Boliviana de Aviación

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Boliviana de Aviación
IATA ICAO Callsign
OB BOV BOLIVIANA
Founded24 October 2007
Commenced operations30 March 2009
HubsJorge Wilstermann International Airport
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programElévate
Fleet size23
Destinations21
Parent companyBolivian Government (100%)
HeadquartersCochabamba, Bolivia
Key peopleRonald Casso (CEO)
RevenueIncrease Bs. 102 million (2014)[1]
Net incomeDecrease Bs. 38.7 million (2014)[1]
Total assetsIncrease Bs. 629 million (2014)[1]
Employees2,345 (2015)[1]
Websitewww.boa.bo

Boliviana de Aviación, legally incorporated as Empresa Pública Nacional Estratégica Boliviana de Aviación ("Bolivian National Strategic Aviation Public Company") and commonly known as BoA, is the flag carrier airline of Bolivia and is wholly owned by the country's government. Founded in October 2007 and headquartered in Cochabamba, it operates most of its domestic network out of its primary hub at Jorge Wilstermann International Airport and maintains focus cities at El Alto International Airport and Viru Viru International Airport. Almost all international flights, including long-haul services to Madrid and Miami, operate out of Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra due to the severe limitations of El Alto International Airport in La Paz, located over 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level.

Boliviana de Aviación operates a fleet consisting of Boeing 737s, Airbus A330s, and a regional fleet of Bombardier CRJ-200s. and currently flies to 21 destinations in 8 countries across the Americas and Europe. It is the largest airline in Bolivia in terms of fleet size and passengers carried.

The airline was established as a state-owned enterprise as the successor airline of former flag carrier Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, which ceased in 2007. Following the demise of AeroSur, Bolivia's second largest airline, BoA became the country's sole main carrier in 2011. In November 2014, Boliviana de Aviación became a full member of the International Air Transport Association.[2][3]

History[edit]

BoA's first Boeing 737-300 parked at El Alto International Airport in La Paz.

Background and early years[edit]

Boliviana de Aviación (BoA), was founded on 24 October 2007 by the Bolivian government under president Evo Morales, who signed Supreme Decree 29318 into law, establishing the new airline as a strategic state-owned enterprise with the purpose of sustaining the Bolivian air travel market, which had been left exposed during the downturn of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), the country's former flag carrier.[4] [5]

Proposals from the Bolivian government to establish a new airline quickly became concrete in 2006 when LAB suspended much of its air routes due to financial difficulties and years of mismanagement. LAB had accumulated losses since 1995, at the time of its partial acquisition by Brazilian airline VASP.[6] Its debts approached $180 million dollars and in 2012, it formally ceased operations after 87 years of service. At the time of its demise, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca.

On 29 March 2009, Boliviana de Aviación launched its first scheduled flight between the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra using one of the two Boeing 737-300 it acquired that same year.

In 2011, BoA became the main airline in the country after the bankruptcy of AeroSur, Bolivia's second largest carrier.

Expansion[edit]

In less than three months of operations (after its inaugural flight), Boliviana de Aviación extended its domestic network serving the city of Tarija.[7] In a gradual time the airline expects to extend its services to the principal cities in Bolivia to consolidate its presence in the national market.[7] The inaugural flight to Tarija was made from El Alto International Airport.[7]

Boliviana de Aviación operates a comprehensive network of scheduled domestic flights, covering all the principal cities of Bolivia. However the airline's fast growth allowed BoA to commence operating international routes. In May 2010, Boliviana de Aviación received all the operative authorizations for flying internationally inaugurating its first international flight from Cochabamba to Buenos Aires, Argentina.[8] In November 2010, the airline inaugurated its second international destination: São Paulo, Brazil.[9] BoA currently offers daily non-stop service to Buenos Aires and to São Paulo.[10]

Following AeroSur's demise in 2012, BoA became the principal carrier of Bolivia, and leased an Airbus A330 to inaugurate the key link to Madrid, Spain in November 2012.[11] BoA later leased 4 Boeing 767-300ERs to operate this flight and the daily non-stop service to Miami, United States as well.

On February 8th, 2022, Boliviana de Aviación launched its new destination to Lima, Peru.[12] On October 26th 2023, Boliviana de Aviación inaugurated its first flight to Havana, Cuba. On November 3rd 2023, it launched its new destination to Caracas, Venezuela and on January 18th 2024, it launched its new destination to Asuncion, Paraguay. [13]

Business figures[edit]

On 29 March 2009, Boliviana of Aviación (BoA) made its inaugural flight. To almost a year of the fact, the participation of the state company in the regular aeronautical market came to a close of 50% and utilities[clarification needed] to some US$2.2 million.[14] Some domestic networks have been dominated by the services of BoA. Most of the airline's financial success is due to the 10% reduction of all its fares in domestic flights compared with AeroSur.[15]

Since 2010, the airline began taking leadership in some domestic routes, in decline of the private flag carrier AeroSur. According to the Authority of Inspection and Social control of Transport and Telecommunications (ATT), Boliviana de Aviación achieved the passengers' biggest quantity in three routes:[16]

Destinations[edit]

Domestic and international destinations operated by the airline (as of December 2022).

Boliviana de Aviación's main hub is in Cochabamba at Jorge Wilstermann International Airport, located in the center of the country. As such, most of the domestic network is operated out of Cochabamba. The airline also maintains two focus cities in La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. All international flights within South America as well as long-haul services to Madrid and Miami operate out of Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra due to the airport's low altitude compared to La Paz's El Alto International Airport.

