The Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus has launched a new international route this week, connecting Mérida International Airport (MID) to Camagüey International Airport (CMW) in Cuba. This is Viva Aerobus’ seventh route between Mexico and the Caribbean country.

The newest route

Viva Aerobus began operating its new route on Thursday, flying between Mérida and Camagüey once a week on the airline’s Airbus A320 fleet. This is the latest route the ultra-low-cost carrier has launched from Mérida, a city located in the Yucatán Peninsula that has been experiencing an increase in weekly capacity.

The new Mérida-Camagüey route will be operated every Thursday. Viva Aerobus flight will depart at 16:10, landing at 19:20, local time, in Cuba. The return service will depart from Camagüey at 20:20, landing at 21:40 local time.

Currently, Viva Aerobus operates seven routes between Mexico and Cuba. The airline offers 22 weekly flights between both countries. Viva Aerobus flies daily from Mexico City International Airport (MEX) and Cancun International Airport (CUN) to Havana Airport (HAV). The airline also flies from Cancun to Camagüey (twice a week), Holguin (HOG, twice a week), and Santa Clara (SNU, once a week). Finally, Viva also operates a twice-a-week service between Merida and Havana.

Mérida’s growth

Viva Aerobus has been recently adding extra capacity from Mérida International. A few weeks ago, the airline announced this airport would become its sixth base. Viva already has 15 years of uninterrupted service in Merida and has established itself as the airline with the broadest offer in the city. It has a portfolio of eleven routes to Camagüey, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Havana, Leon, Monterrey, Querétaro, Toluca, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Veracruz, and Villahermosa. Juan Carlos Zuazua, CEO of Viva Aerobus, said,

“With all these new routes, we will be operating more than 400 monthly flights to/from Merida, a city that has become the new home of Viva Aerobus. Thus, we will be offering more than 2 million seats per year to all those who wish to visit this beautiful city.”

Between January and September 2022, the airline transported more than 776,000 passengers to and from Mérida, an increase of 49% compared to the same period in 2021 and 53% compared to 2019, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

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Viva Aerobus in 2022

Between January and September 2022, Viva Aerobus carried 14.89 million passengers. The low-cost operator grew by 39.9% compared to 2021 and 70.5% compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, Mexico’s three top airlines have flown over 53 million passengers this year.

Viva Aerobus has carried 13.23 million domestic passengers and 1.66 million international passengers. The airline has a fleet of 63 Airbus A320-family-based planes and expects to receive more throughout the next few months.

Viva Aerobus 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.”

What do you think about Viva Aerobus’ new plans in Mérida? Let us know in the comments below.