Mexican carrier Aeromexico has said it will introduce 17 new routes to the USA after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted Mexico’s security status, allowing that country’s carriers to once again expand service across its northern border.
The Mexico City-based carrier said on 2 October that beginning in January 2024, as part of a joint venture with Delta Air Lines, it will gradually introduce the routes from seven Mexican airports to nine US destinations. Those flights will also carry Delta’s code.
“With the new routes and increased frequencies to current destinations, [Aeromexico] plans to operate nearly 60 daily frequencies to the United States by July 2024, representing a 35% increase in departures compared to 2023, with a presence in 36 US markets,” the airline says. “Delta is planning to operate 34 daily frequencies to Mexico in July 2024, serving seven different Mexican destinations.”
The US cities it plans to connect to Mexico with new flights include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, McAllen (Texas), New York, Salt Lake City and Washington, DC.
”The Aeromexico-Delta JCA will deliver over 30% more seats year-over-year, widening options for passengers to travel between the US and Mexico,” the airline adds. By 2024, the Aeromexico-Delta venture will have ”over 90 daily flights” between Mexico and the United States on almost 60 routes.
“This reinforces the commitment of the cross-border alliance to bring the two countries closer together through a robust network and seamless connectivity, accompanied by consistent industry-leading products and services,” the carrier says.
The expansion comes in the wake of the FAA once again lifting Mexico’s safety status to so-called Category 1, the highest level, after it had been relegated to Category 2 for more than two years.
The long-awaited reinstatement had been rumoured for several days prior to the 14 September announcement.
The FAA had downgraded Mexico’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating in May 2021 “after finding the country did not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards”. Category 2 designations mean the FAA has deemed that a country does not have laws or regulations needed to support safe air travel, or that its civil aviation authority lacks adequate technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping, inspection procedures or resolution of safety concerns.
While the FAA allowed existing air service between the countries to continue, the Category 2 designation restricted Mexican carriers from introducing new US routes and hindered US airlines’ ability to market and sell tickets on Mexican carriers via codeshare partnerships.
Last week, low-cost carrier VivaAerobus said it would launch six new routes to the United States – to Austin, Denver, Miami, New York, Oakland and Orlando. The flights are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2024.
The third major Mexican carrier, Volaris, has also said that it would introduce new routes to the USA when the safety status was returned to Category 1, but has yet to announce them.
