, an airline must use its slots on a regular and timely basis or risk having those slots re-allocated to others. Where slots or other airport resources are not available or their availability is restricted in some way, we may have to amend our schedules, change routes or reduce aircraft utilization. If we are unable to obtain or maintain favorable take-off and landing authorizations, slots, gates or other facilities at certain high-density airports, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

We are a holding company with no independent operations or assets, and our ability to repay our debt and pay dividends to holders of the ADSs depends on cash flow generated by our subsidiaries, which are subject to limitations on their ability to make dividend payments to us.

We conduct no operations, and our only material asset is our equity interests in our operating subsidiaries. Accordingly, our ability to repay our indebtedness and pay dividends to holders of the ADSs is dependent on the generation of cash flow by our subsidiaries and their ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise. Our subsidiaries’ ability to generate sufficient cash from operations to make distributions to us will depend upon their future operating performance, which will be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, business and other factors beyond their control.

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In addition, our subsidiaries may not be able to, or may not be permitted to, make distributions to us to enable us to make payments in respect of our indebtedness or to pay dividends. Restrictions in our subsidiaries’ debt instruments and under applicable law limit their ability to provide funds to us, and if our subsidiaries are not able to make funds available to us by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise, we may not have sufficient funds to fulfill our obligations under our indebtedness or pay dividends to our shareholders, including holders of the ADSs. For example, our local bonds restrict Avianca S.A.’s ability to pay dividends from January 1, 2016 and going forward unless certain covenants are satisfied. As of December 31, 2017, Avianca S.A. was not meeting the ratio necessary to pay dividends to us under its local bonds.

We may be liable for the potential under-funding of a pilot’s pension fund.

We are obligated to make contributions to a pilot’s pension fund for the Colombian Association of Civil Aviators known as “La Caja de Auxilios y de Prestaciones de la Asociación Colombiana de Aviadores Civiles”, or CAXDAC, on behalf of certain of our eligible pilots. The pensioners affiliated with CAXDAC include not only some of our current pilots and former pilots, but also pilots employed and formerly employed by other Colombian airlines. The assets that we have contributed to CAXDAC are segregated into a separate account that is restricted for the payments of retirement benefits payments of our employees. The amount in the common CAXDAC fund used to pay the pensions may not be sufficient to cover all accrued pension liabilities, since other Colombian airlines have gone bankrupt or have been liquidated and have failed to pay their ratable contributions to the pension fund. Although CAXDAC, as a pension manager, is the only entity obligated to pay retirement pensions to those pensioners legally affiliated with CAXDAC, it is uncertain how the expected deficiency will ultimately be funded, and whether or not pensioners and other third parties may bring actions against contributing airlines, including ourselves, seeking contributions to cover such deficiency, in which case we will be required to defend our position that we are not liable for this deficiency and face the uncertainty of judicial review. However, the obligation of pension contribution to CAXDAC shall terminate at the time we transfer the full value of actuarial calculation, which, under Colombian law, should occur no later than the end of 2023.

Risks Relating to the Airline Industry

The airline industry is highly competitive.

We face intense competition throughout our domestic and international route networks, which can affect our yields and otherwise adversely impact our results of operations. Overall airline industry profit margins are low and industry earnings are volatile. Airlines compete in the areas of pricing, scheduling (frequency and flight times), on-time performance, on-board experience, frequent flyer programs and other services.

During 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, domestic air travel in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador accounted for approximately 39.4%, 53.3% and 53.5% of our passenger revenue and approximately 60.5%, 60.0% and 57.4% of our revenue passengers. It should be noted, however, that for accounting purposes, we measure domestic and international flights based solely on origin, not destination. As a result, our financial performance is highly sensitive to competitive conditions in the Colombian, Peruvian and Ecuadorian domestic air travel markets. Our primary competitors in the Colombian domestic market are LATAM Airlines Group, VivaColombia, EasyFly, Satena and Wingo. We may face significantly stronger domestic competition in the future because of these competitors and new competitors, therefore, our prior results and market share may not be indicative of future performance in the Colombian domestic market. Our primary competitors in the Peruvian domestic market are LATAM Airlines Group, Star Peru, LC Peru and Peruvian and in the Ecuadorian domestic market our primary competitors are LATAM Airlines Group and TAME. In addition to traditional competition among airline companies, we face competition from companies that provide ground transportation, especially in our domestic cargo and passenger business, as well as companies that provide sea transportation in our cargo business.

We also compete with a number of large airlines that serve the same international routes that we fly, including, among others, Copa Airlines, LATAM Airlines Group, American Airlines, United Airlines, Iberia, Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico, Interjet, Jet Blue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Aerolineas Argentinas, Air Europa, Volaris and Viva Air Group. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—Part B. Business Overview—Competition.” Some of our competitors, including American Airlines, United Airlines and LATAM Airlines Group, have larger customer bases and greater brand recognition in the markets we serve outside of Colombia, and most of our international competitors have significantly greater financial and marketing resources than we do. In December 2015, members of the Schengen community eliminated the Schengen Visa requirements (which permits free travel without immigration checks between participating European countries) for Colombian and Peruvian citizens, increasing the passenger traffic between these countries and therefore many European airlines entering into these markets are pressuring to reduce market fares, such as KLM, Air Europa, , British Airways and Iberia. In response to this situation, as of November 2016 we increased our frequencies to eighteen per

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week in the route Bogotá – Madrid, to seven per week in the route Cali – Madrid and to three per week in the route Medellin – Madrid Airlines based in other countries may also receive subsidies, tax incentives or other state aid from their respective governments, which are not provided to us by the governments in the countries in which we operate. The commencement of, or any increase in, service on the routes we serve by existing or new competitors could negatively impact our operating results. Likewise, competitors’ service on routes that we are targeting for expansion may make those expansion plans less attractive.

We must constantly react to changes in prices and services offered by our competitors to remain competitive. The airline industry is highly susceptible to price discounting, particularly because airlines incur very low marginal costs for providing service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. Carriers use discount fares to stimulate traffic during periods of lower demand in order to generate cash flow and increase market share. Any lower fares offered by one airline are often matched by competing airlines, which often results in lower industry yields with little or no increase in traffic levels. Price competition among airlines in the future could lead to lower fares or passenger traffic on some or all of our routes, which could negatively impact our profitability. Such activity by other airlines could lead to reductions in the fares or passenger traffic on our routes, to the point where profitable operations could not be maintained. Due to our smaller size and financial resources compared to some of our international competitors, we may be less able to withstand aggressive marketing tactics or fare wars engaged in by or with our competitors should such events occur.

Volatility in our fuel costs or disruptions in our fuel supply would materially and adversely affect our operating results.

Aircraft fuel costs constitute a significant portion of our total operating expenses, representing approximately 24.3%, 20.2% and 22.3% respectively, of our operating expenses in the years ended December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Fuel costs have been subject to wide fluctuations as a result of increases in demand and sudden disruptions in, and other concerns about, global supply, as well as market speculation. Both the cost and availability of fuel are subject to many economic and political factors and events occurring throughout the world that we can neither control nor accurately predict, such as political instability in major oil-exporting countries in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. As a result of factors such as this, fuel costs continue to exhibit substantial volatility. If there are wide fluctuations in fuel costs in short periods of time, we cannot assure you that we will have enough time to adapt and respond to these scenarios.

