Venezuela’s State-run Airline to Start Operations in January

Conviasa, Venezuela’s new state-run air carrier that saw the light of day with an initial investment of $10 million, will start plowing the skies of South America and the Caribbean with leased Boeing jetliners as early as next month.

President Hugo Chavez said recently this airline will soon be flying beyond the Venezuelan borders, though it will initially cover routes in the West Indies and in South America.

The carrier is planning to begin flights to Europe on June 2005 with a couple of Boeing 767s. Conviasa will have an initial fleet of a dozen aircraft for both domestic and international flights.

Viasa, Venezuela’s former state-operated airline, ceased operations in 1997.