**Update 01/28/20 @ 18:44 UTC - All Nippon Airways published a statement regarding their operation in Mexico, details below**

With numerous Asian airlines dropping routes to Mexico City, soon the Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways will be the only Asian operator with a direct route.

Why did China Southern and Hainan drop the route to Mexico?

China Southern and Hainan Airlines will end their direct routes to Mexico City. Last week, One Mile At A Time and Routesonline broke this news. The question is why. 

Since the introduction of the route, China Southern operated the flight with a stop in Vancouver, Canada. The problem was that the airline didn't have fifth freedom. This means that no passenger or cargo could be uploaded in Vancouver. 

So, as some people who traveled the route between Guangzhou and Mexico City said: the second leg of the trip was pretty much empty. 

There is no current data on the load factor for the China Southern flights to Mexico. But, in 2017, Mexico's SCT reported an average load factor of 45% on Mexico-China flights, as reported by CAPA.

We reached both airlines for a statement regarding this topic. At the moment, we have no response. 

China Southern Airlines

ANA has a big opportunity

So, this leaves two big winners: All Nippon Airways and Aeromexico. 

Currently, the Japanese carrier operates daily non-stop flights from Tokyo-Narita to Mexico City. It is the longest route served by the airline. The aircraft of choice is the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. 

Aeromexico has two direct routes to Asia: Tokyo and Seoul. Last year it had a third, to Shanghai, but it had to cancel it because of Emirates' entry to the Mexican market.

One could argue that Aeromexico should be the biggest winner from the withdrawal of the Chinese airlines. But no; Aeromexico is currently struggling with its capacity because of the MAX crisis. And, also, Aeromexico is more focused on Europe where it had increased its frequencies to Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris. 

So this leaves ANA as the biggest winner in this outlook. Second, the US carriers with codeshares with Chinese airlines, like Delta, could also benefit from the withdrawal. Maybe shortly another east-Asian carrier like Asiana could launch a direct route to Mexico? 

ANA said,

"Since February 2017, ANA has enjoyed serving Mexico City non-stop with our award-winning Five Star service operating with a 787. This attractive market has allowed ANA to offer a one-stop connecting service with our codeshare partners to major  Central and South American markets. In addition, ANA provides passengers from Mexico City with connecting service on ANA to a number of Asian cities."

All Nippon Airways

What kind of market remains between both countries?

Something is true: this leaves a big window of opportunity. Latin America as a whole is not very connected with China. Mexico, even with the altitude of the capital, is the obvious port of entry, because of its geographic position. We shouldn't overlook this.  

Between January and November 2019, the number of Chinese people visiting Mexico by air reached 146,987. So, there is something to work with. Maybe the Mexican government should look into a fifth freedom as it did with Emirates. Yes, that opinion won’t be popular among Mexican pilots, but the Chinese market is one that shouldn’t be lost.  

For the time being, it seems that the small and fragmented nature of the Asian and Latin American markets, as CAPA said in 2014, will prevent the opening of more direct routes. 

What do you think? What can Mexico do to boost its connectivity with Asia? Let us know in the comments.