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| Founded | 1921 | |||
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| Ceased operations | August 28, 2010 | |||
| Hubs | ||||
| Focus cities | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Mexicana Go | |||
| Airport lounge | Elite Lounge | |||
| Alliance | Oneworld | |||
| Fleet size | 68 | |||
| Destinations | 48 | |||
| Company slogan | Vuela en lo más alto—since 2004 With The Most Modern Fleet Of The World—until 2004 |
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| Parent company | Tenedora K | |||
| Headquarters | Mexicana de Aviación Tower Mexico City, Mexico |
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| Key people | Gerardo Badin (Conciliator/Administrator) | |||
| Website | Mexicana Informa | |||
Founded in 1921, Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, S.A. de C.V. (commonly known as Mexicana) was Mexico's oldest airline, before ceasing operations on August 28, 2010. The group's closure was announced by the company's recently installed management team a short time after the group filed for Concurso Mercantil (Mexican law equivalent to US Chapter 11) and US Chapter 15. Their headquarters were in the Mexicana de Aviación Tower in Colonia del Valle, Benito Juárez, Mexico City.[1]
In addition to domestic services, Mexicana operated flights to various international destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America and Europe (until August 31). Their primary hub was Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport, with secondary hubs at Cancún International Airport, and Guadalajara's Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport.[2]
Mexicana's main competitors were Aeroméxico (although the two companies "codeshared" on several routes), and low-cost carriers such as Volaris and Interjet. Mexicana was North America's oldest airline and the world's fourth oldest airline operating under the same name, after the Netherlands' KLM, Colombia's Avianca and Australia's Qantas.
In 2009, the Mexicana group of airlines (including Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link) carried just over 11 million passengers (6.6 million on domestic routes and 4.5 million on international routes), using a fleet of some 110 aircraft.[3]
Over the three years prior to folding, the Mexicana group had increased their share of what was a burgeoning domestic market, from around 22% at the beginning of 2007 to somewhere between 28% and 30% for most of their final 12 months. This was achieved through downsizing mainline Mexicana operations whilst ramping up activities at Mexicana Click (originally envisaged as a low-cost carrier) and Mexicana Link (its CRJ-operating subsidiary based at Guadalajara).[3]
After first joining Star Alliance in 2000, Mexicana left the alliance in 2004 before joining Oneworld on November 10, 2009.[4] Mexicana entered bankruptcy protection in August 2010 in an attempt to restructure its business operations.[5] On August 27, 2010, Mexicana announced it would suspend operations indefinitely effective noon August 28, 2010.[6] Its subsidiaries Click and Link have since ceased their operations as well.
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Formations: 1920s
William Lantie Mallory and George Rihl headed Compañía Mexicana de Aviación ("Mexican Aviation Company" or "Mexican Airline Company"), a competitor to CMTA; they acquired the latter's assets in 1924[7] and the company that emerged existed until 2010. In 1925 Sherman Fairchild purchased a 20% stake in the Mexican airline, introducing Fairchild FC2 airplanes in 1928. In February 1929, Juan Trippe of Pan Am took over the majority of the airline's stock, and the company opened its first international route, with service to the United States. Mexicana used the Ford Trimotor plane to operate the Mexico City-Tuxpan-Tampico-Brownsville, Texas, USA, route. Charles Lindbergh piloted the first flight on this route.
Pioneer of aviation and shareholder of Mexicana de Aviacion S.A. de C.V.
The mining engineer William Lantie Mallory Sr. " a great entrepreneur " and that he had been in World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918, had the vision to create the first international competitive airline for Mexico.
William Lantie Mallory Sr, wanted his son William Lantie Mallory Jr continue as head of the company and direct blood line his grandson, Paul John Mallory (who had actually been general manager), for the Mallory family owners continue to be provided " Mexicana de Aviacion ".
But the death of William Lantie Mallory Sr, the Company's shares are sold, and his son could not go in front of Mexicana de Aviacion.