Codeshare agreements[edit]

Boliviana de Aviación has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet[edit]

Boliviana Airbus A330-200
Boliviana Boeing 737-800
Boliviana Boeing 767-300ER

Current fleet[edit]

As of March 2024, the fleet of Boliviana de Aviación includes the following aircraft:[23][24]

Boliviana de Aviación fleet
Aircraft In fleet Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A330-200[25] 3 20 255 275
Boeing 737-300 4 138 138
Boeing 737-700 4 136 136
Boeing 737-800 9 168 168
Boeing 767-300ER 1 10 215 225
Bombardier CRJ200 2 50 50
Total 23

Former fleet[edit]

Since its inception, Boliviana de Aviación has operated the following aircraft:[23][26]

Boliviana de Aviación former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-500 1 2013 2015
Boeing 767-200ER 1 2013 2014 Leased from Omni Air International

Fleet development[edit]

Boliviana de Aviación started operations with two Boeing 737-300s. On 29 September 2009, BoA announced the arrival of its 3rd Boeing 737. On 14 April 2010, BoA received its 4th Boeing 737. In April 2011, BoA received its 5th Boeing 737, president Evo Morales celebrated the new acquisition and emphasized the positive results in the coverage of the internal market.[27] On 14 September 2014, BoA announced the arrival of its first Boeing 767-300ER. On May 4 2023, BoA acquired its first two Airbus A330-200s. An introduction to the airlines new modernized long haul fleet.[citation needed]

As of 2013, the Bolivian Government and the Russian ambassador were also negotiating the acquisition of the Antonov An-148 for official and civil uses.[28] Bolivia was interested in acquiring eight planes, one as the presidential carrier and seven to the state-owned airlines which are Boliviana de Aviación and Transporte Aéreo Militar. According to the negotiation, BoA would have received four planes and TAM three planes of this type.[29] However, the negotiation depended on the cooperative advances between the Bolivian and Russian governments as regards a credit for US$250 million. Such plan has been postponed/canceled due to economic and technical unviability.[30]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Memoria Anual 2014" (PDF) (in Spanish). Boliviana de Aviación. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. ^ "IATA Current Airline Members". iata.org. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  3. ^ "Boliviana de Aviación, LIAT Airlines y Aerogal reciben certificación de IATA". eju.tv. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  4. ^ "Bolivia: Decreto Supremo Nº 29318, 24 de octubre de 2007". levivox.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Nueva aerolínea estatal boliviana hace vuelo inaugural" [New Bolivian state-owned airline makes inaugural flight]. Reuters (in Spanish). 29 March 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  6. ^ Garbuno, Daniel Martínez (2021-03-18). "What Happened To Bolivia's Flag Carrier Lloyd Aereo Boliviano". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  7. ^ a b c (in Spanish) http://www.hoybolivia.com/Noticia.php?IdNoticia=16357
  8. ^ "BOA confirma inauguracion de ruta internacional a Buenos Aires | Tarija Bolivia Gas YPFB Nacionalizacion". Tarijalibre.tarijaindustrial.com. 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  9. ^ "BoA inagura nuevo vuelo a São Paulo". Prensalibre.com. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  10. ^ Technical frequency from VVI to GRU "BoA Weekly Service Frequency to GRU". 2021-04-02.
  11. ^ "Boliviana de Aviación launches services from Santa Cruz Viru Viru to Madrid". 12 December 2012.
  12. ^ (in Spanish) BOLIVIANA DE AVIACIÓN SE PREPARA PARA VOLARA A LIMA http://www.aviacionnews.com/blog/2018/09/boliviana-de-aviacion-se-prepara-para-volara-a-lima/
  13. ^ "Boliviana De Aviación Announces New Routes To Asunción, Caracas, and Havana". SimplyFlying.com. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  14. ^ Boliviana de Aviación Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "BoA oferta sus tarifas rebajadas; AeroSur destaca su variada oferta | NOTAS DE AEROLINEAS DE BOLIVIA". Avionesbol.blogspot.com. March 28, 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  16. ^ BoA lidera 3 rutas, AeroSur habla de competencia desleal
  17. ^ (in Spanish) Cochabamba-Cobija, con el 64 por ciento http://att.gob.bo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=591:boa-lidera-3-rutas-aerosur-habla-de-competencia-desleal&catid=53:transportes Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ (in Spanish) Cochabamba-Sucre, con el 73 por ciento http://att.gob.bo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=591:boa-lidera-3-rutas-aerosur-habla-de-competencia-desleal&catid=53:transportes Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ (in Spanish) Cochabamba-Tarija, con el 93 por ciento http://att.gob.bo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=591:boa-lidera-3-rutas-aerosur-habla-de-competencia-desleal&catid=53:transportes Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "BoA y Aerolíneas Argentinas firman acuerdo interlineal para beneficio de pasajeros" (in Spanish). 15 April 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  21. ^ Garbuno, Daniel Martínez (2022-09-13). "Avianca Signs An Interline Agreement With Boliviana". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  22. ^ Liu, Jim (23 July 2019). "Boliviana de Aviacion expands Iberia codeshare from July 2019". Routes Online. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Boliviana de Aviación fleet details". airfleets.net. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Boliviana de Aviación Uses The Airbus A330 To Miami For The 1st Time". Simpleflying.com. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  26. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 7. October 2019.
  27. ^ "El gobierno entrega la quinta aeronave a BOA". Lostiempos.com. 2011-04-30. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  28. ^ "Bolivia interesada en comprar avión presidencial y helicópteros rusos | Rusia-Iberoamérica | RIA Novosti". Sp.rian.ru. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  29. ^ (in Spanish) TAM con tres aviones y BoA con cuatro. http://www.airline92.com/
  30. ^ "Compañía "Boliviana de Aviación" negocia cinco aviones rusos Antonov-148". Informeaeronautico.com. 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2013-02-03.

External links[edit]

Media related to Boliviana de Aviación at Wikimedia Commons