Therefore, substantial increases in fuel costs would materially and adversely affect our operating results. Between December 2016 and December 2017, jet fuel prices increased 21.9%. As such, we cannot assure you that fuel costs will not continue to increase significantly above their current levels, similar to what occurred in 2013 to mid-2014, when West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, crude prices, a benchmark widely used for crude oil prices that is measured in barrels and quoted in U.S. dollars, gradually increased from $93.12 in January 2013 to $107.26 per barrel in June 2014. Our aircraft fuel purchase agreements do not protect us against price increases or guarantee the availability of fuel. Additionally, some of our competitors may have more leverage than we do in obtaining fuel. We have and may continue to develop our corporate risk policy to protect against fuel prices volatility and due to the competitive nature of the airline industry, at times we have not been able to adequately increase our fares to offset the increases in fuel prices and we may not be able to do so in the future. When fuel prices fall, we may be exposed to losses on our hedge contracts, which can partially offset savings in fuel costs that we experience in our operations. However, the hedge contracts and agreements we use, do not completely protect us against price volatility, as they are limited in volume and duration and may carry counterparty risk. Under the fuel hedge contracts, we may enter from time to time, counterparties to those contracts may require us to fund the margin associated with any loss position on the contracts if a) the instrument used requires such margin and b) the price of the underlying commodity falls below specified levels. Meeting our obligations to fund these margin calls could adversely affect our liquidity, as experienced between 2014 and 2015, when WTI prices fell from $107.26 per barrel in June 2014 to $34.73 per barrel by December 2015.

Future fuel price increases, continued high fuel price volatility or fuel supply shortages may result in a curtailment of scheduled services and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, should Ecopetrol S.A. (Colombia’s government-controlled oil company) experience any disruption or slow-down in its fuel production or pumping capacity, particularly in Bogotá, we or our suppliers may be unable to obtain fuel or may be forced to pay significantly higher prices to do so. This risk is heightened by the low oil storage levels that we understand are maintained by Ecopetrol S.A. and its distributors in Bogotá. We currently have an exclusive agreement with a single fuel distributor in Bogotá, Organización Terpel S.A., or Terpel, pursuant to which Terpel supplied us with approximately 97.6%, 97.9% and 98.01% of our fuel needs in Colombia for each of 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. During 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, it supplied approximately 43.4%, 43.9% and 42.61% of our total fuel consumption. We currently have valid contracts with Terpel through 2017. In the event such arrangements were to terminate, we could be forced to renegotiate our fuel supply in a market with a limited number of suppliers, which might result in higher costs for us.

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We expect to face increasing competition from low-cost carriers offering discounted fares.

Airlines in the United States and Europe have in recent years faced substantial and increasing competitive pressure from low-cost carriers offering discounted fares. The low-cost carriers’ operations are typically characterized by point-to-point route networks focusing on the highest-demand city pairs, high aircraft utilization, single-class service and fewer in-flight amenities. As has been evidenced by the operations of competitors such as Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, or Gol, in Brazil, and other Latin American countries and several new low-cost carriers which have started service in Mexico, Colombia and other markets, such as Interjet, Viva Aerobus, Volaris, Viva Air, JetSMART and Wingo the low-cost carrier business model is gaining acceptance in the Latin American aviation industry. Moreover, low fuel costs have made it easier for these airlines to expand into our market. For example, in 2016 Volaris launched Volaris Costa Rica, the first ulta-low cost operator in Central America and Copa Holdings lauched Wingo, a low-cost Colombian airline. In May 2017 Viva Air Group launched Viva Air Peru, its second carrier in the region, which started operations in the peruvian domestic market. In July, 2017 JetSMART, the ultra low cost airline based in Chile, launched revenue services in the Chilean domestic market. Further ahead, JetSMART announces that in 2018 it aims to begin flights to Peru.

Our business model is significantly different from that of low-cost carriers and is predicated on providing a level of service that we consider superior and charging higher prices for such service. As low-cost carriers continue to penetrate our home markets, they could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations; therefore, we may be forced to reconsider our business model and adapt it to evolving passenger preferences. In any event, we may face new and substantial competition from low-cost carriers in the future which could result in significant and lasting downward pressure on the fares we charge for flights on our routes. We must constantly react to changes in prices and services offered by our competitors to remain competitive. Price competition among airlines in the future could lead to lower fares or passenger traffic on some or all of our routes, which could adversely affect our profitability.

We face increasing competition from other international airlines due to the continuing liberalization of restrictions traditionally affecting the global airline industry.

Over the last 26 years, the global airline industry has been shifting to increasing acceptance of liberalized and “open skies” air transport agreements among nations. For example, “open skies” agreements currently exist among the countries of the European Union, and between Europe and the United States. In Latin America, multilateral “open skies” agreements exist among Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and bilateral “open skies” agreements among each of these countries and the United States, Chile, Panama, Venezuela and the countries of Central America. El Salvador also has an “open skies” policy. As a general matter, these liberalized or “open skies” air transport agreements serve to (i) reduce (or, in the case of “open skies,” eliminate) restrictions on route rights, designated carriers, aircraft capacity or flight frequencies and (ii) promote competitive pricing. On the other hand, Colombia and Peru have an air transportation political position based on reciprocity, which means a liberalization of the transportation of passenger on direct flights between the two countries according to the third and fourth freedom rights, as defined in the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, or the Chicago Convention.

As a result of this continuing trend toward liberalized air transport agreements, a number of countries to which we fly have been negotiating with each local government to liberalize or provide more flexibility to its bilateral agreements with such countries and to permit more flights to and from each local country. We cannot assure you that each government’s political position will not change or that additional flights will not be granted when requested by carriers from any other country.

It is likely that the different governments will continue to liberalize the current restrictions on international travel to and from each country, among other things, granting new route rights and flights to competing airlines and generally promoting increased numbers of market participants on routes we serve. As a result of such liberalization, we could face substantial new competition, which may erode our pricing and market share and have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position and consolidated results of operations. For example, the joint business agreement entered into between LATAM Airlines Group, American Airlines and IAG (British Airways and Iberia) allows them to expand their airlines networks by adding frequencies and capacity to markets between South America, North America and Europe, where we operate. The implementation of these commercial agreements is still pending authorization by some applicable authorities in the different countries where the airlines party to these agreements operate. Similarly, the transborder alliance established by Delta and Aeromexico between México and the United States will provide customers with benefits in both countries.

We face increased competition from certain airlines that have recently been restructured or emerged from bankruptcy, and further consolidation of the Latin American airline industry may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In recent years, a number of air carriers have sought to reorganize in bankruptcy. The successful completion of reorganizations could present us with competitors with significantly lower operating costs derived from favorable labor, supply and financing contracts renegotiated under the protection of the applicable bankruptcy laws. In addition, many air carriers involved in reorganizations have historically undertaken substantial fare discounting in order to maintain cash flows and to enhance continued customer loyalty. Such fare discounting could further lower yields for all carriers, including us.

