BoA - Boliviana de Aviación (OB, La Paz El Alto) has taken delivery of its first A330-200 even as an acute currency crunch in the country had threatened to jeopardise the much-needed widebody fleet renewal.

CP-3209 (msn 1561) was ferried from Châteauroux to Santa Cruz Viru Viru on April 25-26, 2023. The 8.7-year-old aircraft is owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia and was formerly operated by Virgin Australia International/Virgin Australia. It is the youngest aircraft in BoA's fleet and the only one less than 13 years of age.

The airline did not reveal a timeline for the induction of the A330 into service. The aircraft seats up to 275 passengers, including 20 in business class.

The delivery took place amidst a shortage of hard currency in the country which forced the government to curb the outflow of US Dollars from Bolivia and thus made it difficult for the airline to pay the lessor. The delayed delivery prompted a Member of Parliament, Marcelo Pedrazas, from the main opposition party Comunidad Ciudadana to request a written explanation to the Minister of Public Works, Edgar Montaño.

BoA's current widebody fleet comprises four B767-300ERs, of which only two are currently active. The four Boeing widebodies are 28.3 years old on average. The airline also wet-leases an A330-200 from Wamos Air (EB, Madrid Barajas) to operate its route to Madrid Barajas, on which the in-house A330 is poised to debut.

Last year, BoA chose to dry-lease three A330-200s to replace the B767-300(ER)s. However, the delivery for the remaining two remains unclear, as Montaño only spoke about one unit during the recent press conference. BoA did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.