Avianca is reactivating the brand of Guatemalan regional subsidiary Aviateca, with plans to offer domestic and international routes.

The Colombian carrier said the move is part of efforts to increase connectivity from and within Guatemala by up to 53%. The move comes a year after the airline retired the Aviateca brand.

“Guatemala is an important market for Avianca in which we see great potential to develop our business model with a local operator,” Avianca COO Frederico Pedreira said.

From Dec. 1, Aviateca will begin flying three times per week from Guatemala City (GUA) to Flores (FRS), a town in Guatemala’s northern Petén region, and three times per week to Comayagua (XPL), located about 80-km (50-mi.) northwest of Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa.

A third route will start on Dec. 6, connecting Guatemala City and San Salvador (SAL) in El Salvador. Service will be once a week. All three routes will use Airbus A320 aircraft.

“So far this year, more than 350,000 passengers have flown with us on more than 3,500 flights, to nearly 60 destinations throughout the continent,” Pedreira said.

“Today we repay that trust with a new national and international operation with which we will be increasing to more than 2,500 seats per week on 14 flights per week.”

According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, TAG Airlines offers flights from Guatemala City to Flores up to six times per day, as well as serving San Salvador daily. Iberia and Volaris El Salvador also serve Guatemala City-San Salvador four times per week.

The revival of Aviateca comes in the same week that Avianca announced plans to offer a new service that will connect Guatemala City with San Pedro Sula (SAP) in Honduras. The route will originate in San Salvador and be offered three times per week using A320s.

“Guatemala, San Pedro Sula and San Salvador are important cities for trade and tourism in the Central American region, and like Avianca, we want to give our customers more and better connectivity options,” said Rolando Damas, Avianca sales director for North America, Central America and the Caribbean.