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Volaris
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- Y4/VOI
- Airline Type:
- Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Guadalajara International Airport, Mexico City International Airport, Tijuana International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 2005
- CEO:
- Enrique Beltranena
- Country:
- Mexico
The Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris has announced it would like to operate Felipe Angeles International Airport's (NLU) first international flight to the United States. Volaris has filed an application to serve the route from NLU to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Nonetheless, there are some challenges the Mexican government has to address in the first place. Let’s find out.
Volaris’ new route
On April 21, Volaris said that, as part of its plans in the Mexico City metropolitan area, it proposed to Mexico’s civil aviation authorities the route NLU-LAX.
By launching this route, Volaris would address the flying public in the vicinity of the recently inaugurated airport.
Moreover, Los Angeles is the city with the largest population of Mexicans outside of Mexico. According to the Mexican civil aviation authorities, 10.8% of all the passengers flying from Mexico to the US land in Los Angeles.
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Currently, Volaris flies from eight Mexican cities to Los Angeles, operating up to 60 services per week. Volaris’ main route to LAX departs from Guadalajara, where it has 32 weekly flights. From Mexico City Benito Juárez International, Volaris operates ten weekly flights.
The Mexican low-cost carrier filed with the Mexican authorities the permission to operate this route on April 7. It plans to begin the service in December 2022. If approved, Volaris would become the first Mexican carrier to operate international flights from NLU. The airport currently has six daily departures (and seven on Monday, due to the only international flight, Conviasa’s service to Caracas).
The challenge
Nonetheless, Volaris can’t formally announce the launch of the NLU-LAX route. Why? Because Mexico has been degraded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Category 2 since May 2021.
Mexico was degraded last year because the FAA determined that Mexico’s civil aviation authorities do not comply with ICAO’s safety standards.
The Mexican airlines have been frozen since last year. They can’t add new services to the US and are not permitted to carry the code of US carriers on any flights. Therefore, Volaris can’t launch a new route to Los Angeles while Mexico remains in Category 2 status.
Volaris said,
“Our bet to announce this route is based on the trust the airline has in the Mexican authorities and the progress achieved in the last few months addressing the finds by the FAA.”
NLU’s challenges
The Felipe Ángeles International Airport was inaugurated on March 21, 2022. One month after, the new airport has routes operated by four commercial airlines. These are Aeromexico, Conviasa, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris.
Aeromexico currently flies daily to Villahermosa and Mérida. Next month it will reduce the flights to Villahermosa to three services per week and add a new destination, Puerto Vallarta, with four weekly flights. It operates its Embraer E190 fleet.
Conviasa flies every Monday between Caracas and Mexico City onboard its Airbus A340-600 aircraft. It is the only international service currently in the new airport.
Viva Aerobus flies daily to Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico’s leading business cities behind Mexico City. It employs its Airbus A320 fleet.
Finally, Volaris currently flies to Tijuana (its base) and Cancún (Mexico’s leading leisure destination). It employs its Airbus A320 fleet.
What do you think about Volaris’ plans to fly internationally from NLU? Do you think it will work? Let us know in the comments below.