The 1930s saw route expansion and service improvements. Mexicana opened a route from Brownsville to Guatemala City, stopping over at Veracruz, Minatitlán, Ixtepec and Tapachula. In addition, new routes were opened to El Salvador, Costa Rica and Cuba, in addition to Nicaragua and Panama, made possible by their association with Pan Am via Pan Am's Miami base (Pan Am had undertaken flights from Mexico City to Miami.) Mexicana became the first foreign airline ever to fly to Los Angeles, when it began flights on January 3, 1936.[7] The company expanded its fleet during that decade, with the addition of eight Fairchild FC2s and three Fokker F.10s.
The 1940s were primarily a period of domestic growth, although an international service began linking Mexico City and Havana. Routes were opened to Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, and Mérida. Additionally, a night flight to Los Angeles was established, which added to the company's night-time service to Mérida. Though Mexicana initially used Douglas DC-2s for these flights, over time they were replaced by larger aircraft, such as the Douglas DC-3s - known as El Palacio Aéreo (The Air Palace) for their luxury and comfort - and, later, Douglas DC-4s. The DC-4 allowed Mexicana to offer a non-stop service from Mexico City to Los Angeles. During the decade, Mexicana established a certified pilots' school in Mexico City.
The 1950s saw the airline's growth slow, though the fleet was modernized with the addition of Douglas DC-6s, and staff training improved with the opening of a flight attendant school. The DC-6s were put to work on the Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City to Oaxaca routes. Service to San Antonio, Texas began later in the decade.
In the 1960s, four De Havilland Comets were bought: one is currently being restored by Seattle's Museum of Flight. The Comets' arrival saw Mexicana join the jet age on July 4, 1960, with its first service from Mexico City to Los Angeles At the time, Mexicana was still a Pan American Airways subsidiary and these Comets were intended to replace Pan American's Boeing 707s were the type not to fulfill the expectations of Pan American's owner, Juan Trippe. Despite its use of technologically advanced aircraft types, competition was stiff, and by the late 1960s, the company faced bankruptcy. Amidst the difficulties, the airline received its first Boeing 727.
The difficult financial situation brought about a change in the airline's administration and on January 15, 1968, Mexican Crescencio Ballesteros, took over as chairman.[7] Manuel Sosa de la Vega was appointed as President and CEO. The new management team implemented a strategic plan that soon saw the airline recover financially.
Despite its economic revival, 1969 was a difficult year for the airline as it lost two Boeing 727 jets. The first loss occurred in bad weather on a flight from Mexico City to Monterrey, with the second occurring on an international flight between Chicago and Mexico City.
In 1971, Mexicana started flights to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico - a route it would maintain for more than 25 years without interruption -, and to Denver, Colorado. The jet fleet kept expanding and eventually consisted of 19 jets, the largest jet fleet in Latin America at the time. They also started a flight simulator service with a 727 simulator at their hub in Mexico City International Airport. By this time Mexicana had the largest fleet of 727s outside the USA.
During the 1980s, Mexicana's growth was static. However, a few events touched the company. In 1981, three DC-10-15s joined the company's fleet and began making their way through the airline's Caribbean routes. This was the first "wide-body" aircraft type Mexicana ever operated and was intended for use on high-density routes. In 1982, the Mexican government acquired 58% of the airline, before privatizing it in August 1989.[7][8] In 1984, construction of the company's new corporate headquarters on Xola Avenue, Mexico City finished - the resulting 30-story building was designed to resemble an air traffic control tower. In March 1986, a Boeing 727, Mexicana Flight 940, en route to Puerto Vallarta caught fire in-flight and crashed in the mountains of western Mexico, killing everyone on board. This is the most recent fatal accident involving a Mexicana aircraft. In 1988, Aeronaves de Mexico (AeroMexico), Mexicana's closest rival, declared bankruptcy. Consequently, Mexicana took over some of AeroMexico's longer flights during the 1990s, including flights to Canada and South America.