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Further consolidation of the Latin American airline industry may increase competition in the markets we serve. For example, in 2016, LATAM Airlines Group and Qatar Airways announced that Qatar Airways, through its wholly owned subsidiary Qatar Airways Investment, completed its adquisition of 10% of LATAM. LATAM Airlines Group is the largest airline in Latin America in terms of fleet size, passengers carried, and destinations served. The group is the result of the merger between LAN Airlines and TAM. As a result of the competitive environment, there may be further consolidation in the Latin American and global airline industry, whether by means of acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships or strategic alliances. We cannot predict the effects of further consolidation on the industry. Furthermore, consolidation in the airline industry and changes in international alliances will continue to affect the competitive landscape in the industry and may result in the formation of airlines and alliances with increased financial resources, more extensive global networks and reduced cost structures. For example, in May, 2017 Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico launched joint cooperation agreement, to operate transborder flights between the United States and Mexico.

Some of our competitors may receive external support, which could negatively impact our competitive position.

Some of our competitors may receive support from external sources, such as their national governments, which may be unavailable to us. Support may include, among others, subsidies, regulatory facilities, financial aid or tax waivers. This support could place us at a competitive disadvantage and adversely affect our operations and financial performance.

The airline industry’s financial performance is characterized by low profit margins and high fixed costs, and we may be unable to compete effectively against other airlines with greater financial resources or lower operating costs.

The airline industry is characterized generally by low profit margins and high fixed costs, primarily consisting of wages and salaries of crew and other personnel, fuel costs and aircraft and engine lease payments and other financing costs related to aircraft equipment. Revenues per flight are primarily driven by the number of passengers transported and fares, which may vary significantly depending on several factors which are generally outside of our control, including general economic conditions, weather and our competitors’ pricing strategies. However, the operating expenses of flying an aircraft do not vary significantly with the number of passengers transported and cannot be adjusted quickly to respond to changes in revenue and a deficit in expected revenue levels. As a result, fluctuations in the number of passengers per flight or in pricing could have a significant effect on our operating and financial results.

We rely on maintaining a high daily aircraft utilization rate, which makes us vulnerable to delays.

We seek to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate (the number of hours we use our aircraft per day). High daily aircraft utilization allows us to generate more revenue from our aircraft and is achieved in part by reducing turnaround time at airports so we can fly more hours on average in a day. Nevertheless, aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations arising from a number of different factors, many of which are beyond our control, including, among others, air traffic and airport congestion, adverse weather conditions, security requirements, unscheduled maintenance and delays by third-party service providers relating to matters such as fueling and ground handling. High aircraft utilization also increases the risk that, if an aircraft falls behind schedule during a given day, it could remain behind schedule for several additional days. Such delays could result in a disruption of our operating performance, leading to customer dissatisfaction due to delayed or cancelled flights and missed connections, which could in turn adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Terrorist attacks or hostilities could adversely affect the airline industry by decreasing demand and increasing costs.

The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 had an adverse impact on the airline industry. Airline traffic in the United States fell dramatically after the attacks, while it decreased less severely in Latin America. Our revenue depends on the number of passengers traveling on our flights. Therefore, any future terrorist attacks or threat of attacks, whether or not involving commercial aircraft, any increase in hostilities relating to reprisals against terrorist organizations or otherwise and any related economic impact could result in decreased passenger traffic and materially and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Following the 2001 terrorist attacks, airlines have experienced increased costs resulting from additional security measures that may be made even more rigorous in the future. In addition to measures imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the TSA, IATA and certain foreign governments have also begun to institute additional security measures at foreign airports we serve. A substantial portion of the costs of these security measures is borne by the airlines and their passengers. Security measures imposed by the U.S. and foreign governments not only after September 11, 2001, have increased our costs and may adversely affect us and our financial results, and additional measures taken in the future may result in similar adverse effects.

Premiums for insurance against aircraft damage and liability to third parties increased substantially following the 2001 terrorist attacks, and insurers could reduce their coverage or increase their premiums even further in the event of additional terrorist attacks, hijackings, airline crashes or other events adversely affecting the airline industry abroad or in Latin America. In the future, certain aviation insurance could become unaffordable, unavailable or available only with amounts of coverage that are insufficient to comply with the levels of insurance coverage required by aircraft lenders and lessors or applicable government regulations. While governments in other countries have agreed to indemnify airlines for liabilities that they might incur from terrorist attacks or provide low-cost insurance for terrorism risks, the Colombian government has not indicated any intention to provide similar benefits to us. Increases in the cost of insurance may result in both higher airline ticket prices and decreased demand for air travel generally, which could materially and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The outbreak or the threat of an outbreak of a contagious disease may have a negative impact on the airline industry.

In recent years, concerns about the possibility of an outbreak of a disease that can be spread by commercial airline passengers (such as avian flu, swine flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, tuberculosis or other contagious illnesses) has had a negative impact on the public’s willingness to travel by air. It is impossible to determine when and where threats of contagious diseases may arise, but if and to the extent they do, the public’s willingness to travel by air may significantly decline, which could materially and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. During 2016, both Latin America and the Company faced two important epidemic viruses, Zika and Chikungunya. These viruses affected our customers’ decision to travel to areas with a high risk of infection. In addition, it was necessary to strengthen our fumigation and disinfection standards and procedures on aircrafts that fly to and from airports that are located below 2,200 meters above sea level.

Risks Relating to Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Central America and Other Countries in which We Operate

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in the countries in which we do business.

Passenger demand is heavily cyclical and highly dependent on global and local economic growth, economic expectations and foreign exchange rate variations. See “Item 3. Key Information—Part D. Risk Factors—In our most recent fiscal year, we experienced an increase in revenues.” However, in the past, we have been negatively impacted by poor economic performance in certain countries in which we operate. Any of the following developments in the countries in which we operate could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations:

Additionally, a significant portion of our revenue is derived from discretionary travel and leisure travel, which are especially sensitive to economic downturns. A worsening of economic conditions could result in a reduction in passenger traffic, and leisure travel in particular, which in turn would materially and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. Any perceived weakening of economic conditions in the Andean region and/or Central America could likewise negatively affect our ability to obtain financing to meet our future capital needs in international capital markets.

Our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by changes in governmental policies and actions, and judicial decisions, involving a broad range of matters, including interest rates, exchange rates, exchange controls, inflation rates, taxation, banking, labor and pension fund regulations and other political or economic developments affecting Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Central America. The governments in these countries have historically exercised substantial influence over their respective economies, and their policies are likely to continue to have a significant effect on companies operating in such

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countries, including us. Our business and results of operations or financial condition may be adversely affected by changes in government or fiscal policies, and other political, diplomatic, social and economic developments that may affect Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and/or Central America. We cannot predict what policies will be adopted by the governments in these countries and consequently cannot assure you that future development in government policies or in the economies of these countries will not impair our business or financial condition or the market value of the ADSs.

Our three main hubs are located in Colombia, El Salvador and Peru, we have focus markets in Costa Rica and Ecuador and we are organized under the laws of the Republic of Panama. Accordingly, our financial condition and results of operations are significantly dependent on the macroeconomic, social and political conditions prevailing in these countries and in the other jurisdictions in which we operate. As a result, decreases in the growth rate, periods of negative growth, increases in inflation, changes in policy, or future judicial interpretations of policies involving exchange controls and other matters such as (but not limited to) currency depreciation, inflation, interest rates, taxation, banking laws and regulations and other political or economic developments in or affecting Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador and Panama and/or the other jurisdictions where we operate may affect the overall business environment and may in turn impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in Colombia.

