The Mexican airline industry has undergone
a variety of major changes in recent months, with observers
weighing in on the long-term effects of the launch of six discount
domestic carriers as well as the sale of Mexicana Airlines to Grupo
Posadas. But what about Aeromexico, the one major Mexican carrier
that seems unchanged?
Carlos De
Uriarte, vice president of sales and marketing for Aeromexicos U.S.
division, took time to answer questions about the airlines strategy
for dealing with the changing face of Mexican aviation and hinted
at changes coming in Aeromexicos ownership this summer.
Travel
Weekly:How are load factors between the U.S. and
Mexico this year?
De
Uriarte: The first quarter of 2006 ended with an increase
in ASKs [available seat kilometers], with the load factors
gradually catching up.
April has also
been strong, with good recuperation.
TW:Between the U.S. and Mexico, what
percentage of Aeromexicos passengers are leisure, visiting friends
& relatives (VFR), business and groups or
meetings?
De
Uriarte: Leisure is only about 10%, with direct service to
Loreto, Los Cabos and La Paz. We have curtailed many beach flights
due to low fares. However, we are flying all of the charter
operations for Funjet to the beaches.
We remain present
and visible, fly our flag and stay in the minds of our customers
with our in-flight service.
At least 65% is
VFR and growing, as new capacity is added to markets like New York,
Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston and Ontario, Calif. We are very
strong in the business market, due to our excellent in-flight
product, our impeccable on-time performance and our
soon-to-be-all-Boeing fleet.
TW:Which of those market segments are
showing the most growth potential?
De
Uriarte: VFR, without a doubt. The reason is the natural
growth of the U.S. Hispanic population and the need for more
service to visit their families and friends in Mexico and Latin
America.
TW:How full have your flights been
since you restored service to Cancun?
De
Uriarte: We dont fly to Cancun from the U.S. except
through domestic codeshare flights, but visitors are growing at a
fast pace as a great effort has been made to restore facilities and
installations. Cancun will soon be the paradise its always
been.
TW:What other destinations in Mexico
are you seeing as strong for leisure travel from the U.S.? Are
there any particular cities where youve added service as a result
of increased interest from the U.S. market?
De
Uriarte: Without a doubt, Merida in the Yucatan, to which
we fly nonstop from Miami. In addition, we recently started
operating flights to Loreto and La Paz.
TW:What are the challenges and goals
that Aeromexico faces in the U.S.-Mexico market for 2006 and
beyond? What is your strategy?
De
Uriarte: To grow, without a doubt. We will add two more
nonstops to Mexico City and Guadalajara from Los Angeles, and well
be offering service between Stockton, Calif., and Guadalajara and
several more cities.
Aeromexico is
also adding two more flights a day to Mexico City from New York
(Kennedy); two more flights to Mexico City from Chicago (OHare) and
Miami; a daily nonstop from Boston to Mexico City; and we are
closely studying entry to three cities in Texas and two cities in
the northeast U.S.
Also, because its
relevant to the southern California market, we are up to 16 daily
flights out of Tijuana and 26 on weekends.
TW:Aeromexico is planning to
introduce new aircraft on its routes to Europe soon. What aircraft
is Aeromexico using most to the U.S., and will there be any new
aircraft introduced in the U.S.-Mexico or domestic Mexico
market?
De
Uriarte: We are very proud owners of two new
next-generation Boeing 777s [for Europe flights], with a third on
its way.
In the U.S., we
plan to operate exclusively with Boeing 737s and 757s, depending on
market requirements. Aerolitoral, which now operates with [Embraer
regional jets] into some cities like San Antonio and Los Angeles,
will enable us to reach smaller Mexican markets with jet
service.
TW:How will Aeromexicos relationship
change with Mexicana, now that Mexicana has been sold? How does
Aeromexico view the new Mexicana competitively?
De
Uriarte: We view it as a strong competitor thats been
around for a long time, and is finally starting to get stiff
competition in the U.S. market from Aeromexico.
TW:Are there still plans to privatize
Aeromexico?
De
Uriarte: Yes, announcements will be forthcoming by
July.
TW:How does Aeromexico view the debut
of so many low-fare Mexican airlines?
De
Uriarte: There are new
challenges, and Aeromexico will meet them head-on. Our relationship
with our customers is a close one and we work to ensure that they
are well taken care of by us.
Our corporate
market is up, and the fact that we are an international carrier
extends Aeromexicos rewards program and makes it more valuable ...
when traveling to Latin America, Europe and points throughout the
U.S.
TW:Would Aeromexico consider starting
a low-cost division?
De
Uriarte: At this time there is no intention to do so,
although we will face the competition on their own
terms.
TW:Are you making any special efforts
to help the U.S. agents sell Aeromexico?
De
Uriarte: They already know Aeromexico is one of the most
punctual carriers in the world, with a modern fleet. Our overall
in-flight service is second to none.
Furthermore,
Clase Premier passengers enjoy pillows, blankets, the most
up-to-date entertainment and other comforts and amenities that
sophisticated travelers have come to expect. Aeromexicos Clase
Premier features wide seats, a gourmet menu designed by chef
Thierry Blouet and one of the top-rated selections of wines in the
sky.
The great
advantage of being a co-founding member of the SkyTeam global
airline alliance helps ensure that our customers enjoy the same
quality service and worldwide access wherever they are in the world
-- a
valuable tool that low-cost carriers cant even think of
offering.
To contact reporter Mark Chesnut, send e-mail [email protected].