• Cancun Airport Getty
    Cancun International Airport
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    CUN/MMUN
    Country:
    Mexico
    Passenger Count :
    22,318,467 (2021)
    Runways :
    12R/30L - 3,500m (11,483ft) | 12L/30R - 2,800m (9,186ft)
    Terminals:
    Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 4

Nine US carriers, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Spirit, JetBlue, and Delta Air Lines, dominate 99% of the capacity in commercial flights between the United States and Cancún International Airport, the top international destination for US travelers. How has this happened? Let’s take a look.

US hegemony

In the last few years, Cancún has become the top touristic destination for US travelers when they travel internationally.

The direct connectivity, amazing beaches and resorts, and closeness to the United States are some of the appealing attributes that have made Cancún a top destination on the bucket list of many US citizens.

Despite being an international destination and Mexico having several carriers with a heavy presence in the United States (such as Aeromexico, Volaris, and Viva Aerobus), the market from the US to Cancún is heavily dominated by US carriers.

Employing the data provided by Cirium, we can look at how unbalanced the market is between US and Mexican carriers.

In June, there are around 831 weekly flights between US and Cancún. Of this total, 829 are operated by US carriers, giving them a 99.7% market share. The only two flights operated by a Mexican carrier are served by Viva Aerobus on Sundays, flying to Nashville and Cincinnati.

An American Airlines Airbus A319 in Mexico City.
United Airlines and American Airlines lead the way in number of weekly flights to Cancún. Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar.

United Airlines leads the way

Nine US airlines operate scheduled commercial flights from the United States to Cancún. These airlines are American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.

United Airlines leads the way in capacity, offering 165 weekly flights, according to Cirium. Close behind is American Airlines, with 164 weekly flights.

In terms of cities of origin, Dallas Fort Worth has the most significant number of flights per week to Cancun, with 94. Houston comes in second with 66, followed by Chicago O’Hare with 49 and Atlanta with 48. Five US cities only have one flight per week to Cancún, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Columbus.

A Viva Aerobus Airbus A321 landing at Mexico City.
Viva Aerobus is the only Mexican carrier to operate flights from Cancún to the United States. Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar.

Discover more aviation news here.

Why are there nearly zero Mexican airlines in this market?

Flying to Cancún should be very profitable, right? Weekly there are around 119 daily flights from the United States to Cancún, peaking on Fridays when there are 142 services.

Still, the Mexican airlines have been totally unable to enter this market, heavily dominated by US brands. Recently, Viva Aerobus shed light on why this has happened.

In December 2021, Viva Aerobus and Allegiant Air announced their intention to launch a commercial alliance agreement. While disclosing why this partnership would be good for the market, Viva Aerobus went into a deep analysis of why it has failed to operate direct flights to the United States from certain markets such as Cancún.

The Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier said,

“Viva has struggled to expand its presence in the US market or to attract US-located leisure passengers to its service to Mexican resort destinations. Viva entered the Houston-Cancún, Austin-Cancún, and Austin-Puerto Vallarta city pairs, but found that it lacked the necessary brand awareness within the US as well as the ready marketing ability to attract US-originating leisure travelers; as a result, Viva had no alternative but to terminate service.”

When a Mexican carrier has launched a route to the US from a leisure destination such as Cancún, these routes have, on average, remained in operation for only one to two years. In contrast, US legacy carriers have an enduring presence on similar US-Mexico routes, operating continuously for years, if not permanently.

Finally, even if the Mexican carriers were interested in launching flights from Cancún to the United States they currently are unable to do it. Mexico is still downgraded to Category 2 by the Federal Aviation Administration, meaning Mexican carriers can't launch new routes to this country.

According to you, what steps should Mexican carriers take to improve their presence in this market? Let us know in the comments below.