This Airline Actually Sees Opportunity in Venezuela’s Turmoil
Photo Credit: Viva Air, which operates Airbus A320 family aircraft like this one, already has bases in Peru and Colombia. Now it wants a third. Viva Air
Skift Take
If you want to make a fortune in business, you need to go where your competitors will not be. Venezuela certainly fits that. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
With unrest gripping Venezuela, many international airlines have dropped flights or left completely, fearing pilots and flight attendants may be in danger during layovers. The last U.S. commercial airline pulled out earlier this year, a couple of months before the government banned American carriers from flying there because of safety concerns.
But one foreign airline may want in.
It's Viva Air, a small but growing ultra-low-cost carrier backed by one of the founders of Ryanair who once called the company the "Ryanair of Latin America." For now, Viva has operating certificates in two South American countries — Peru and Colombia — but it's looking to add a third, and Venezuela is intriguing, Viva Air Group CEO Felix Antelo told Skift this week at the Aviation Festival in Miami.
"There's a huge opportunity there," Antelo said. "To get to a more stabilized economy with the best infrastructure, it will take years. But if you wait for that, you lose some time. And the first-mov
