Conviasa (V0, Caracas Simón Bolivar) is planning to deploy its first two out of three A330-200s on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) on flights to Italy Venezuelan Minister for Water and Air Transport, Luis Graterol, has said.

Speaking to FinanzasDigital, Graterol said his government had taken the decision following an Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino) decision to withdraw from the route citing a lack of progress made in securing its ticket remittances.

"Conviasa will offer seven flights a week: five to Rome Fiumicino, capital of Italy, and two to Milan Malpensa," he said.

With its sole widebody - an A340-200 - still undergoing maintenance in Bordeaux Mérignac, the Venezuelan national carrier has had to rely on outsourced wet-leased aircraft from foreign carriers to cover its long-haul needs. It currently uses B767-300(ER) EI-FCV (msn 26260) from Blue Panorama Airlines (Rome Fiumicino) for its Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini and Madrid Barajas routes.