Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted July 20, 2006 July 20, 2006 A new low-cost Mexican airline, VivaAeroBus, part-owned by the founders of Europe's biggest low-frills carrier Ryanair, will start flying in October, the company said on Wednesday. VivaAeroBus, which will connect Mexican airports to a handful of US cities, will kick off with an initial investment of USD$50 million and two Boeing 737-300 planes bearing its vivid green and pink logo. Owned by the Ryan family and Mexican bus company IAMSA and based in the wealthy northern business city of Monterrey, the airline hopes to carry a million passengers in its first year. It aims to have five planes flying by the end of the year and double its fleet to 10 planes in 2007. VivaAeroBus fares will undercut traditional Mexican carriers by up to 50 percent, in a shake-up of the industry that started last year with the arrival of the country's first low-cost airlines and the privatization of Mexicana, one of the two top local airlines. The other state carrier, Aeromexico, is still to be sold. The Mexican airline industry has doubled in size in 20 years, going from air traffic of some 15 million passengers in 1985 to around 30 million today. Flight routes have not yet been fixed, but VivaAeroBus is betting on strong business from Mexican migrants traveling between Mexico and the United States to visit family. The Ryans joined with Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to establish RyanMex to facilitate the Irish family's investment in the Mexican airline. Investor Mason has other ventures around the world outside the airline industry. RyanMex will hold 49 percent of shares in the new airline, while IAMSA will have a majority stake. Other new Mexican no-frills airlines include Volaris, Click and Interjet. Brazilian airline GOL is expected to launch a low-cost Mexican carrier in the second half of this year. (Reuters) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seth K 3 Report post Posted July 21, 2006 It's ez for those Mexican visiting family in states with cheaper airfares. Like the name too, Viva Aero Bus, and own by a bus company This will be a success airline if Ryan Air watching their operations 24/7...........Good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted July 21, 2006 Looks like LCC's are spreading around world wide like nobody's business. Makes you wonder how long and to what extent 'traditional' airlines can survive as they currently exist Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mayer 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2006 July 20, 2006 A new low-cost Mexican airline, VivaAeroBus, part-owned by the founders of Europe's biggest low-frills carrier Ryanair, will start flying in October, the company said on Wednesday. VivaAeroBus, which will connect Mexican airports to a handful of US cities, will kick off with an initial investment of USD$50 million and two Boeing 737-300 planes bearing its vivid green and pink logo. Owned by the Ryan family and Mexican bus company IAMSA and based in the wealthy northern business city of Monterrey, the airline hopes to carry a million passengers in its first year. It aims to have five planes flying by the end of the year and double its fleet to 10 planes in 2007. Flight routes have not yet been fixed, but VivaAeroBus is betting on strong business from Mexican migrants traveling between Mexico and the United States to visit family. The Mexican airline industry has doubled in size in 20 years, going from air traffic of some 15 million passengers in 1985 to around 30 million today. Other new Mexican no-frills airlines include Volaris, Click and Interjet. Brazilian airline GOL is expected to launch a low-cost Mexican carrier in the second half of this year. (Reuters) Hi, I'm a relatively new member in the Forum and would like to take up this topic originally posted back in July by Pieter. VivaAerobus indeed started its operations in 2006, however the exact date wasn't October but November 30th. The airline currently flies to 10 destinations from their base at Monterrey, and expects to open 5 new routes on January 1st, 2007 (no US cities for the time being). Viva's start was not uneventful: they were supposed to have a pair of Boeing 737-300 aircraft from day one, however the second one which arrived to Mexico had all kind of customs and paperwork problems, leaving the airline with only one plane, thus forcing Viva to contract two Mexican charter airlines in order to cover all of their flights. Even this decision wasn't free of trouble: Viva's 737 jets carry 148 PAX but the plane of one of the charter airlines (Magnicharters, a 737-200) carries 109 PAX... there were a few cases -when the flights were full or almost full- in which a number of passengers were not able to board, due to the reduced capacity of the leased planes (compared to Viva's capacity). Fortunately this issue has already been solved and Viva is currently using both of their 737; according to some persons who work there, they are having an excellent holiday period and their passenger loads have been around 100% during these final weeks of the year. As a side note, at the moment we have six low-cost carriers here at Mexico: besides the above mentioned (Volaris, Click, Interjet, VivaAerobus), AerolÃneas Mesoamericanas (ALMA) and AVolar are also flying from their bases at Guadalajara and Tijuana airports, respectively. Finally, it seems the GOL Mexico project is not going to start anytime soon. Best regards from Mexico. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted December 26, 2006 As a side note, at the moment we have six low-cost carriers here at Mexico: besides the above mentioned (Volaris, Click, Interjet, VivaAerobus), AerolÃneas Mesoamericanas (ALMA) and AVolar are also flying from their bases at Guadalajara and Tijuana airports, respectively. Given all these different airlines + lot's of visiting US and Central-American ones, MEX should be a great place for some spotting/photography Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mayer 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2006 Given all these different airlines + lot's of visiting US and Central-American ones, MEX should be a great place for some spotting/photography It is Pieter!!! Besides a lot of photos in sites such as Airliners.net or jetphotos, I recommed you to visit the photo section of the following forum: http://www.fsmex.com/fotos.php Or the ones at Aviation Photography of Mexico: http://www.apm-group.com.mx/galeria.htm Even better if you are able to travel to our country and check for yourself our air traffic Regards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted December 27, 2006 Mayer, Thanks for the two links: it makes me even more eager to plan a trip to Mexico... Are you from MEX city itself or another part of the country ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mayer 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2006 Mayer, Thanks for the two links: it makes me even more eager to plan a trip to Mexico... Are you from MEX city itself or another part of the country ? Hey Pieter! I'm glad to know you are eager to plan a trip to Mexico... I hope you come soon! I'm from Mexico City but currently living at Aguascalientes, a city to the west-northwest of our capital city. A flight from Aguascalientes to Mexico City takes around 45 minutes, while it takes 6 hours on bus. Please feel free to ask any questions or information you may need, I would gladly help you As I mentioned before, Mexican Aviation is entering to a very interesting stage, with lots of new competition from Low-cost carriers, the first direct trip to Asia by a Mexican Airline (Aeromexico, flying Mexico-Tijuana-Narita), and more people flying than ever before. Hope you get to see it here! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zealich 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2006 wow..we have maxican on our site too...bravo malaysianwings.... Hi Mayer..u have any nice picture or site seeing pic from max??..can share with us?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted December 29, 2006 Hi Mayer..u have any nice picture or site seeing pic from max??..can share with us?? See post #6 from Mayer, or check A.net: Mexican aviation is quite vibrant with lot's of great planes to be seen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted January 19, 2007 More exciting Mexican aviation news: Mexicana Plans USD$2 Bln Fleet Investment January 19, 2007 Mexicana de Aviacion, Mexico's number 2 airline, plans to invest up to USD$2 billion over three years to increase its fleet, a spokesman said on Thursday. The plan to add more planes is conditioned on the results of a campaign by Mexicana, with 28 percent market share in Mexico, to cut one-quarter of its costs, airline spokesman Adolfo Crespo said. "We are already negotiating with two airplane manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus , to introduce 40 additional planes to the fleet," Crespo said. The airline, acquired in 2005 by hotel operator Posadas, expects to achieve cost-cutting objectives in the first quarter of this year, Crespo said. On Thursday, Mexicana signed a deal with ground workers that should save USD$20 million a year. In November, the airline said it reached an agreement with pilots that would save USD$50 million annually. Mexicana lost money in 2006, partly because of the entry of low-cost airlines in Mexico's market, forcing it to cut fares. Higher fuel prices and labor costs also hurt the airline last year. (Reuters) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamizi Hj Tamby 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2007 Wow,looks like the LCC industry is getting expanded rapidly here in Mexico Looking forward for more latest development from our Mexican counterpart here in MWings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mayer 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2007 Hey Pieter, thanks for posting Mexicana's information! Hi Tamizi! Even thought the news are excellent, the comment is still very vague. We have heard a lot of rumours and are looking forward to receiving detailed information as for type of planes and number per type. The majority of opinions here at Mexico tend to say Mexicana will continue buying Airbus aircraft for short-to-medium routes (A318, A319, A320, which it currently operates, and perhaps they will add A321), while for the long-haul fleet they are assessing the A330 and A340, but from a time on it has been said that the Boeing 777 is being considered too... go figure (Mexicana uses a pair of 767s for their longest routes, mainly to Argentina). As for the new planes, it seems at first that 14 of those 40 would be firm orders, and the remainder would be options. Please note Mexicana is not a LCC, but a legacy airline; actually, it is the oldest Mexican airline and one of the oldest in the world. As soon as more information is released I will keep you informed. Best regards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