Our financial condition and results of operations depend significantly on macroeconomic and political conditions prevailing in Colombia. Decreases in the economic growth rate, periods of negative growth, increases in inflation, changes in law, regulation, policy, or future judicial rulings and interpretations of policies involving exchange controls and other matters such as (but not limited to) currency depreciation, inflation, interest rates, taxation, banking laws and regulations and other political or economic developments in or affecting Colombia may affect the overall business environment and may, in turn, impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Colombia’s central government fiscal deficit and growing public debt could adversely affect the Colombian economy. The Colombian fiscal deficit was 3.0% of GDP in 2015 4.0% of GDP in 2016 and 3.6% of the GDP in 2017. According to the projections published in December 2017 by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Colombian government expected a fiscal deficit of 3.1% of GDP for the year 2018. The Colombian government frequently intervenes in Colombia’s economy and from time to time makes significant changes in monetary, fiscal and regulatory policy. In addition, presidential elections will be held in Colombia in May 2018, with a potential runoff to be held in June 2018. We cannot predict what policies will be adopted by the Colombian government and whether the policies and outcomes of the Colombian congressional and presidential elections will have a negative impact on the Colombian economy. Our business and results of operations or financial condition may be adversely affected by changes in government or fiscal policies, and other political, diplomatic, social and economic developments that may affect Colombia. We cannot predict what policies will be adopted by the Colombian government and whether those policies would have a negative impact on the Colombian economy or our business and financial performance.

Furthermore, the outlook of Colombia’s credit rating was changed to negative by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, or S&P, and Fitch Ratings, or Fitch, in 2016 and by Moody’s Corporation, or Moody’s, in February 2018. In March 2017, Fitch upgraded its rating outlook for Colombia from negative to stable and in December 2017, S&P downgraded the rating of its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on Colombia from “BBB” to “BBB-.” Additionally, on February 22, 2018 Moody’s changed Colombia’s rating outlook from stable to negative. Currently, Colombia’s long-term debt denominated in foreign currency is rated “Baa2” by Moody’s, “BBB-” by S&P and “BBB” by Fitch. Any further downgrade of Colombia’s credit rating could adversely affect the Colombian economy and our results of operations.

We cannot assure you as to whether current stability in the Colombian economy will be sustained, given that, among other factors, there is still a high level of poverty in the country. If the condition of the Colombian economy were to deteriorate, we would likely be adversely affected.

The Colombian government and the Central Bank may seek to implement new policies aimed at controlling further fluctuation of the Colombian peso against the U.S. Dollar and fostering domestic price stability. The Central Bank may impose certain mandatory deposit requirements in connection with foreign-currency denominated loans obtained by Colombian residents, including us. We cannot predict or control future actions by the Central Bank in respect of such deposit requirements, which may involve the establishment of a different mandatory deposit percentage. The use of such measures by the Central Bank may be a disincentive for us to obtain loans denominated in a foreign currency. The U.S. dollar/Colombian peso exchange rate has shown some instability in recent years. We cannot assure you that measures adopted by the Colombian government and the Central Bank will suffice to control this instability or that the Colombian peso will not depreciate or appreciate relative to other currencies in the future. We also cannot predict the effects that such policies will have on the Colombian economy.

Colombia has suffered from periods of widespread criminal violence over the past four decades, primarily due to the activities of guerrilla groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia ), or FARC, paramilitary groups and drug cartels. In regions of the country with limited governmental presence, these groups have exerted influence over the local population and funded their activities by protecting, and rendering services to drug traffickers. In response, the Colombian government has implemented various security measures and has strengthened its military and police forces by creating specialized units. In 2012, the Colombian government began peace negotiations with FARC. The peace agreement between the Government and the guerrilla group, which was signed in 2016, was subject to a national referendum but was not approved by a majority of the voters. The parties re-negotiated certain aspects of the original agreement, and the Government decided to submit the new agreement to the approval of Congress instead of by another referendum.

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In November 2016, the Columbian congress ratified the peace accord between the FARC guerrilla group and the Colombian government by which the FARC gave up its arms, and returned to civil life. Pursuant to the peace agreement, the FARC now occupies five seats in the Colombian Senate and five seats in the Colombian House of Representatives. We believe that this is a significant step forward in Colombia’s search for peace, but it has opened other issues that still threaten its security levels both for citizens and businesses in urban and rural areas. The country still has a relevant guerrilla group, the ELN, up in arms. In addition, there are several organized criminal groups that threaten big portions of the country, fueled by money coming from drug trafficking and illegal mining. Guerilla, paramilitary and criminal activities, particularly in the form of terrorism attacks, homicides, kidnappings and extortion, persist in Colombia. These continuing activities, their possible escalation and the violence associated with them may have a material adverse effect on the Colombian economy.

This year, Congress has moved forward in the Government’s task of ruling and implementing the peace accord with the FARC. This issue has dominated the political agenda, in the face of the recent Congress and upcoming Presidential elections in 2018. Additionally, the political class has been rocked by major corruption scandals, such as the Odebrecth and Reficar cases that have increased civil mistrust in their ruling class.

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in El Salvador.

El Salvador has a history of political instability marked by long periods of civil unrest and military rule. From 1979 until 1991, El Salvador was mired in guerrilla activities, which were ended by a United Nations-brokered peace accord in January of 1992. Since the peace accords were signed, El Salvador has experienced political stability. The Nationalist Republican Alliance Party, or ARENA, controlled the presidency from 1989 to 2009, at which time the FMLN (a former guerrilla organization now turned into a political party) won the presidential elections with Mauricio Funes. Salvador Sánchez Cerén, also an FMLN member, was elected by a narrow margin and became president on June 1, 2014. Insecurity and violence indexes have decreased during the last year, although the country is still listed as one of the most insecure in the world. We are uncertain what this administration’s policies may be and how they will affect our business and operations. Future government policies in response to social unrest could include, among other things, increased taxation, as well as expropriation of assets. These policies could materially and adversely affect the Salvadorian economy and, as a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

El Salvador’s economy has recently been growing at a moderate pace, yet its unemployment and poverty rates remain high. In 2017, there was a fiscal deficit of 2.5% and the poverty level was 34% of the rural population. Despite reforms and initiatives, El Salvador still ranks among the ten poorest countries in Latin America and suffers from inequality in the distribution of income. We cannot assure you that El Salvador will not face political, economic or social problems in the future, and we may be seriously affected by such problems.

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in Peru.

In the past, Peru has experienced periods of severe economic recession, large currency devaluation and high inflation. In addition, Peru has experienced periods of political instability, which have led to adverse economic consequences. We cannot assure you that Peru will not experience similar adverse developments in the future even though for some years now, several democratic procedures have been completed without any violence.

