Airline: | Servivensa |
Iata: | VC |
Icao: | SVV |
Callsign: | SERVIVENSA |
Founded: | 1989 |
Ceased: | May 1, 2003 |
Hubs: | Simón Bolívar International Airport |
Alliance: | Aeroperú (1999) |
Fleet Size: | 39 |
Destinations: | 20 |
Parent: | Avensa |
Headquarters: | Caracas, Venezuela |
Servivensa S.A. (legally Servicios Avensa Sociedad Anónima S.A.) was a low-cost airline based in Caracas, Venezuela that operated scheduled domestic and international flights.
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 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.
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.
Servivensa operated the following aircraft:[3] [4]