While we’ll see how this plays out, American Airlines has announced plans to resume flights to Venezuela. However, the airline is stopping short of providing exact details.
In this post:
American is first US airline to announce Venezuela flights
American has become the first airline from the United States to announce plans to reinstate nonstop regularly scheduled passenger flights to Venezuela. The airline plans to resume daily flights, and while it’s not stated, I would be willing to bet that the first route will be the 1,360-mile journey between Miami (MIA) and Caracas (CCS), for obvious reasons, perhaps with an intermediate stop.
While American is making this announcement, no launch date has been revealed, and “the airline remains in close contact with federal authorities, and is ready to commence flights to Venezuela, pending government approval and security assessments.” As it’s described, flights will provide the opportunity for business, leisure, and humanitarian travelers to move seamlessly between the countries.
The Fort Worth-based carrier expects to announce more details about the service resumption in the coming months. Here’s how American’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nat Pieper, describes this development:
“We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the U.S., and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship. By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States.”
American started operating to Venezuela in 1987, and ultimately suspended flights in 2019. For years, the airline was the largest US carrier in the country, and there even used to be an Admirals Club in Caracas.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out
This whole Venezuela situation is obviously incredibly polarizing (we all hopefully agree Maduro is a bad dude, but…), and this is primarily a travel blog, so I don’t think we need to get too deep into that. However, I will make two points, as it impacts air service specifically.
First of all, I’m curious to see if American is actually able to follow through on this service in terms of the security assessment, working with labor unions, etc. I imagine that at least initially, crews would do a same day turn, or if that’s slightly above the legal limits, perhaps we’d see a technical stop at a nearby airport outside of Venezuela. However, I wouldn’t view this service resumption as a sure bet, as I imagine labor unions will have a lot of concerns.
Second, as an aviation geek, I’m much more intrigued by Venezuela’s airlines returning to the United States. Those gorgeous Conviasa Airbus A340-600s are more than welcome to fly overhead here in Miami anytime, as far as I’m concerned! I’d rather see them here than at their other typical destinations, including Moscow (SVO), Tehran (IKA), etc.!
Heck, I’ll even take one of those ex-American Airlines nearly 40-year-old LASER Airlines MD-80s. That’s the stuff that avgeek dreams are made of!
Bottom line
American Airlines plans to resume flights to Venezuela, making it the first US carrier to announce such plans. However, there doesn’t actually seem to be much substance to the announcement as of now, because no launch date has been revealed, and this is all pending government approval and security assessments.
It’ll be interesting to see if this service actually happens in the coming months, or if this is all overly optimistic…
How do you see American’s service resumption to Venezuela playing out?
Fun fact - Conviasa's A340-600 used to fly for Virgin Atlantic for a decade before ending up in Venezuela with intermediate stops in Iraq and Iran (Mahan Air).
It still features VS's signature bar in the "Upper Class" although it wasn't staffed when I flew Conviasa on their most popular (?) CUN-CCS route a year ago.
I'm sure those sketchy Conviasa A340s are fun to see, but they're also quite unsafe by Western aviation safety standards. And we know they're used to mule assets between sanctioned governments.
Stick to the LH four-holers. They're safer to stand under.
and AA didn't even make a contribution to any inauguration.
Give 'em a break... one year since AA5342 today.
Serious question...Why do we all agree that Maduro is a bad dude?
@ Speedbird -- Do you think he's a great guy, or what's your take, exactly?
He's the lite version of the current USA fat orange Nazi regime.
Nicolás Maduro is widely condemned as a dictator due to his role in engineering Venezuela's severe economic collapse, rampant government corruption, and systematic human rights violations.
His regime is accused of rigging elections to maintain power, engaging in narco-terrorism, and fostering criminal activity, which caused millions of Venezuelans to flee.
Key reasons for the consensus on his negative reputation include:
Authoritarian...
He's the lite version of the current USA fat orange Nazi regime.
Nicolás Maduro is widely condemned as a dictator due to his role in engineering Venezuela's severe economic collapse, rampant government corruption, and systematic human rights violations.
His regime is accused of rigging elections to maintain power, engaging in narco-terrorism, and fostering criminal activity, which caused millions of Venezuelans to flee.
Key reasons for the consensus on his negative reputation include:
Authoritarian Rule and Election Fraud:
Maduro is viewed as a dictator who undermined democratic institutions and manipulated electoral processes to stay in power.
Economic Ruin: His policies, including the nationalization of industries, led to widespread poverty and economic dysfunction in Venezuela.
Criminal Allegations: The U.S. Justice Department has indicted Maduro on charges of narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking, accusing him of using his position to facilitate cocaine smuggling.
Human Rights Abuses:
Reports suggest his administration has committed appalling actions against the Venezuelan people.
Illegitimacy:
His second term was widely recognized as illegitimate, with numerous nations and organizations refusing to recognize him as the rightful leader.
The US has an oompa loompa nazi regime?! How did I not hear about this? Will you share more?!
Maduro and Lukashenko are my mustache bros. Hard-ass dictators, but mustache bros nevertheless.
Now do Cap Haitien!
I noticed that one of the A340s (YV3507) is still configured with the old Air China first class cabin. https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/airbus-a340-300-yv3507-conviasa/rm5km3
Ben - can you explain why "for obvious reasons, perhaps with an intermediate stop"? It's a fairly short flight from MIA.
Btw I've always been curious how a bunch of Marriotts managed to continue to operate in Venezuela (I even stayed at one on my trip last year - excellent value on points...).
@ Voian -- "For obvious reasons" was in reference to Miami, since it's the biggest O&D market for Venezuela from the US, and also the closest major airport. Yes, it's a fairly short trip, but I'm not sure what exactly the union contracts say when there are safety considerations.
If it's decided that crews can't have layovers there, they may need to add an extra buffer to account for any delays, and avoid crews getting stranded there.
From what I remember MIA crews telling me back in the A300 days to PAP if they got stuck overnight because of a maintenance issue (ongoing back then with the A300s) they were transported to and from a hotel by armed guards and that the guards remained at the hotel overnight.
Interesting, George. You'd think if the MIA a300 got stuck, the JFK a300 could've shuttled them out, if needed. Don't think AA flew from anywhere else to PAP. Still crazy that AA819 got shot! All carriers still banned until at least March 2026.
I think those times are long gone, Caracas is fairly safe now compared to a few years ago (or not more dangerous than other Latin American capitals served by US carriers), and there's even a Marriott next to the airport so no need to go to the city.
The trip to Angel Falls is back on!! LOL.