While Peru has experienced economic growth in the recent past, political tensions, high levels of poverty, which according to the latest available data provided by Peru’s National Center of Statistics and Informatics, or INEC, was 20.7% of the total population in 2017, and unemployment, and social conflicts within local communities continue to be pervasive problems in Peru. In the past, certain areas in the south and the northern highlands of Peru with significant mining developments have experienced strikes and protests related mainly to the environmental impact of metallic mining activities and illegal mining activities, which have resulted in political tensions, commercial disruptions and a climate of uncertainty with respect to future mining projects. Future government policies in response to social unrest could include, among other things, increased taxation. These policies could materially and adversely affect the Peruvian economy and, as a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For example, prior to 1991, Peru exercised control over foreign exchange markets by imposing restrictions to multiple exchange rates and restrictions to the possession and use of foreign currencies. Currently, foreign exchange rates are determined by market conditions, with regular operations by the Central Reserve Bank in the foreign exchange market in order to reduce volatility in

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the value of Peru’s currency against the U.S. dollar. The Peruvian government may institute restrictive exchange rate policies in the future. Any such restrictive exchange rate policy could affect our ability to engage in foreign exchange activities and could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Since 1990, Peruvian Presidents have maintained business-friendly and open-market economic policies to stimulate economic growth. Peru’s former president, Mr. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski took steps to combat corruption and improve government efficiency and effectiveness. However, in March 2018, due to a political crisis involving allegations of links to the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and a scandal of a video showing the president’s supporters attempting to buy political support, Mr. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned to the presidency, which led to the designation of Martin Vizcarra as Peru´s new president (former Vice President). He and his new Ministers have promised a continuation of the commitment to maintaining moderate economic policies, that sustain and foster economic growth, while controlling the inflation rate at historically low levels. His government’s biggest challenges will be repairing relations with Congress, especially with the opposition party, Fuerza Popular. Any changes in the Peruvian economy or the Peruvian government’s economic policies may have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in Costa Rica.

While Costa Rica is one of Latin America’s oldest democracies, we cannot assure you that these conditions will continue. In 2017, Costa Rica faced a poverty level estimated at 18.8% and an inflation rate of 1.6%, level inside the expectations of the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Additionally, Costa Rica’s traditionally strong social safety net is eroding as a result of fiscal constraints, as well as increasing pressure from both legal and illegal immigration from other Central American countries. Although it is the third safest country in Latin America, insecurity has increased in recent years.

In addition, fiscal reforms are needed to stop or lower the fiscal deficit. However, such reforms have not yet been approved by the Costa Rican government. This situation could lead to a more negative economic outlook in the medium-term future and at the same time, there are no political agreements to remedy this situation.

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian economy is heavily dependent on the oil industry and was severely impacted by the 2009 financial crisis, which adversely affected the country’s economic growth. While Ecuador’s economic growth has since improved, it faces a poverty level estimated at approximately 22.9% and 21.5% in 2016 and 2017, respectively, according to the National Center of Statistics, or ECU. In addition, Ecuador defaulted on a sovereign debt obligation in 2008 and its economic policies have created a great deal of uncertainty about its future. The decline of oil prices in 2014 and 2015 may also prove to have a significant impact on the Ecuadorian economy.

Due to the decline in fuel prices, the government’s income has decreased approximately 2.5% in 2017, putting a lot of pressure on the national budget and the country’s investments, since government expenditure accounts for 39.4% of it. Ecuadorian exports have also lost competitiveness due to currency depreciation among its neighbors. In a dollarized economy, most of the adjustments are coming from raising unemployment levels, which also affects consumption and demand in general. All of the foregoing has led the government to enact new regulations, changing the prior legal framework, which in turn, has increased uncertainty.

Lenin Moreno was elected President in a runoff election held on April 2, 2017. This change in administration may have an impact on the Ecuadorian economy for 2017, since it will be the first time since January 15, 2007 that Rafael Correa has not held the office.

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic and political conditions in Panama.

We are organized under the laws of the Republic of Panama and as a result may be affected by economic and political conditions prevailing from time to time in Panama. Panama’s economic conditions are highly dependent on the continued profitability and economic impact of the Panama Canal. Control of the Panama Canal and many other assets were transferred from the United States to Panama in 1999 after nearly a century of U.S. control. Although the Panamanian government is democratically elected, and the Panamanian political climate is currently stable, we cannot assure you that current conditions will continue. If the Panamanian economy experiences a recession or a reduction in its economic growth rate, or if Panama experiences significant political disruptions and high corruption issues in the Government, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and negatively affected.

We cannot assure you that any crises such as those described above, or similar events will not negatively affect the economies of Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama or the other jurisdictions where we operate. Future developments in the countries in which operate could impair our business or financial condition.

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Developments and the perception of risk in other countries, especially emerging market countries, may adversely affect the market price of many Latin American securities, including the ADSs.

The market value of securities issued by companies with operations in the Andean region and Central America may be affected to varying degrees by economic, political and market conditions in other countries, including other Latin American and emerging market countries. Although macroeconomic conditions in such Latin American and other emerging market countries may differ significantly from macroeconomic conditions in Colombia and the other countries in which we operate, investors’ reactions to developments in these other countries may have an adverse effect on the market values of our securities. For example, as a result of economic problems in various emerging market countries in recent years (such as the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the Russian financial crisis of 1998 and the Argentine financial crisis of 2001), investors have viewed investments in emerging markets with heightened caution. Crises in world financial markets, such as those of 2008, could affect investors’ views of securities issued by companies that operate in emerging markets. Crises in other emerging market countries may hamper investor enthusiasm for securities of Panamanian issuers, including the ADSs, which could adversely affect the market price of the ADSs. This could also make it more difficult for us and our subsidiaries to access the capital markets and finance our operations in the future on acceptable terms, or at all.

Natural disasters in the countries in which we operate could disrupt our businesses and affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We are exposed to natural disasters in each of the countries in which we operate, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, tropical storms and hurricanes. For example, heavy rains in Colombia have resulted in severe flooding and mudslides. El Salvador has experienced many significant earthquakes, including in 1982, 1986 and 2001, that in each case resulted in numerous fatalities. Peru has also experienced numerous significant earthquakes, including in 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2011. Moreover, the Central American isthmus, in particular El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua, is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of active volcanos. Colombia has also experienced significant volcanic activity, affecting important cities covered by our domestic operation. Such volcanic ash clouds would not only affect airport operations, but also the route conditions of flights operating near the affected zone.

In 2017, we cancelled 12 flights due to volcanic ash emissions but, during 2016, we cancelled 88 flights due to the activity from the volcanoes Ruiz (Colombia) and Turrialba (Costa Rica). In the event of a natural disaster, there is a risk of damage to our airport hubs and other facilities, and our disaster recovery plans may prove to be ineffective, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our businesses, particularly if such an occurrence affects computer-based data processing, transmission, storage and retrieval systems or destroys customer or other data. In any such event, our property damage and business interruption insurance might not be sufficient to fully offset our losses, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if a significant number of our employees and senior managers were unavailable because of a natural disaster, our ability to conduct our businesses could be compromised.

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Government policies and actions, and judicial decisions, in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador or Central America could significantly affect the local economy and, as a result, our results of operations and financial condition.

The Colombian government and the Colombian Central Bank have historically exercised and continue to exercise, substantial influence over the Colombian economy; they occasionally make significant changes in monetary, fiscal and regulatory policy. Changes in macroeconomic policies could materially and adversely affect our business and the market value of the ADSs.

Any additional taxes resulting from changes to tax regulations or the interpretation thereof in Panama, Colombia or other countries where we operate could adversely affect our consolidated results.

