At the end of 2022’s third quarter, the Mexican carriers Aeroméxico, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris have had, between the three of them, 53.06 million passengers, according to the data released by the airlines themselves.

Passengers in 2022

The Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris has carried 22.5 million passengers in 2022 so far. That number between January and September is already higher than the passengers carried by the company in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Volaris remains the top airline in Mexico. It is the only one of the leading three operators to have surpassed the 20 million barrier due to its solid domestic performance; Volaris has carried 18.2 million domestic passengers (that number alone is higher than the traffic results of Viva or Aeromexico all year long), and 4.2 million international travelers.

The company’s CEO, Enrique Beltranena, said that the load factor reached a monthly record for September (it was 84.9%) due to strong demand. “Forward bookings are solid, and we expect to maintain a strong load factor for the remainder of the year. We maintain our flexible network strategy and will continue stimulating our markets with our ULCC model.”

Last month, Volaris launched six new routes from Mexico City’s new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU). The airline currently operates 3,628 flights a week, offering over 710,000 seats.

How about Aeromexico?

Between January and September 2022, Grupo Aeromexico carried 15.5 million passengers. The Mexican operator had 10.9 million domestic passengers (the fewest among the country’s top three airlines) and 4.68 million international travelers (the most among the three).

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Aeromexico’s load factor was 82.1%, a 4.6 increase compared to September 2021. In September 2022, Aeromexico resumed operations in Morelia (MLM), offering 14 weekly frequencies from Mexico City International Airport (MEX). In addition, the route from Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU) to Veracruz (VER) was launched with 11 weekly frequencies. The airline also recently announced it will launch five routes from Monterrey International Airport, looking to offer up to 240,000 monthly seats from this hub by next year.

Viva Aerobus results

The ultra-low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus recently said that it has carried 14.89 million passengers, growing by 39.9% compared to 2021 and by an incredible 70.5% compared to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Viva Aerobus and Volaris posted record traffic numbers last year and are poised to surpass them in 2022.

Viva Aerobus has carried 13.23 million domestic passengers and 1.66 million international passengers. Juan Carlos Zuazua, Viva’s CEO, said,

“Demand continued growing in September. Our passenger numbers increased by 32.6%, and our load factor grew by 4.5 p.p. compared to 2021. As part of our business model, we are thrilled to have launched our new loyalty program, Doters.”

As of October 2022, the three Mexican airlines have a combined fleet of 320 aircraft, according to data by ch-aviation. Aeromexico has 146 planes, followed by Volaris (111) and Viva Aerobus (63).

What do you think about Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris’ results in 2022? Let us know in the comments below.