Aeroméxico Will Reincorporate the Boeing 737 MAX

Aeroméxico will reincorporate the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to its regular operations starting next Monday for the commercial routes of Cancun, Monterrey and Tijuana. The airline told Expansión that the objective is for its six Boeing 737 MAX to begin operations in the same month. The airline is only waiting for the certification for the three aircraft to begin operations in December. It is worth mentioning that in June of this year, Boeing completed the certification process before the Federal Aviation Administration in the US, which allowed other airlines to reincorporate the 737 MAX to their fleets, such as American Airlines from the US and GOL from Brazil.

This and more in the Week in Aerospace!

Mexican Government Will Not Take Over Interjet

Interjet has been accumulating debt to government institutions and its personnel for the last year. Following the cancellation of most of its flights, delayed salaries to employees and owing government entities millions. There have even been requests to the government to take care of the situation.

A previous MBN article highlighted when PROFECO released a second warning to consumers against buying tickets from the airline. Interjet has significantly reduced its fleet and with the level of debt the company is handling, there could even be issues with Interjet buying fuel for said flights, opening the door to more cancellations. Former Interjet employees have presented 50 demands asking for the money owed to them since March of this year.  The amount owed by the airline is MX$11 billion (US$552 million), according to Milenio. Added to these demands, there have been others coming from customers accusing the airline of "fraud" for selling tickets that later on got canceled.

The petition was made on Dec. 11. By Dec. 15, after a meeting with the Ministry of the Interior, it was decided that the government will not acquire Interjet. The next meeting to discuss the company's financial situation will be held sometime next week and will gather authorities and the President of the Airline's Board of Directors, Alejandro del Valle, according to Milenio. 

The Aerospace Industry Forecasts a Loss of 20,000 Direct Jobs Due to COVID-19

René Espinosa, President of the Mexican Aerospace Industry Federation (FEMIA), estimates that the reduction in the value of exports is expected to be between 25 to 45 percent compared to 2019 or US$9.6 billion, according to a note by Expansión. Espinosa also explained that throughout 2020 the aerospace industry has been affected by various factors derived from the pandemic that have changed the demand for commercial and cargo flights. Faced with this scenario, the industry anticipates a loss of up to 20,000 direct jobs and a reduction in exports of national production of up to US$4.3 billion.

Pilots and Aeroméxico Begin Second Round of Negotiations
 
Mexico’s Aviator Pilots' Union Association (ASPA) started this week the second round of negotiations with Aeroméxico to reach a new agreement to support the airline. At the beginning of December, Grupo Aeroméxico requested resources from the New York Court to make a payment to its administrative personnel but a few days later failed to comply with the salary increase that had been agreed with its Aeromexico Connect plant, according to El Economista. Rafael Díaz Covarrubias, ASPA's General Secretary explained that "ASPA is still far from reaching an agreement with the airline, since ASPA's pilots want to help protect the sources of employment.” He also stressed that they will seek openness to dialogue, sensitivity and reciprocity during the second round of negotiations.