The situation of the Argentine aviation market is still a mystery after the inauguration of Alberto Fernandéz of the Justicialista party, but one thing is certain: the air link between Buenos Aires and Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, will resume from February 2020.
Flights between Argentina and Venezuela have been suspended since 2017 when airlines Aerolíneas Argentinas and Conviasa announced almost at the same time the closure of their operations. In the case of the Venezuelan state-owned company, however, the main reason was the absence of a jet with sufficient range to fly nonstop on the route, just over 5,000 km away.
However, Conviasa has just announced on social networks that will again offer frequencies on the route without detailing how this will be done in practice. The service is also sold as an extension to the Caribbean Island of Margarita, a tourist destination with the potential to attract Argentine passengers.
To be able to resume the flight, Conviasa must reactivate its single A340-200 which has been out of service for a long time. Recent information indicates that Conviasa plans to put you on flight condition in early 2020.
With nearly 27 years of use, the Airbus quad-engine was originally delivered to Air France where it flew for five years before being passed on to Air Tahiti Nui. Conviasa received it in 2007, but even handed it over to Iran Air shortly thereafter. Between several comings and goings, the aircraft was stocked in Tehran in July this year, according to information from the Planespotters website.
Embraer customer
Founded in 2004 by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Conviasa emerged as a successor to Viasa, which had failed in 1997. However, its commercial career has always been troubled, and it has been banned from flying to Europe and the United States for some periods. alleged safety risks.
Currently, the airline’s fleet has 16 E190 jets, bought new from Embraer at the beginning of the decade, coincidentally a period when Brazil was ruled by a party also aligned with the current government of Nicolás Maduro.
With short range, the Brazilian plane is used on local flights, but also on international routes to countries like Panama, Dominican Republic, but above all destinations whose left-wing governments like Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Ecuador, where the current president was allied. to former president Rafael Correa.
The return of the route with Argentina, therefore, coincides with the return of a left-wing government whose vice president, Cristina Kirchner, defended the current regime in Venezuela for many years. It remains to be seen if Aerolíneas Argentinas will also do the same soon, which would be expected.
