Mexican Budget Airline Numbers Plummet But Routes Improve

August 13, 2009 11:12 am admin Budget Airline, South American Budget Airlines

A year ago, nine new or regenerated Mexican budget airlines were offering flights to over 50 Mexican cities, at a time when U.S. airlines covering similar routes were in decline. However the knock-on effects of the recession upon the airline industry – reduced custom, increased fuel prices, and fierce battles over fares – means that now just four of nine Mexican budget airlines remain in operation.

Aerocalifornia was grounded for failure to pay air-traffic-control fees, Avolar for air-right fees. Alma suspended flights in November 2008 citing financial constraints and Aladia has taken time out to restructure its debt. The majority of these carriers had served 20 to 30 often overlapping destinations.

However, it is not all bad; other discount airlines have stepped up and filled the gaps left by the other airlines, picking up their routes and airport bases. The reduced number of options makes deciding the best route/fare options easier for the customer, and additionally, more flights are now departing from U.S. airports. Viva Aerobus offers flights out of Austin, Texas, as well as Las Vegas. Volaris began providing daily flights from Los Angeles to Toluca in June, and will add daily flights between Oakland and Tijuana from late-August.

Comments are closed.