Uncertainty relating to applicable tax legislation poses a constant risk to us. Changes in legislation, regulation and jurisprudence can affect tax burdens by increasing tax rates and fees, creating new taxes, limiting eligible expenses and deductions, and eliminating incentives and non-taxed income. Currently, Panama imposes no income tax on revenues generated from a source outside Panama and subjects dividends paid to a withholding tax of only 10% of the portion of the dividend that is attributable to Panamanian sourced income (as defined pursuant to the territoriality principles that govern Panamanian tax law) and to a withholding tax of 5% of the portion of the dividend that is attributable to foreign sourced income. Currently, Panama does not impose a withholding tax on dividends distributed by entities that do not earn income from Panamanian sources. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that Panamanian and Colombian tax laws or tax laws in other countries where we operate will not change or may be interpreted differently by authorities as a result of the implementation of IFRS, and any change could result in the imposition of significant additional taxes. Moreover, the Colombian and Salvadoran governments have significant fiscal deficits that may result in future tax increases. Additional tax regulations could be implemented that could require us to make additional tax payments, negatively affecting our results of operations and cash flow. In addition, national or local taxing authorities may not interpret tax regulations in the same way that we do. Differing interpretations could result in future tax litigation and associated costs.

High rates of inflation may have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, and the market price of the ADSs.

Rates of inflation in the countries in which we operate, such as some other countries in Latin America have been historically high, and we cannot assure you inflation will not return to high levels. Inflationary pressures may adversely affect our ability to access foreign financial markets, leading to adverse effects on our capital expenditure plans. In addition, inflationary pressures may, among other things, reduce consumers’ purchasing power or lead certain anti-inflationary policies to be instituted by the relevant governments, such as an increase in interest rates. Recently, inflation has increased, and there is no assurance that measures taken by the relevant governments will suffice to curb inflation. Inflationary pressures may harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, or adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and restrictions on currency exchange could negatively affect our financial performance and the market price of the ADSs.

The currency used by us is the U.S. dollar in terms of setting prices for our services, the composition of our statement of financial position and effects on our operating income. We sell most of our services in U.S. dollars or price equivalent to the U.S. dollar, and a large part of our expenses are also denominated in U.S. dollars or equivalents to the U.S. dollar, particularly fuel costs, aircraft leases, insurance and aircraft components and accessories.

In 2017, approximately 77.1% of our costs and expenses and 75.5% of our revenues were denominated in, or linked to, U.S. dollars. The remainder of our expenses and revenues were denominated in currencies of the countries in which we operate, of which the most significant is the Colombian peso. Changes in the exchange rate between the Colombian peso and the U.S. dollar or other currencies in the countries in which we operate adversely affected our business in 2017 and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in the future. In particular, during times when our non-U.S. dollar-denominated revenues exceed our non-U.S. dollar-denominated expenses, the depreciation of non-U.S. currencies against the U.S. dollar could have an adverse effect on our results, because conversion of these amounts into U.S. dollars will decrease our net income. We operate in numerous countries and face the risk of variation in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar or between the currencies of these various countries.

In addition, a significant amount of our liabilities are denominated in Colombian pesos. At times when the Colombian peso appreciates against the U.S. dollar, the value of these liabilities will increase in U.S. dollar terms, resulting in an increase in our non-operating expenses, which can have a negative effect on our consolidated financial statements and can have a real or perceived impact on our financial performance, which could negatively affect the market price of the ADSs. Our $20.2 million currency exchange loss in 2017 was principally the result of a loss generated in the conversion of pension plans and bonds denominated in

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Colombian Pesos. Loss in conversion of available-for-sale instruments in Venezuela denominated in VEF and the depreciation of Argentinian Peso in which we also maintain active positions against the U.S. dollar.” Variations in the values of other currencies may have similar effects.

Variations in interest rates may have adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the market price of the ADSs.

We are exposed to the risk of interest rate variations. Our Colombian peso-denominated debt is mainly exposed to variations in long-term interest rates and the Colombian 90-day deposit rate for commercial banks ( establecimientos bancarios ), financial corporations ( corporaciones financieras ) and financing companies ( companies de financiamiento ), IBR or DTF, as published by the Colombian Central Bank. Our non-Colombian peso-denominated debt is mainly exposed to variations in the London Interbank Offer Rate, or LIBOR. Any increase in inflation or other macroeconomic pressures may lead to increases in these rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $1,056.9 million in aggregate principal amount of variable-rate debt.

Increases in the above mentioned rates may result in higher debt service payments under our loans, and we may not be able to adjust the prices we charge to offset the impact of these increases. If we are unable to adequately adjust our prices, our revenue might not be sufficient to offset the increased payments due under our loans and this would adversely affect our results of operations. Accordingly, such increases may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the market price of the ADSs.

Risks Relating to the ADSs and our Preferred Shares

Our two main shareholders have veto power over certain strategic and operational transactions, and their interests may differ significantly from the interests of our other shareholders.

We and our controlling shareholders, Synergy Aerospace Corp., or Synergy, and Kingsland Holdings Limited, or Kingsland, are parties to a joint action agreement, or the Joint Action Agreement, that gives both shareholders veto power over significant strategic and operational transactions. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Part B. Related Party Transactions—Joint Action Agreement.” As of March 31, 2018, Synergy’s investment in Avianca Holdings is approximately 78.1% of its common shares and approximately 51.5% of its total outstanding shares, while Kingsland’s investment in Avianca Holdings is approximately 21.9% of its common shares and approximately 14.5% of its total outstanding shares. The Joint Action Agreement gives Synergy and Kingsland veto power over significant strategic and operational transactions including, among others:

Result of the foregoing veto rights, as well as Synergy’s purchase right and Kingsland’s tag-along right under the Joint Action Agreement (See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Part B. Related Party Transactions—Joint Action Agreement”), both shareholders can prevent us from taking strategic and other actions that may be in your best interests, including transactions that may enhance the long-term value of the ADSs and/or provide you with an opportunity to realize a premium on your investment in ADSs. Furthermore, Mr. José Efromovich, who indirectly controls Synergy together with his brother Germán Efromovich, controls OceanAir, which operates under the trade name Avianca Brazil and provides passenger services primarily in the Brazilian market. In addition, Mr. Roberto Kriete is a Director of Volaris, a growing Mexican airline that provides passenger services to markets including North America. We cannot predict the extent to which we may compete in the future with OceanAir or Volaris in Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere, and therefore cannot assure you that the interests of Synergy and Kingsland will be aligned with those of ADSs’ holders, and cannot give you any assurance that Synergy and Kingsland will exercise their respective rights under the Joint Action Agreement in a manner that is favorable to your interests as a holder of ADSs.

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Our controlling shareholders can direct our affairs, and their interests may conflict with those of ADSs’ holders.

Our controlling shareholders beneficially own all our outstanding common shares. Holders of our preferred shares and ADSs are not entitled to attend or vote at any of our general shareholders’ meetings, except under the following circumstances:

Holders of our preferred shares and ADSs are not entitled to vote on other matters, many of which may be significant and may adversely affect the value of our preferred shares and ADSs. As a result, our controlling shareholders can determine the outcome of substantially all matters submitted for a vote and thus exercise control over our business’ policies and affairs, including, among others, the following:

Our controlling shareholders may direct us to take actions that could be contrary to your interests and may be able to prevent other shareholders, including you, from blocking such actions or from causing different measures to be taken. Also, our controlling shareholders may prevent transactions implying change of control from happenning, which might otherwise provide you with an opportunity to dispose of or realize a premium on your investment in our ADSs. In addition, we have entered into various transactions with OceanAir, an entity indirectly controlled by Mr. José Efromovich and Synergy, including, among other things, licensing OceanAir to use our Avianca trademark in Brazil, leasing and subleasing aircraft to OceanAir and entering into various agency agreements. We have also entered into a trademark license agreement to allow Avian Líneas Áereas S.A. (“Avian”), an entity indirectly controlled by Synergy, to use our Avianca trademark in Argentina. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Part B. Related Party Transactions.” We cannot assure you that our controlling shareholders will act in a manner consistent with your best interests.