The 1990s brought a series of changes. Deregulation of the Mexican airline industry brought new competitors. Seeking to remain competitive, the airline updated their fleet with European-built Airbus A320s in 1991 and Dutch Fokker F100s in 1992. In 1993, a reorganized AeroMéxico took over as the company struggled financially. During the mid-1990s, the Mexican economy was hard-hit by the devaluation of the Mexican peso and Mexicana, AeroMéxico, and their regional affiliates were nationalized when their parent company, CINTRA (Corporación Internacional de Transporte Aereo), was taken over by the government. The airlines remained in their merged state until 2005. As happened in 1967, a new management team was hired, this time headed by President and CEO, Fernando Flores. The company was reorganized and rationalized, with a new emphasis placed on international service. Unprofitable routes were cut and the DC-10s were retired. The airline ventured deep into South America by adding flights to Lima, Peru, Santiago de Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina and further into North America, adding flights to Montreal, Quebec. To operate these new and longer routes, the airline leased Boeing 757s. Another aspect of this reorganization involved the creation of alliances. Mexicana was part of regional alliances LatinPass and Alas de America, and they later formed an alliance with United Airlines. This latter alliance brought Mexicana into the network of global alliances, as it eventually led the airline into the Star Alliance. Recognizing the usefulness and importance of the Internet, the airline launched a website and eventually included a reservation center. Also around this time, Mexicana adopted a new color scheme, with assorted colors on the tails of their planes.
In 1995, Mexicana was merged with AeroMéxico as a part of CINTRA. In 1996, the assorted color scheme was dropped in favor of green tails with white on the majority of the plane and the word "Mexicana" in black letters. In the 2000s Mexicana continued to grow. They celebrated their 80th anniversary in July 2001, just before the terrorist attacks of September 11 sent worldwide aviation into a tailspin. Nevertheless, the airline continued to evolve. It officially joined the Star Alliance in 2000 amid much fanfare, only to exit in March 2004 in response to rapidly changing market conditions related to United Airlines bankruptcy, and the aftershocks of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. CEO Emilio Romano stated in the airline's in-flight magazine VUELO that the airline left the alliance to pursue more effective code-sharing relationships with other airlines. Simultaneously, the airline created an alliance with American Airlines and several Oneworld Alliance partners leading some to speculate whether the airline will join that alliance. Nevertheless, it has maintained ties to some of its former Star Alliance partners, such as Lufthansa. In 2003, the airline retired their last Boeing 727 after operating the type for almost 40 years. These aircraft were replaced with newer A320s, A319s and A318s. Once an important Boeing Company operator, Mexicana is now an important Airbus Industrie airline, although it still operates one Boeing aircraft. The airline's long haul operations are conducted by Boeing 767s, introduced in December 2003, although fleet renewal plans may see long haul operations taken over by Airbus types and the Boeing 757s were phased out of the fleet.
2005 was an important year as the airline was sold and several low cost carriers were established in Mexico. Mexicana rebranded its regional subsidiary, AeroCaribe, as "Click Mexicana" and promotes it as a low cost carrier. This is part of the company's plan to remain competitive as the aviation industry changes and competition intensifies. Another component includes increasing international presence. Also, the color scheme was changed again to a dark blue tail and blue lettering on a white background.
Despite government announcements indicating that the airlines were going to be privatized, that move did not occur until November 29, 2005, when CINTRA sold Mexicana and its subsidiary, Click Mexicana, to the Mexican hotel chain Grupo Posadas for US$165.5 million. The road to privatization was long and winding. The government reversed its course on several occasions. At times, they proposed to sell Mexicana and AeroMéxico separately; other times, they proposed to sell them together to increase the bid price. They also proposed to sell the companies merged, but separate from their regional affiliates to increase competition. Several companies expressed interest in purchasing one or both of the airlines. For example, Iberia Airlines of Spain announced plans to buy part of both Mexicana and Aeroméxico. However Mexicana's owners rejected the offer possibly because another Iberia-owned Latin-American airline, Viasa of Venezuela, had gone bankrupt under Iberia's ownership. Further, Aerolíneas Argentinas had previously rejected a similar offer by Iberia.
