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Aeromexico
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AM/AMX
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Mexico City International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1934
- Alliance:
- SkyTeam
- Airline Group:
- Grupo Aeromexico
- CEO:
- Andrés Conesa Labastida
- Country:
- Mexico
- Region:
- North America
- Loyalty Program:
- Aeromexico Rewards
Earlier this week, an Aeromexico Boeing 737-800, registration N957AM, departing from Guadalajara International Airport (GDL), suffered a bird strike. This incident forced the airplane to return to the airport, and it has been grounded since that day.
What happened?
This Aeromexico aircraft was scheduled to operate flight AM652 between Guadalajara and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
The aircraft departed from Runway 28 on June 28 and shortly after suffered a bird strike in its engine 2 (a CFM56) and began to surge repeatedly.
The crew stopped the climb at about 10,000 feet, shut the engine down, and returned to Guadalajara. They landed safely on runway 29 about 20 minutes after departure.
According to FlightRadar24.com, the aircraft has been grounded since the incident, although it is scheduled to relaunch commercial services on July 3. That day, it is expected to fly four flights, AM622 and AM623 between Guadalajara and San Francisco, and AM1788 and AM789 between Guadalajara and Sacramento.
The incident was captured on social media by Hugo Rena, a passenger onboard flight AM652. You can see the video here.
In the video, he says, “I was only trying to record our departure when I start seeing fire coming out (of the engine), and all of a sudden the plane began making weird noises and badly shaking. The good thing is we were able to return immediately to the airport.”
The aircraft
The aircraft involved in this incident is a Boeing 737-800, registration N957AM, manufactured in 2015. It was first ordered by SMBC Aviation Capital and delivered on April 30, 2015.
It has a capacity to carry 160 passengers, including 126 economy seats, 18 economy plus seats, and 16 business seats. Throughout its history, it has only been operated by Aeromexico. It has amassed over 26,000 flight hours and nearly 10,000 flight cycles.
Up to the end of the first quarter, the Mexican carrier had a fleet composed of 134 aircraft. Aeromexico operates 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, one Boeing 737-700 (this model is close to altogether leaving the company after nearly 20 years; Aeromexico’s first 737-700s arrived in 2003), 36 Boeing 737-800s, 27 Boeing MAX 8s, ten MAX 9s, and 42 Embraer E190s.
Discover more aviation news.
The latest about Aeromexico
On June 30, Aeromexico confirmed it will obtain total control over the Club Premier (PLM) loyalty program. This was one of the key objectives of the airline’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.
Once the agreement is complete, PLM will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aeromexico (as it has been previously in the past). Moreover, the Mexican antitrust authority “COFECE” has already approved the PLM transaction, which is expected to be closed on or about July 18.
A day earlier, Aeromexico informed that, after a general shareholders meeting, it has been agreed to cancel the registry of shares representing its capital stock before the Mexican Stock Exchange. Therefore, the airline will look to launch and implement a tender offer.
Up to May 2022, Aeromexico has carried 7.7 million passengers, 35.4% more than in 2021, but still below the pre-pandemic traffic levels, although it is close to fully rebounding.
What do you think about this incident? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: The Aviation Herald and ch-aviation.