Substantial future dispositions or conversions of our Class A shares by our controlling shareholder or other large holders of our shares could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

As of March 31, 2018, Synergy, our controlling shareholder, owned approximately 78.1% of our voting common shares and approximately 51.5% of our total outstanding shares. Although Synergy has advised us that it has no current intention of disposing of its controlling interest in us, it is generally free to do so at any time if it wishes. The market price of our ADSs could drop significantly if our controlling shareholder (or other large holders of our shares) were to dispose of a significant amount of our voting shares or ADSs (including the sale of the pledged shares referred to below) or convert a significant number of our common shares into our preferred shares, or if the market perceives that such a disposition or conversion is likely to occur.

We understand that Synergy has pledged a substantial portion of its holding of our common shares to secure certain of its financing arrangements, and that in the aggregate such pledged shares represent a majority of our voting shares. See Item 7 Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Part A. Major Shareholders.” If in the future such stock pledges were foreclosed upon by Synergy’s secured creditors, such foreclosures could result in transfer of such shares to one or more third parties and as a result could result in a change of control with respect to us. A change of control may trigger a default under certain of our debt instruments and other material agreements, which may cause a material adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Holders of ADSs have even more limited rights than holders of our preferred shares and may encounter difficulties in exercising some of such rights.

Holders of the ADSs may encounter difficulties in exercising some of their rights as shareholders for as long as they hold the ADSs rather than the underlying preferred shares. For example, holders of the ADSs are not entitled to vote at shareholders’ meetings, and they are only able to exercise their limited voting rights by giving timely instructions to the depositary in advance of a shareholders’ meeting, and only in respect of certain matters. Moreover, holders of the ADSs are only entitled to exercise inspection rights through a representative designated for that purpose and such rights may only be exercised 15 business days prior to an ordinary shareholders’ meeting.

The depositary is the holder of the preferred shares underlying the ADSs and holders may exercise voting rights with respect to the preferred shares represented by the ADSs only in accordance with the deposit agreement relating to the ADSs. To the limited extent permitted by the deposit agreement, the holders of the ADSs should be able to direct the depositary to vote the underlying preferred shares in accordance with their individual instructions. Nevertheless, holders of ADSs may not receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote the preferred shares underlying their ADSs. Also, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions of the holders of ADS or for the manner of carrying out such instructions, unless such failure can be attributed to gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the depositary or its agents. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may not be able to exercise voting rights, and they will have little, if any, recourse if the underlying preferred shares are not voted as requested.

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Our ADSs are subject to certain foreign exchange regulations from the Colombian Central Bank which may impose registration requirements upon certain events of the ADS Program.

Colombia’s International Investment Statute regulates the way foreign investors may participate in the Colombian securities market, prescribes registration of certain foreign exchange transactions before the Colombian Central Bank, and specifies procedures under which certain types of foreign investments are to be authorized and administered. A holder of ADSs who withdraws preferred shares from the ADS deposit facility under certain circumstances, may have to comply directly with certain requirements under Colombian foreign investment regulations. Failure of a non-resident investor to comply with foreign exchange regulations may prevent the investor from obtaining remittance payments -including for the payment of dividends-, constitute an exchange control violation and/or result in a fine.

Our shareholders’ ability to receive cash dividends may be limited.

Under Panamanian law, we may pay dividends only out of retained earnings and capital surplus. The Company’s by-laws provide that in principle all dividends declared by our general shareholders’ meeting will be paid equally to holders of preferred shares and common shares. Although there’s a dividend policy that provides for the payment of dividends of at least 15% of our annual consolidated net income, the board of directors may at any time, in its sole discretion and for any reason, amend or discontinue the dividend policy. If no dividends are declared, you will not have any right to participate in or override that decision. Future dividends with respect to our preferred stock, if any, will depend on -among other things- our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, business opportunities, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our common shareholders and board of directors may deem relevant. As a result, we cannot give you any assurance that we will pay dividends in accordance with our current dividend policy or otherwise.

Holders of our preferred shares are not entitled to preemptive rights, and as a result you may experience substantial dilution upon future issuances of stock.

Under our organizational documents, and in accordance with Panamanian law, holders of our preferred shares are not entitled to any preemptive rights with respect to future issuances of capital stock. Therefore, unlike companies organized under the laws of many other Latin American jurisdictions, we will be free to issue new stock to other parties without first offering them to our existing preferred shareholders. In the future we may sell common or other shares to persons other than our existing preferred shareholders, at a lower price than the shares offered as ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange, and as a result you may experience substantial dilution of your interest in the Company.

ADS holders may be subject to additional risks related to holding ADSs rather than shares.

Because ADS holders do not hold their shares directly, they are subject to the following additional risks, among others:

The market price for the ADSs could be highly volatile, and the market price of our ADSs may be negatively impacted.

Volatility in the market price of our ADSs may prevent you from being able to sell your ADSs at, above or near the price you paid for them. The market price and liquidity of the market for our ADSs may be significantly affected by numerous factors, including, among others:

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Volatility in the price of the ADSs may be caused by factors outside of our control and may be unrelated to our operating results or disproportionate to the effect upon us of such factors. In particular, announcements of potentially adverse developments, such as proposed regulatory changes, new government investigations or the commencement or threat of litigation against us, as well as announced changes in our business plans or those of competitors, could adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs, regardless of the likely outcome of those developments or proceedings. Broad market and industry factors could also adversely affect the market price of the ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. As a result, the market price of our ADSs may be negatively impacted.

We assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

We are required to comply with the internal control, evaluation and certification requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in this Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ending December 31, 2017. We completed our first such assessment in 2015. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This process requires the investment of substantial time and resources, including by our chief financial officer and other members of our senior management. As a result, this process may divert internal resources and take a significant amount of time and effort to complete.

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As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to, and do, rely on exemptions from certain New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, corporate governance standards applicable to U.S. issuers. This may afford less protection to holders of our ADSs.

Section 303A of the NYSE Listed Company Manual sets forth certain corporate governance requirements that a company must fulfill in order to be listed on the NYSE. However, exemptions from many of the requirements are available to foreign private issuers such as us. As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to, and do, follow home country practice in lieu of the NYSE corporate governance standards from which we are exempt. Our home country standards are those of the Colombian Stock Exchange and Colombian securities laws. Although we are a Panamanian company, our preferred shares are listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange and are subject to Colombian securities laws.