On July 12, 2006 Mexicana announced that it intends to begin service to several new destinations in the United States: Seattle, Detroit, Charlotte. It intended to return to Puerto Rico, but the service came back only as a charter operation. It is also negotiating with the state of Arkansas officials to begin service to Little Rock National Airport. Mexicana is named "Best Airline in Latin America" in 2006 and "Best business in Central and Latin America".
On 9 April 2008, Oneworld invited Mexicana to join the alliance and the airline was expected to join the alliance on 11 November 2009, together with its two subsidiaries MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink, thus adding 26 destinations to the network.[9] Iberia was the sponsor of Mexicana's invitation into the Oneworld alliance. Mexicana was to compete with SkyTeam members Aeroméxico and Copa Airlines (which later left SkyTeam, possibly to join Star Alliance because of Continental Airlines' move to that alliance) and Star Alliance potential member TACA and member TAM for service between the US and Europe and Latin America. Mexicana was to start new flights to the US, Europe and Brazil to better leverage its position.
In October 2008, Mexicana announced three new destinations, London (Gatwick), São Paulo (Brazil) and Orlando (U.S.). Service commenced December 8 for São Paulo (GRU) and Orlando (MCO), followed by London (LGW) on January 9. With this service expansion, Mexicana became the second Mexican airline with service to Europe and Brazil (Aeromexico has long established service to Paris, Madrid, Rome and Barcelona in Europe, and São Paulo in Brazil), and first with service to the United Kingdom. The Orlando route was operated with a medium range Airbus 320, London and São Paulo were operated with 2 leased Boeing 767-200ER. In addition, Mexicana announced a Mexico City to Madrid route to compete with Aeromexico and compliment its partner's (Iberia) existing service. Mexicana announced that it will begin service to Madrid beginning in Feb/09 through the acquisition of 2 Airbus A330-200 not taken by XL due to bankruptcy. These aircraft types are well suited for medium-density, long-range travel. The company also unveiled the new colorful livery on November 27, along with "Mexicana Click" brand-new name for Click Mexicana.
On 4 February 2009, Mexicana won a concession to operate a new feeder airline to complement the routes currently covered by Mexicana and Mexicana Click.[10] The new airline was to be called MexicanaLink and operate in low-density routes to feed mainline operations from Guadalajara's airport. The airline flew Boeing 717 aircraft.
Also in February 2009, Mexicana applied to the US Department of Transportation to initiate daily, non-stop service between Guadalajara, Jalisco and New York utilizing either an Airbus A319 or the larger Airbus A320.[11] On the 25 of February Mexicana joined the Airbus MRO network evaluating the Airbus A350.
Mexicana officially joined the Oneworld alliance on November 10, 2009. It left Star Alliance in 2004.
