The revival of the former Mexicana—which flew in the livery shown above—will have a fleet of 10 Boeing 737-800s.
Mexicana de Aviacion, the new state-operated Mexican airline, has revealed the initial destinations in its route network as it eyes a Dec. 10 launch of services.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made the new airline, which will be run by the military, a priority. He has argued that air service in Mexico, particularly to smaller cities, is significantly overpriced.
The launch of the new Mexicana will revive a brand known well to Mexicans: The former Mexicana, founded in 1921, was one of the oldest airlines in the world when it ceased operations in 2010. The new Mexicana will operate a leased fleet of 10 Boeing 737-800s.
The airline will use Mexico City Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU) as its primary base. NLU, which opened in 2022, is Mexico City’s second airport.
The airline plans to have a secondary base at Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport—another new airport that is slated to open by the end of this year.
Based on information provided on its newly unveiled website, the new Mexicana will serve 20 domestic destinations beyond those two airports, with a heavy emphasis on beach destinations. The cities making up Mexicana’s initial network are: Acapulco, Campeche, Cancun, Chetmal, Ciudad Juarez, Cozumel, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Hermosillo, Huatulco, Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, La Paz, Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Merida, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Tijuana and Villahermosa.
Aeromexico Airport Affairs Director Abelardo Muñoz Martín, speaking earlier this year at the Routes Americas 2023 conference in Chicago, said Aeromexico is confident it will successfully compete against a rival, state-operated carrier.
“We're not afraid of competition,” Martín said. “We believe in our product and that we are best at what we do in Mexico.”
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