Boliviana de Aviación (BoA), the South American country’s state-owned airline, is in the midst of a process of updating its fleet. In November, for example, the carrier received two leased second-hand jets, a Boeing 737-800 and an Airbus A330-200.
They are not that new aircraft as the Boeing has been in service for almost 13 years and the widebody has been flying for almost 12 years.
However, these are an evolution for an airline that continues to fly four Boeing 737-300s with an average age of 26 years, in addition to some 737-700s that are almost as old.
At least one aircraft type appears to have reached the end of its career at the Bolivian carrier, the 767-300ER, which is being replaced by the Airbus A330.
The Boeing widebody was for a long time BoA’s main aircraft, carrying out international flights, especially to Madrid, in Spain, and Miami, in the US.
“Ghost” plane
Until the beginning of 2023, Boliviana had four of them in the fleet, but one was soon removed from operation. Of the remaining three, two were sent in November to the Marana desert, in California, while the last Boeing 767 was reportedly retired shortly afterwards, as reported by some outlets.
But like a “ghost”, the CP-2881 jet continued flying for the airline. On Tuesday, December 5, the 767-300ER landed in Miami from Santa Cruz de la Sierra on flight OB766.
According to flight records from FlightRadar and FlightAware, the aircraft has taken turns with the Airbus A330-200 on the route. In theory, the 767 with registration CP-2881 should return to Bolivia on Wednesday on flight OB767.
The two Boeing 767s decommissioned last month departed Santa Cruz, stopped in Tucson, Arizona, before landing in Marana, which suggests that CP-2881 is likely to follow the same route, but when it is not yet clear.
Boliviana de Aviación may be awaiting the activation of the A330-200 with registration CP-3214, the third of its type received by the company.
Follow ADN: Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
The aircraft had been stored in the Netherlands since the beginning of 2023 and flew to Cochabamba on November 20.
Since then, it has been stationed in the Bolivian city, possibly undergoing final preparations before taking on duty and giving the Boeing 767-300 a well-deserved rest.