Mexicana filed for Commercial concurs (Mexican law equivalent to US Chapter 11) and US Chapter 15 on August 3, 2010 in both the U.S. and Mexico, following labor union disputes; a debt of US$125 million was reported.[12] Subsequently, the airline scaled back its operations, suspending ticket sales and announcing termination of selected routes.[13] In early August 2010, the airline offered pilots and flight attendants a stake in the business in exchange for new labor terms.[14] On August 24, a Mexican consortium called Tenedora K announced that it had bought 95% of Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico; pilots would hold the other 5%.[15]
After 89 years of service, Mexicana suspended all operations at noon CDT on August 28, 2010. Aeroméxico offered discounted tickets to passengers stranded by Mexicana's suspension of operations.[16] American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines also offered assistance,[17] providing help to passengers between the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Mexico.[18]
In November 2010, PC Capital SAPI, a Mexican private-equity firm, offered unions and other creditors a 1.9 billion peso ($155 million) proposal to rescue the bankrupt airline.[19] The offer included giving unions 975 million pesos in cash and arrangement of a seven-year, 926 million peso loan paying monthly interest to the workers. The unions would have received an equity stake in exchange for the remaining 2.85 billion pesos Mexicana owes them.[20]
The proposal would have seen the airline return with 28 planes, flying 17 international routes to the U.S. and Central America and seven domestic services. Creditors including Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB and Mexican development bank Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior SNC viewed the proposal favorably, as did the government.[21]
The proposal had Government support, with Mexico's government hopeful that the grounding would have been resolved in time for the December travel season, when millions of local and foreign tourists will flock to resorts such as Cancun for holidays. "Our goal must be that Mexicana returns to the skies by the December high season," Labor Minister Javier Lozano said at a press conference.[22]
Mexicana still plans to restart services in 2011, likely[23] operating 11 routes[24] with 7 leased aircraft.[23] Many of its domestic destinations are currently taken over by its former partner, Aeromar, VivaAerobus, and its low-cost competitor, Volaris. On March 4, PC Capital announced that it was withdrawing from the process leaving Mexicana and the Mexican government without a viable option. Mexicana announced that it will plan to offer only charter flights.[25] On November 11, the mexican government announced that Iván Barona would invest 400 million dollars in Mexicana Airlines.[26] Iván Barona stated that Mexicana will resume operations in December 2011, with an aggressive business plan in order to regain all the territory lost. The SCT (Communications and transport agency) said that Iván Barona has until Wednesday 15 November morning to cash in the 400 million dollars. Up to date Iván Barona is the most advance and serious buyer. On November 14, Ivan Barona stated that the financial operations had begun in Mexicana Airlines, and it's expected to complete this process on Wednesday 15 of November. In an interview stated that Mexicana will restart its operations on December 15 of 2011 with 9 Airbus 320, and quickly increase its fleet size to 100 airplanes in 18 months.[27] Ivan Barona stated that his plans are to regain everything lost, and to once more turn Mexicana into the flag carrier of Mexico.
When Mexicana Airlines announced the flight cuts and possible filling for bankruptcy the Gaston Azcarraga administration said to be the result of the high labor cost (pilots, flight attendants etc.).[28] In a fast move Gaston Azcarraga left the company to a new administration leaving the employees alone with a new administration (Tenedora K). This new entity was unknown and with no resources to restart the company. Until then Gaston Azcarraga administration has been subject to criticisms. Mexicana Airlines was sold to Grupo Posadas for 180 millions of dollars, but Mexicana Airlines was valued at 146,000 millions of dollar by IPAB. Still today is unknown why Mexicana Airlines was sold to Gaston Azcarraga at 18% of its real value. Its said all this was a “personal favor” to Gaston Azcarraga in gratitude for its monetary cooperation with President Felipe Calderon presidential campaign. Also is evident that the mexican government did not support the airline in its Chapter 11 process (concurso mercantil) as the government did with Cemex and Comercial Mexicana Chapter 11 process. Evidence of a possible fraud in Mexicana:
In 2005 Aerocaribe was renamed Click Mexicana and replaced its fleet of DC-9s with Fokker 100 aircraft. Click was a wholly owned subsdiary of Mexicana de Aviacion.
Mexicana used Click as a low-cost airline to counter low-cost competitors such as Aviacsa, Interjet, A Volar and Volaris. Mexicana employed Click as a domestic feeder line on lower-passenger routes and times, while Mexicana focused on international and longer domestic routes. Mexicana considered adding the A319 to Click's fleet to serve destinations in Central America and the Caribbean. Click had 22 F100 aircraft in an all economy-plus layout. The cabin had grey, leather seats with a 35° pitch and a Click logo on the headrests. In 2008 Mexicana and Click were invited to the Oneworld alliance at the member and member affiliate level, respectively.
