Conviasa

Conviasa
IATA ICAO Callsign
V0 VCV CONVIASA
Founded 31 March 2004
Hubs Simón Bolívar International Airport
Focus cities Santiago Mariño International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Infinito
Fleet size 24
Destinations 22
Company slogan El placer de volar
(the pleasure of flying)
Parent company Ministry of Aquatic and Air Transport
Headquarters Maiquetía, Venezuela
Key people Luis Gustavo Graterol Caraballo, CEO
Website conviasa.aero

Conviasa (legally Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos, S.A.) is an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela, near Caracas.[1] It is the flag carrier and largest airline of Venezuela, operating services to domestic destinations and to destinations in the Caribbean and South America.

History

Early years

In January 1997, Venezuela's former flag carrier, Viasa, ceased operations after 37 years of service due to prolonged financial problems. In May 2001, the idea to create a new flag carrier for Venezuela was proposed, but in December 2002, the project was put on hold until 1 October 2003. On 30 March 2004, then President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, signed a decree that formally established the airline. This decree was published in the nation's official gazette the next day.

On 28 November 2004, Conviasa's inaugural flight was made with a De Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft flying from the airport in Charallave to the Santiago Mariño International Airport, on Margarita Island. On 10 December 2004, Conviasa formally began its national and international operations. Conviasa was originally run by the now defunct Ministry of Production and Commerce (Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio), but it has since been taken over by the Ministry of Infrastructure.[2]

On 17 April 2006, José David Cabello Rondon replaced Wilmer Castro Sotelo as head of Conviasa. On 30 June 2006, Jose David Cabello Rondon replaced Ramon Alonzo Carrizalez Rengifo as the Minister of Infrastructure and on 18 July 2006, Franklin Fernandez Martinez became president of Conviasa.

Development since the 2010s

Following the Flight 2350 crash, on September 17, 2010, the government of Venezuela grounded all Conviasa flights so that it could perform a technical review of the airline's fleet. The airline said that the temporary suspension would remain in effect until October 1, 2010. Flights have since been re-instated.

Decree No. 7838 of the Official Gazette No. 39,558 published on Wednesday, provides for the appointment of Colonel citizen (AVB) Jesús Rafael Viñas García, President of the Venezuelan Consortium Trading Company Aircraft Industries and Air Services SA (CONVIASA) under the Ministry of Popular Power for Transportation and Communications.

On 3 April 2012, Conviasa has been banned from flying to countries in the European Union because of safety concerns. It said that Conviasa failed to show it had taken adequate steps to prevent future accidents, but had this restriction lifted on 10 July 2013.[3][4]

Conviasa is under the authority of the Ministry of Aquatic and Air Transport.[5] The airline is owned by the Venezuelan government (80%) and the regional government of Nueva Esparta (20%). Conviasa has its headquarters on the grounds of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela, near Caracas.[6][7] Originally Conviasa had its headquarters on Margarita Island.[8] At one time Conviasa had its headquarters in the East Tower of Parque Central in Caracas.[9]

In August 2016, it has been reported that over 80 percent of Conviasa pilots quit their jobs due to low and outstanding payments and the airline had to reduce operations down to around 16 flights per day subsequently. Additionally, several of the company's aircraft have been stored unused since several months.[10]

Destinations

A former Conviasa Boeing 737-200
A former Conviasa Airbus A340-200

Conviasa operates the following services (as of 9 December 2013):

Americas

Europe

Fleet

Conviasa Embraer 190

The Conviasa fleet includes the following aircraft as of August 2016:[11]

Conviasa Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
ATR 42-400 2 — 46
ATR 72-200 2 — 70
Boeing 747-400 1 — 477 leased from Wamos Air
Bombardier CRJ700ER 3 — 78 leased from PDVSA
Embraer 190 15 — 114
Embraer Lineage 1000 1 — VIP
Total 24 —

Incidents and accidents

References

  1. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 3 April 2007. p. 68.
  2. ↑ Archived April 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Neuman, William (4 April 2012). "Venezuela: Airline Banned by Europe". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ "EU Removes Philippine Air, Conviasa From Access Blacklist" Bloomberg, 10 July 2013
  5. ↑ "Organigrama." (Archive) Ministry of Aquatic and Air Transport. Retrieved on April 17, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Contacts." Conviasa. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Sede Principal." Conviasa. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. "Av. Intercomunal Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía Edf. Sector 6.3, Zona Estratégica, Lado Este del Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía, Adyacente a Tránsito Terrestre. Venezuela."
  8. ↑ Bloomberg News and Wire Reports. "GLOBAL BUSINESS." South Florida Sun. March 12, 2004. 3D. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. "Conviasa which will have headquarters on the tourist island of Margarita."
  9. ↑ "Contactos." Conviasa. July 11, 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. "Dirección Sede Principal Av. Lecuna, Parque Central, Torre Oeste, Piso 49, Caracas, Venezuela."
  10. ↑ aerotelegraph.com - "Pilot shortage puts Conviasa into struggle" (German) 17 August 2016
  11. ↑ planespotters.net - Conviasa Fleet Details and History retrieved 17 August 2016
  12. ↑ "Avión de Conviasa aterrizó de emergencia en aeropuerto de Margarita". Primera-clase.com. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  13. ↑ "ATERRIZAJE DE EMERGENCIA DEL YV-1003 EN MARGARITA, VENEZUELA". Rescate.com. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  14. ↑ "Plane crashes in eastern Venezuela". BBC News Online. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  15. ↑ "Crash: Conviasa AT42 near Puerto Ordaz on Sep 13th 2010, impacted terrain". Aviation Herald. 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  16. ↑ "Aumentan a 17 fallecidos por accidente de avión de Conviasa - El Universal Venezuela." (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 September 2010.

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