Servivensa

Servivensa S.A. (legally Servicios Avensa S.A.) was a low-cost airline based in Caracas, Venezuela that operated scheduled domestic and international flights.

Servivensa

IATA ICAO Call sign VC SVV SERVIVENSA
Founded	1989
Ceased operations	May 1, 2003
Hubs	Simón Bolívar International Airport
Alliance	Aeroperú (1999)
Fleet size	39
Destinations	20
Parent company	Avensa
Headquarters	Caracas, Venezuela

History

Servivensa was established by Avensa in 1989 to counteract the unionized workforce demands of Avensa's employees. By the mid-1990's it had grown to become larger than its parent company, and Servivensa crews of contract workers began operating Avensa aircraft. However, Venezuela's macroeconomic problems, especially its currency exchange restrictions, caused the airline to have trouble procuring spare parts and led to the widespread grounding of its aircraft.^[1]

For a short time in 1999, the airline had an alliance with Aeroperú that operated codeshare flights between Caracas and Lima.^{[citation needed]}

By 2001, Servivensa and Avensa were close to bankruptcy and were being sued by BP for over $1 million in unpaid fuel bills.^[2] Servivensa operations were officially ceased on May 1, 2003, when its parent company, Avensa announced that it was grounding its aircraft due to a drop in demand of air traffic.^{[citation needed]}

Destinations

A Servivensa McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 at Miami International Airport in 1993

A Servivensa Boeing 727-200 at Miami International Airport in 1997

•  Curaçao
  • Willemstad (Curaçao International Airport)
•  Costa Rica
  • San José (Juan Santamaría International Airport)
•  Colombia
  • Barranquilla (Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport)
  • Bogotá (El Dorado International Airport)
•  Ecuador
  • Quito (Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport)
•  Mexico
  • Mexico City (Mexico City International Airport)
•  Peru
  • Lima (Jorge Chávez International Airport)
•  United States
  • Miami (Miami International Airport)
  • New York City (John F. Kennedy International Airport)^[3]
•  Venezuela
  • Canaima (Canaima Airport)
  • Caracas (Simón Bolívar International Airport) Hub
  • Ciudad Bolívar (Tomás de Heres Airport)
  • Ciudad Guayana (Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport)
  • El Vigía (Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo Airport)
  • Maturín (José Tadeo Monagas International Airport)
  • Maracaibo (La Chinita International Airport)
  • Mérida (Alberto Carnevalli Airport)
  • Porlamar (Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport)
  • Santa Elena de Uairén (Santa Elena de Uairén Airport)
  • Valencia (Arturo Michelena International Airport)

Fleet

A Boeing 737-200 in an Servivensa/Aeroperú hybrid livery at Miami International Airport in 1999

Servivensa operated the following aircraft:^[4][5]

• 4 Beechcraft 90
• 3 Boeing 727-100
• 7 Boeing 727-200
• 2 Boeing 737-200
• 1 Boeing 757-200
• 2 Douglas DC-3C
• 5 Douglas C-47A Skytrain
• 8 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
• 3 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32
• 3 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51

Accidents and incidents

• On December 17, 1994, Douglas C-47A (registered YV-761-C) crashed on approach to Cerro Aicha Airport, killing all nine people on board.^[6]
• On October 2, 1998, Douglas DC-3C (registered YV-611C) crashed on approach to Canaima Airport. The aircraft had been on a local sightseeing flight to view the Angel Falls. One of the 25 people on board was killed.^[7]
• In 2000, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted 18 individuals for a drug trafficking conspiracy centered around using Servivensa flight attendants to smuggle heroin into the United States, following a year-long investigation known as Operation Aeromoza.^[8]

See also

• List of defunct airlines of Venezuela