Mexicana lands in London

Mexicana has flown its first service to London, marking the carrier's first foray into transatlantic operations (see picture).

The carrier now operates two flights a week between Mexico City and London Gatwick, but this will increase to four flights a week on 17 February.

Here's what Mexicana chief executive Manuel Borja had to say about the new service in a press release:

"The decision to fly to London reaffirms our commitment to our passengers and illustrates how Mexicana is taking steps to address the challenges posed by the airline industry. It also positions us as an innovative international airline, concerned about the development and consolidation of the commercial aviation industry."

As I wrote here, Mexicana also plans to launch flights to Madrid in February, taking on rival Aeromexico head-to-head. As Mexicana announces additional flights to Europe - and I'm told by the carrier's senior vice-president customer service and communications, Adolfo Crespo, that this is the plan - it will be interesting to see how Aeromexico responds.

Airline Business has been following the Latin American market closely - if you haven't already seen the daily newspapers we published at the Latin American Airline Leaders' Forum in November, check them out here.