Aeromexico and Air Lease Corporation have announced the long-term lease agreements for nine new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The Mexican carrier is looking to heavily invest over US$5 billion in the fleet and other key items in the next five years.

Aeromexico’s incoming fleet

The Mexican carrier Grupo Aeromexico is looking to heavily increase its fleet in the coming years. Aeromexico and Air Lease Corporation (ALC) have signed a new agreement to lease nine new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, including two new Boeing 737 MAX 8 and seven Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Air Lease Corporation will deliver the new aircraft between July 2022 and August 2023 from the company’s order book with Boeing. Since 2012, ALC has ordered 189 Boeing 737 MAX units, and it is currently expected to sign a bigger deal with the US manufacturer.

Andrés Conesa, Aeromexico’s CEO, said,

“Aeromexico is delighted once again to partner with ALC to help modernize our fleet with new fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly Boeing aircraft in 2022 and 2023.”

Steven Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation, added,

“Air Lease Corporation is Aeromexico’s largest lessor, and we are pleased to further our relationship with the airline with these nine new Boeing 737 aircraft lease placements. The 737 offers the most modern, fuel-efficient technology to enhance the global capabilities of Mexico’s premier airline.”

Increasing the fleet

At the end of 2021, Aeromexico had a fleet composed of 133 aircraft, consisting of 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, five B737-700, 36 B737-800, 21 B737 MAX 8, six B737 MAX 9, and 47 Embraer E190 aircraft.

Compared to Aeromexico’s 2020 fourth quarter, when it had 101 airplanes, the airline has been heavily increasing its fleet size. Moreover, Aeromexico now has more aircraft than in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Going forward, the plan is to continue increasing the fleet. Since 2021, Aeromexico has received 31 aircraft, and it expects to receive 22 additional units throughout this year, including the recently announced long-term leases with Air Lease Corporation. By the end of 2022, Aeromexico will have a fleet of 147 aircraft, with an average age of seven years.

Prior to the pandemic and Aeromexico’s Chapter 11 process, there were ongoing talks between Aeromexico, Embraer, and Airbus discussing the possibility of renewing the airline’s Embraer E1 fleet. Nonetheless, the bankruptcy process halted any possible investment. Simple Flying reached Aeromexico about the possibility of renewing its Embraer fleet; the airline said there is nothing new to disclose at the moment.

Nevertheless, in the next five years, Aeromexico will invest US$5 billion in the fleet and other key topics to strengthen the customer experience.

The challenges

Aeromexico successfully emerged from Chapter 11 last week. The airline now has to accomplish all the growth projections detailed in its Plan of Reorganization.

Nonetheless, there are a few challenges Aeromexico could face in the next few years. One of those challenges is the ongoing uncertainty and rising fuel prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Another challenge is Mexico’s current Category 2 status by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. While Mexico is unable to regain its previous Category 1 status, Aeromexico can’t add new flights to the US (Mexico’s largest commercial partner), nor can it deploy any of its new aircraft. The same goes for all Mexican carriers, like Volaris and Viva Aerobus.

Have you flown onboard Aeromexico’s Boeing 737 MAX aircraft? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.