Bolivia’s national airline is adding a second route to the United States, which I think might just qualify as the world’s least pleasant flight? Y’all tell me.
Boliviana de Aviacion will fly to Washington with Boeing 737s
Boliviana de Aviacion (BoA) has been flying to Miami (MIA) for years, and it has been the carrier’s only route to the United States. However, that will soon be changing. As of Tuesday, November 4, 2025, BoA will launch 2x weekly flights between Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI) and Washington Dulles (IAD) via Panama City (PTY).
The flight will operate in both directions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the following schedule:
OB760 Santa Cruz de la Sierra to Panama City departing 9:30AM arriving 1:10PM
OB760 Panama City to Washington Dulles departing 1:50PM arriving 6:40PM
OB761 Washington Dulles to Panama City departing 8:05PM arriving 12:55AM (+1 day)
OB761 Panama City to Santa Cruz de la Sierra departing 1:35AM arriving 7:15AM
BoA intends to use an all-economy Boeing 737 for the flight, and the stop in Panama will exclusively be for refueling, given that this route is way beyond the range of a 737. The airline won’t have pick-up or drop-off rights in Panama. The journey time is 10hr10min in each direction, with one of the sectors being 4hr40min, the other sector being 4hr50min, and there being a 40min stop in Panama.
In total, passengers will likely spend at least 11 hours onboard this narrow body aircraft, with no seat back entertainment or Wi-Fi. I’m genuinely curious — can anyone think of a less pleasant flight, anywhere in the world, where you’re stuck onboard a 737 for this long, without even being able to stretch your legs?
BoA has three wide body jets, in the form of former Virgin Australia Airbus A330s. They have a pleasant onboard product, and I reviewed that experience between Miami and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. However, with such a small fleet, those planes are prioritized on the existing Miami route, plus for Madrid (MAD) flights, so it sounds like they won’t be flying to Washington.
What’s the motivation for this Washington Dulles flight?
Why is Boliviana de Aviacion flying to Washington Dulles? Is it for political reasons, or because there’s actually demand?
I find it interesting how the airline is launching flights on Tuesday, November 4, which also happens to be the typical election day in the United States. That’s probably a coincidence, but it’s a funny one, no? I’m not sure what to think here in terms of where this route falls in terms of prestige vs. demand. I mean, there’s not much prestige about a 10+ hour all-economy 737 flight, but…
In fairness to BoA, the Washington area has the largest Bolivian population in the United States. However, we’re talking about a total of around 30,000 people of Bolivian heritage in the Washington area, which is hardly sufficient demand for launching a flight.
At least out of Miami, a large part of BoA’s business is simply undercutting competitors and offering cheap fares for those with final destinations in Buenos Aires (EZE) or Sao Paulo (GRU). So I imagine that’s partly the goal here too, but goodness, talk about an unglamorous journey.
Tuesdays and Thursdays seem like extremely inconvenient days to offer this service, though, since that’s not great in terms of helping people maximize their time off of work. I suppose BoA has a great cost structure, given its outdated fleet and low labor costs, but still, I struggle to understand why people would take this flight.
Existing airlines in the market charge $500 or less roundtrip most days, so I can’t imagine that BoA can even have much of a pricing advantage.
Bottom line
Boliviana de Aviacion will be launching 2x weekly flights between Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Washington Dulles, via Panama City. The route will be operated by an all-economy Boeing 737, meaning passengers will be stuck onboard the aircraft for 10-11 hours, at a minimum. I struggle to think of a less pleasant flight that one could take.
What do you make of Boliviana de Aviacion’s Washington flight?
