Venezuela’s Conviasa adds first A340-600

Conviasa (V0, Caracas Simón Bolivar) took delivery of its first A340-600 on Tuesday, March 15, with the arrival of YV3533 (msn 376) at Caracas Simón Bolivar. The 20-year-old jet was acquired from the state-owned Venezuelan carrier’s technical partner Mahan Air (W5, Tehran Mehrabad) in Iran, where it was EP-MMF.

ADS-B data shows YV3533 conducted a return test flight to Havana Int’l in Cuba on March 18 and is due to be used to open up flights to México City Felipe Angeles later this month. It will eventually be deployed on ultra-longhaul flights to the Middle East and Russia.

Conviasa’s widebody fleet includes one A340-200 and one A340-300 and has also been linked to the A340-500 although its ability to source the type on the open market may prove difficult given it is under US sanctions.