While participating in the Air Finance Journal London Reconnect conference, Aeromar’s Chief Operating Officer, Fabricio Cojuc, revealed that they will add more ATRs to the fleet by 2022, in order to cope with increased demand in the Mexican regional market.
“We like ATR’s products and can use them with seven to eight daily cycles. The economics of the ATR 72-600 are unmatched on short-range sectors of less than 300 nautical miles. The average distance of our route network is approximately 240 miles,” Cojuc noted.
The ATR is the backbone of the company. They have added nearly a dozen scheduled and seasonal links. Currently, the company has three ATR 42s with a capacity for 48 passengers and seven ATR 72-600s with 68 seats.
At the same conference, Cojuc said they are looking to add four additional ATR 42-600s and three ATR 72-600s to close the year 2022 with 17 aircraft. One would arrive before the end of this year.
The executive stated that there are large gaps in fleet size and capacity among the major carriers. Viva Aerobus, Volaris, and Aeromexico do not cover those short links or those with lower passenger density, as a consequence of having aircraft with more than 100 passengers.
There are also no interline cooperation agreements among Mexican airlines, as is the case in the United States, where smaller operators feed flights from the hubs of the major airlines.
Aeromar recently signed the renewal of an interline agreement with Iberia, allowing the Spanish airline to reach 18 Mexican cities and two U.S. cities. In August it also signed a similar agreement with Emirates, demonstrating the regional airline’s global spirit.
Aeromar does not lag behind in order to grow
While Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris are competing for Interjet’s market share, Aeromar, on the other hand, has focused on its niche and taking advantage of the market’s demand.
In 2021, the company added nine new links including a strong increase in its operations in Monterrey with flights to Aguascalientes, San Luis de Potosi, McAllen and Torreon. Puerto Vallarta also added connectivity to Aguascalientes and San Luis de Potosi. Also Guadalajara had inaugural flights to McAllen, Mazatlan and La Paz.
Other markets are being explored as well, according to the proposals of the tourism entities of the region. The Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUT) is negotiating with several airlines to reactivate tourism in Guatemala and has chosen Aeromar as its next target to add connectivity to the country. INGUT foresees that Aeromar will operate flights to Flores and Guatemala from Tapachula and Cancun.
Between January and August 2021, Aeromar has transported 301,100 passengers according to the latest data from the Ministry of Transportation (STC). This positions it as the fourth largest Mexican-based company.
