Yucatan and Volaris Establish Air Reactivation Alliance

The Governor of Yucatan Mauricio Vila and Enrique Javier Beltranena, Founder and CEO of Volaris, met to announce the beginning of the Strategic Alliance for the Air Reactivation of Yucatan-Volaris. The objective of this alliance is to promote tourism recovery in the state of Yucatan and to create in a joint campaign a series of benefits, products and local services to encourage the arrival of more tourists to the territory. In 2019, Yucatan received more than 2.8 million people by air and over 400,000 by sea, according to the state’s government, which represented a 15 percent year-on-year increase and generated a spillover of MX$264.9 million (US$12.5 million). That same year, Yucatan broke its own tourism record with over 3.2 million visitors. 

Governor Vila highlighted that Volaris "is a company that has undoubtedly been a strategic ally for Yucatan to promote tourism. Since the beginning of the current state administration, the airline has opened more new routes in the state with five new flights to the cities of Leon, Hermosillo, Oaxaca, Chihuahua and Tijuana. Beltranena explained that Volaris will offer promotions through the company's website, offering 29,000 seats with domestic fares starting at MX$699 (US$33.3) between now and December 31, as well as a 20 percent discount on 20,000 seats for flights between January 1 and October 14, 2021.

This and more in the Week in Aerospace! 

The Connectivity of Mexico City Airports

Mexico City’s Suburban Train will receive an approximate investment of MX$12.6 billion (US$597 million) to connect the Buenavista metro station with the Santa Lucia airport in 35 minutes, which will be achieved by expanding the Lecheria station, currently managed by Spanish company CAF. The cost-benefit analysis of the Suburban Train expansion reported that the project will cross the Tutitlan, Tultepec, Nextlalpan, Zumpango and Tecamac municipalities. The Department of National Defense (SEDENA) reported in September that construction progress was at 10 percent.

According to the Department of Communications and Transportation (SCT) and the Mexican Institute of Transportation (IMT), it is estimated that 70 percent of passengers will arrive by vehicle in Santa Lucia and 29 percent using public transportation. Infrastructure plans also include the construction of eight vehicle overpasses, two railways, a new four-way railway bridge, the rehabilitation of a passenger railway bridge and 16 pedestrian bridges. SEDENA has projected a MX$3.9 billion (US$183 million) specific budget for the implementation and administration of these connection routes.

Aeroméxico Reports More Capacity, Revenue in 3Q20

In its 3Q20 report, Grupo Aeroméxico indicates that its revenue and capacity have increased sharply from the lows it faced in the previous quarter, but the airline is still fighting to return to its pre-pandemic traffic levels. During the early days of the outbreak, airlines were suddenly forced to ground their fleets as traffic dried up. Grupo Aeroméxico reported a sharp contraction in passenger traffic back in April, as it saw it shrank by 91.1 percent year-on-year. May and June would be similar with 92.4 and 86.1 percent year-on-year decreases, respectively, but July was slightly better with a fall of 73.2 percent. 

However, during 2Q20, Grupo Aeroméxico saw a total year-on-year drop in demand of 92.6 percent revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) and an 84.5 percent year-on-year contraction in revenue for a total of MX$2.6 billion (US$120 million). These circumstances led Grupo Aeroméxico to undergo a financial restructuration and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a US court in late June. During 3Q20, Grupo Aeroméxico has been restructuring its debt and looking for new financing as it continues operating. The company received two approvals from the US Bankruptcy Court for a modification of its aircraft leases in September and a US$1 billion loan in October.

 
Interjet Faces Embargo Due to Debt With SAT

SAT seized Interjet’s assets due to pending income tax payments and accumulated fines between 2017 and 2019 for a value of MX$2.9 billion (US$137.4 million at the time of writing). According to Interjet, this is not an issue and they had no information about an embargo but there is information that shows otherwise. On Feb. 14, 2020, news of this problem were made public for the first time when the first embargo was enacted for MX$799.8 million. There were 20 embargos that included the legal Interjet name, brands that belonged to ABC Airlines, bank accounts and automobiles such as minivans, cars and trucks.

The embargos continued in March 10 with MX$1.03 billion, followed by others on March 25 (MX$56.2 million), April 16 (MX60.2 million), April 29 (MX$917.4 million), May 13 (MX$15.5 million) and June 17 (MX$2.7 million). Interjet issued a letter in which it clarified that the company always held a respectful relationship with SAT and that it maintained clear and suitable communication with the dependency, according to Forbes Mexico.