The Fascinating Conviasa A340 Route From China To Venezuela

Konrad Tillman
Aug 16
3 min read

Intro

I am always curious about airlines in the world that don't get a lot of attention. Whether that be Yemenia, Air Djibouti, African Express, Myanmar Airlines, or Conviasa, it's fascinating to think that there are well over 700 airlines in the world today.

Well, I wanted to share a really interesting route that Conviasa operates, and one that I am looking to fly relatively soon.

The Details

The flag carrier of Venezuela, Conviasa, operates to a couple of destinations around the world. Serving primarily Mexico and the Dominican Republic, the airline operates various narrow-body jets, while also utilizing 6 A340s.

In the middle of last year, Conviasa made news when it first landed its A340 at Guangzhou. Since then, the airline now serves what I consider to be the most interesting route in aviation. A direct flight from Caracas to Guangzhou, with stopovers in Havana and Moscow. Here is a visual:

For those interested in flying it, the schedule for the flight is as follows (from what I can see now the Havana route has been cut):

V0770: Caracas-Moscow (VKO) departing at 17:00 and arriving at 13:00 (+1 day)

V0770: Moscow-Guangzhou departing at 15:30 and arriving at 06:30 (+1 day)

For the return:

V0771: Guangzhou-Moscow (VKO) departing at 03:00 and arriving at 08:30

V0771: Moscow-Caracas departing at 11:00 and arriving at 18:30

I Have So Many Questions

As someone who genuinely wants to fly every airline in the world, this is a route that I have so many questions about, but haven't seen a single report on it yet. Here are my thoughts:

Since this route only operates twice monthly, how many pilots, first officers, and relief pilots are required? It appears that the plane spends less than 24 hours on the ground in Guangzhou and very little time in Moscow. Obviously, the A340 has crew rests, but I would imagine with a schedule like this, there would at least be 6 members of the flight deck onboard... Or, do they drop pilots off in Moscow and change on the way back? But then, do the Guangzhou leg flight deck spend 2 weeks in Russia?
Which sort of brings me on to my next question. How busy would this flight be? I have seen a few reports of Mexico City to Caracas, and they seem pretty empty. I would have to imagine that these flights would be even emptier. Would the crew use the empty seats?
What is the targeted audience for a flight like this? I understand that this flight serves as a gateway connecting "The East" with China, Russia, and Venezuela, all in the mix, but wouldn't businessmen travel on Turkish Airlines? Additionally, two times per month, compared to a 6x weekly TK frequency?
Lastly, we know that these A340-600s are ex-Virgin Atlantic and are equipped in a 2-2-2 configuration for business class. However, what do we think the catering would be like on board? Russia has some fantastic food, so I am wondering whether they cater the whole legs in China and Venezuela, or at each stopover?
How does one go about booking this flight? I have heard you can do it through WhatsApp, but how?

I love flying off the beaten path airlines. My flight onboard Yemenia was one of a kind.

It's all so fascinating to me, and if anyone has any insights into this, I would really love to hear. If I could fly any route in the world tomorrow, it would be this one...

Final Thoughts

As a visit to Venezuela is coming up very soon, I was browsing around the routes that operated out of Caracas and came across an unusual one. Conviasa operates a route twice weekly from Caracas-Moscow-Guangzhou, and I have so many questions. I suppose the only way to find the answers is to actually fly the route...