Mexicana rebranded Click Mexicana as MexicanaClick with the announcement of the new corporate livery late-November 2008. MexicanaClick highlighted the Mexicana linkage.
Mexicana said it signed an agreement in March, 2009, with Boeing to lease 25 airplanes for Click. The Boeing 717s were to replace the Fokker F-100 aircraft that Mexicana Click operated. 16 Of the planes were previously used by Midwest Airlines. Terms of the lease weren’t disclosed.
In addition to its subsidiaries, MexicanaClick, MexicanaLink, and Oneworld partners, Mexicana codeshared with the following airlines:[29]
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The Mexicana fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at the time of shut-down):
| Type | Total | Orders | Stored | Passengers (Elite/Coach) |
Routes |
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| Airbus A318-111 | 10 | 100 (12/88) | Short / Medium haul Canada, Central America, Mexico, South America and the United States |
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| Airbus A319-100 | 25 | 9 | 120 (12/108) | Medium haul Canada, Central America, Mexico, South America and the United States |
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| Airbus A320-200 | 26 | 4 | 150 (12/138) | Medium haul Cuba, Mexico, South America and the United States |
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| Airbus A330-200 | 2 | 211 (48/163) | Long haul Spain |
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| Boeing 767-200ER | 2 | 156 (40/116) | Long haul Brazil, United Kingdom |
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| Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 169 (42/127) | Long haul Argentina |
Mexicana introduced new livery in the second half of 2008. It consists of a "eurowhite" fuselage with the front in marine blue outlining a stylized eagle. The tail features the same eagle in marine blue with a light-blue background. New graphic design is the work of Gabriel Martínez Meave, a renowned Mexican designer who has received several international awards, most recent of them from the Type Directors Club.
Mexicana offers "Clase Elite", or business class, on all flights. Warm meals are served on all domestic and international flights longer than 40 minutes. Passengers also receive snacks throughout the flight, selection of meals, and refreshments. The seats on the Boeing 767-300ER are 23 inches across and recline 160°; while seats on the Airbus 320 are 22 inches across and recline approx 100° degrees. The seats are dark blue with small Aztec logos embossed on the seat with a white headrest cover displaying Mexicana's logo in black.
It is Mexicana frequent-flyer program .
Mexicana has the following lounges in the following airports: Mexicana Destinations
Up to 2011, Mexicana has been involved in a total of 26 incidents, including 9 fatal.[31]
On June 4, 1969, Flight 704 crashed near Salinas Victoria; some 20 miles north of the city of Monterrey. All 79 people on board were killed, including Mexican tennis star Rafael Osuna.[32] The aircraft was a Boeing 727-64, with tail number XA-SEL, and was approaching Monterrey's airport. It had made a continuous descent in the last 5 minutes before impact. The pilot turned left instead of right once the aircraft passed over the Monterrey VOR, apparently not knowing his exact position at the time.[33][34]
On September 21, 1969, another Mexicana Boeing 727-64, with tail number XA-SEJ, crashed short of the runway 23L at Mexico City International Airport. Of the 118 people on board, 27 died. The aircraft had been cleared for an ILS approach when it suddenly lost altitude and hit the ground. After becoming airborne once again, the plane crashed into a railway embankment. At the time of the impact, the aircraft was in a normal landing configuration. Since the flight data recorder had been installed improperly two days before and there was no cockpit voice recorder, the cause of the crash couldn't be established.[35]
On March 31, 1986, Flight 940 crashed in Las Mesas; near Maravatio, Michoacan. All 167 people on board the Boeing 727-264 were killed, making it the deadliest plane crash in the country's history and the deadliest ever to have involved this type of aircraft. After reaching an altitude of 31,000 feet, a tire in the left main landing gear burst and crippled the plane's controls, causing an in-flight fire and an explosive decompression in the process. It was found that the tire had been filled with air rather than nitrogen, leading to a chemical explosion within the tire itself.[33][36]
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