In particular, we are exempt from the requirements of §303A.03 and §303A.04 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. §303A.03 requires non-management directors to meet regularly in executive sessions without management and independent directors to meet alone in an executive session at least once a year. §303A.04 requires a nominating/corporate governance committee composed of independent directors to be established. Under our bylaws and in accordance with the Colombian Stock Exchange regulations, our non-management directors are not required to meet regularly in executive sessions without management and we are not required to have a nominating/corporate governance committee, although our board of directors has the power to establish such a committee in the future. In addition, we are exempt from the requirements to give shareholders the opportunity to vote on equity-compensation plans and to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors, as defined by the NYSE, and governed by written charters. We are also exempt from certain director independence requirements of the NYSE, the requirement to hold executive sessions of directors without management present, certain additional requirements of audit committees, the requirement to adopt corporate governance guidelines and a code of conduct and annual certification requirements. For more detail on differences in corporate governance between NYSE standards and our home country standards, see “Item 16G. Corporate Governance.” As long as we rely on these foreign private issuer exemptions, the management oversight of our Company may be more limited than if we were not exempt from these requirements of Section 303A.

As a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are exempt from filing certain Exchange Act reports.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules and regulations under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our officers, directors, and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. We are also exempt from Regulation FD, which prohibits issuers from making selective disclosures of material non-public information. Moreover, we are not required under the Exchange Act to file annual, quarterly and current reports and financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, as frequently or as promptly as U.S. domestic companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.

In addition, we would lose our foreign private issuer status if a majority of our directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents and we fail to meet additional requirements necessary to avoid loss of foreign private issuer status. Although we have elected to comply with certain U.S. regulatory provisions, our loss of foreign private issuer status would make such provisions mandatory. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws as a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly higher. If we are not a foreign private issuer, we will be required to file periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms with the SEC, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We may also be required to modify certain of our policies to comply with governance practices associated with U.S. domestic issuers. Such conversion and modifications will involve additional costs. In addition, we may lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements on U.S. stock exchanges that are available to foreign private issuers.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the New York Stock Exchange rules and qualify for and rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

Certain of our shareholders control a majority of the combined voting power of all classes of our voting stock, and we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the New York Stock Exchange corporate governance standards. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group, or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, including:

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As a result, we may not have a majority of independent directors and our compensation committee does not consist entirely of independent directors. Accordingly, we do not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange. Accordingly, you do not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the New York Stock Exchange.

We are subject to anti-corruption laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

We are subject to several anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The FCPA generally prohibits companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials with the purpose of obtaining or keeping business and/or other benefits. Although our code of ethics and standards of conduct requires our employees to comply with the FCPA and similar laws, and our board of directors has issued an anticorruption policy, we are still in the process of FCPA compliance training for our employees and consultants. In addition, despite our ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no assurance that our employees, agents, and the companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, will not breach their duties under our policies, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. If we were not in compliance with anti-corruption laws and other laws governing the conduct of business with government entities (including local laws), we could be subject to criminal and civil penalties and other remedial measures, which could harm our reputation and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Any investigation of any actual or alleged violations of such laws could also harm our reputation or have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The protections afforded to minority shareholders in Panama are different from, and more limited than, those in the United States and may be more difficult to enforce.

Under Panamanian law, the protections afforded to minority shareholders are different from, and more limited than, those in the United States and some other Latin American countries. For example, the legal framework regarding shareholder disputes, such as derivative lawsuits and class actions, is less developed under Panamanian law than under U.S. law, mainly because of Panama’s short history with these types of claims and the small number of successful cases in the country. In addition, there are different procedural requirements to initiate shareholder lawsuits. As a result, it may be more difficult for our minority shareholders to enforce their rights against us, our directors or controlling shareholders, than it would be for shareholders of a U.S. company.

Holders of ADSs may find it difficult to enforce civil liabilities against us or our directors, officers and controlling persons.

We are organized under the laws of Panama, and our principal place of business ( domicilio social ) is in Panamá City, Panamá. All of our directors, officers and controlling persons reside outside of the United States. In addition, substantially all our assets are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for holders of ADSs to effect service of process within the United States on such persons or to enforce judgments against them, including in any action based on civil liabilities under the U.S. federal securities laws. Based on the opinion of our Panamanian and Colombian counsel, there is doubt as to the enforceability against such persons in Panama and Colombia, whether in original actions or in actions to enforce judgments of U.S. courts, of liabilities based solely on the U.S. federal securities laws.

Relative illiquidity of the Colombian securities markets may impair the ability of an ADS holder to sell preferred shares.

Our preferred shares are listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange, which is relatively small and illiquid compared to stock exchanges in major financial centers. In addition, a small number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading volume on the Colombian Stock Exchange. A liquid trading market for our securities might not develop or continue on the Colombian Stock Exchange. A limited trading market could impair the ability of an ADS holder to sell preferred shares (obtained upon withdrawal of such shares from the ADS facility) on the Colombian Stock Exchange in the amount and at the price and time such holder desires, and could increase the volatility of the price of the ADSs.

Exchange rate fluctuations may adversely affect the foreign currency value of the preferred shares represented by ADSs and any dividend or other distributions.

Preferred shares represented by ADSs are quoted in Colombian pesos on the Colombian Stock Exchange. Dividends and other distributions regarding preferred shares, if any, will be paid in Colombian pesos. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between Colombian pesos and U.S. dollars will affect, among other things, the foreign currency value of any such dividends or distributions.

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It may be difficult to enforce your liquidation preference reimbursement right if we enter into a bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding in Panama.

Panama’s insolvency laws, particularly as they relate to the priority of creditors, may be less favorable to your interests than the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Your ability to enforce your liquidation preference reimbursement right as a holder of ADSs may be limited if we become subject to the insolvency proceeding set forth in Title I of the Third Book of the Commercial Code, as amended from time to time, which establishes the events under which a petition for a company’s declaration of insolvency can be filed before a circuit court, considering that this preference reimbursement will be feasible after payment to third-party creditors.

Our ability to pay dividends would be limited if any of our relevant operating subsidiaries enters into a bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding in their home jurisdictions.

Our ability to pay dividends may be limited if any of our relevant operating subsidiaries becomes subject to insolvency proceedings under the applicable laws of Colombia, the Bahamas, El Salvador, Costa Rica or Peru, as amended from time to time. These laws establish the events under which a company, its creditors or the authorities may request the company’s admission to insolvency proceedings to reach an agreement with its creditors as to the terms of its debt structure. In addition, if a debtor breaches an insolvency agreement, or if continuation of a debtor’s business is not economically feasible, the restructured company may be liquidated. Payments of our dividends may also be contingent upon operating subsidiaries’ earnings and business considerations.

Our shares are traded on more than one market and this may result in price variations; in addition, investors may not be able to easily move shares for trading between such markets.

Our preferred shares have been traded on the Colombian Stock Exchange since May 2011 and our ADSs representing preferred shares have been traded on the NYSE since November 2013. Trading in our ADSs or preferred shares on these markets takes place in different currencies (U.S. dollars on the NYSE and COP on the Colombian Stock Exchange), and at different times (resulting from different time zones, different trading days and different public holidays in the United States and Colombia). The trading prices of our shares on these two markets may differ due to these and other factors. Any decrease in the price of our preferred shares on the Colombian Stock Exchange could cause a decrease in the trading price of our ADSs on the NYSE. Investors could seek to sell or buy our shares to take advantage of any price differences between the markets through a practice referred to as arbitrage. Any arbitrage activity could create unexpected volatility in both our share prices on one exchange, and the shares available for trading on the other exchange. In addition, holders of ADSs cannot immediately surrender their ADSs and withdraw the underlying preferred shares for trading on the other market without effecting necessary procedures with the depositary. This could result in time delays and additional cost for holders of ADSs.