Mexicana, which shut down 13 years ago, will be re-launched by the Mexican government and run by the military. They will start selling tickets next month, take delivery of 10 leased Boeing 737-800s in September and October, and launch flights in December.
They acquired the airline’s assets 8 months ago for $42.6 million, including the brand, its old training center, and offices. Now, with a $235 million cash injection from the government, they’ll serve 20 destinations. Their planes will be configured with 180 seats in an all-coach configuration. American Airlines, by contrast, outfits their similar aircraft with 172 seats even with 16 in first class. That should give Mexicana about an inch greater pitch than standard U.S. domestic seating on American, Delta and United.
#ConferenciaPresidente. Los 10 primeros aviones Boeing 737-800 de la nueva línea aérea Mexicana transpirarán hasta 180 pasajeros, el costo de los boletos será 20 por ciento menor y tendrá 20 rutas de vuelo, informa el general Luis Cresencio Sandoval. pic.twitter.com/uUKdBbeufc
— Jenaro Villamil (@jenarovillamil) August 10, 2023
Mexico broadly served by airlines like Aeroméxico and Volaris. Volaris is so creative in identifying opportunities to add routes that they send employees out to count passengers at bus stops in order to identify demand for potential low cost air service. It’s not clear what this state investment adds.
Arguably the entire project is meant to jump start operations at the new Mexico City airport, Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU), which opened in March 2022 and has been turned over to the Navy to run. President López Obrador campaigned on the airport and personally flew on the airport’s inaugural flight. Access to the airport is limited, and so is air service – there is only one commercial flight to the U.S. (Aeromexico Connect to Houston Intercontinental) and international service is otherwise limited to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba.
Mexicana was one of the oldest airlines in the world when it went out of business in August 2010. The carrier had been flying to the U.S. since 1920, when it began operating Mexico City to Tuxpan to Tampico to Brownsville, Texas with a Ford Trimotor. The carrier, partially-owned by the Mexican government, went into bankruptcy, and a great deal was revealed about how key executives used the business for tax fraud and money laundering.
The “New Mexicana” can’t even fly to the U.S. The FAA downgraded Mexico’s air safety oversight from category 1 to category 2. No Mexican airline can add a new flight or route. So Mexicana cannot fly to the U.S. at all.
Mexico’s President says there’s nothing wrong with his country’s aviation safety and that the move is just protectionism, to let U.S. airlines expand into Mexico while preventing Mexican airlines from doing the reverse. However, plenty of incidents at least provide anecdotal support for a problem.
Culiacán International Airport is under attack by the Sinaloa cartel after the arrest of El Chapo’s son Ovidio.
The Mexican Army is trying to bring in equipment through the airport
The cartel is mobilizing. Clashes breaking out across Culiacán pic.twitter.com/cAsJDFNGyM
— The HbK (@The5HbK) January 5, 2023
Still, I’d love to… have the Mexicana Frecuenta miles lost from bankruptcy back. When it was a Star Alliance airline, Mexicana was a light touch for status match requests, and Frecuenta Gold brought me my first regular access to United’s Red Carpet Clubs. Best of all, they processed upgrades out of discounted business class inventory seven days in advance of travel. You had to proactively request the space, two decades ago, but that meant anyone paying attention on a non-sold out flight could secure premium cabin space.
The airline moved from Star Alliance to oneworld when United, dealing with its own financial turmoil, wasn’t coordinating with it and generating passengers. oneworld suffered the demise not just of Mexicana, but also Malev of Hungary and Kingfisher of India.
Another well-funded player, looking to expand aggressively, could be good for customers. It could also offer the sort of poor product you often see from effectively government-run entities like Cubana de Aviación and Aerolíneas Argentinas, along with poor frequent flyer program, because they don’t need to be competitive – political patrons, rather than passengers, become their customers.
Copa flies to the new Mexico City airport from Panama.
Is there any timeline for the FAA”s review of granting Mexico Category 1? Flights to Mexico – especially to MEX – have become absurdly expensive since the move to Category 2 – and one has to imagine that forcing people onto ground transportation is vastly more dangerous than the worst dangers presented by the Mexican aviation infrastructure.
I fondly remember flying “old” Mexicana in the late 1980s. Direct flights from Milwaukee to PV and Acapulco. Great service.
The good news.
If you get held up, I mean delayed in traffic, the flight will still be delayed.
So you will make the flight.
The bad news, you will have to wait another three hours after you arrive, for the flight to depart.
I loved old Mexicana. It was my first international flight from ORD-ZIH. It was on a 747 and I remember thinking how spacious it was. I also remember at check in how they stamped the tickets “lifted” and drew a slash thru a 7 when they gave us our boarding pass. Now I read travel blogs, although in all fairness that is partially just raging against AA.
Mexicana was the worst part of the Star Alliance – they came into it with the air of empirical force, and left like a child throwing a temper tantrum. I believe they did the same inside the One World Alliance. I used to cringe when I saw their caller I.D. on our office phones. Kind of make sense that the Mexican military is now involved.
This is exciting news for the aviation community! The return of Mexicana, with its rich history of affiliations with both Star Alliance and oneworld, signifies a broader trend of the resilience and recovery in the aviation industry post-pandemic. It’s fascinating to see such iconic airlines making a comeback. I’m keen to see what routes they’ll offer and if they’ll rekindle any previous partnerships.
@Mak – “Is there any timeline for the FAA”s review of granting Mexico Category 1? Flights to Mexico – especially to MEX – have become absurdly expensive since the move to Category 2….”
The result of the most recent audit (summarized & reviewed in early July 2023) retained Mexico at Category 2 status. Consultations with Mexico’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport and Ministry of Foreign Affairs afforded an opportunity to review the latest FAA findings. A new audit timeline has yet to be established.
Unfortunately – and of particular interest – it appears any immediate timeline to a new audit will be complicated by a potential diplomatic row between the U.S. & Mexican government over the relocation of all cargo flights to the Felipe Angeles airport. I’ll caution that “diplomatic row” is for now rumor since a formal complaint – a Memorandum of Consultations – has, to date, not been submitted.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/uprooted-cargo-airlines-relocate-to-secondary-airport-near-mexico-city
Please stop approving comments from “Drewry.” Its comments transparently are generated by an LLM, not a real person. Don’t encourage its proprietors.
Are they going to recover the MX code from Breeze?
I always had good flights on Mexicana.