Viva Aerobus Doubles Its Mexico-Colombia Connectivity

The Mexican low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus is looking to increase its connectivity between Mexico and Colombia. A few months after launching its Mexico City-Bogotá route, the airline is ready to double down on its weekly frequencies. Let’s investigate further.

Viva Aerobus’ new plans

Starting on April 8, Viva Aerobus will offer two daily flights between Mexico City and Bogotá, the airline announced on Friday. Additionally, Viva Aerobus has an interline agreement with Colombian low-cost airline Viva, meaning passengers will have up to three daily services between both cities.

The Mexican airline started flying to Bogotá in August 2021. It was the first destination in South America for the fifteen-year-old operator.

Viva Aerobus flights to Bogotá are operated with Airbus A320 aircraft, capable of carrying up to 186 passengers. The flights have a minimum fare of US$77 per single trip.

Walfred Castro, Viva Aerobus’ head of Communications, said,

“We are delighted to continue to grow in Bogotá and to serve Colombian passengers with the service that distinguishes Viva Aerobus: low fares, reliability, new aircraft, customer focus, and point-to-point flights.”

Viva Aerobus currently flies from Mexico City and Cancún to Bogotá. Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar. 

The traffic boom between Mexico and Colombia

In the last six months, few country pairs worldwide have had a connectivity boom as Mexico and Colombia. Three low-cost carriers have launched flights between both countries, Viva, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris. Avianca has also announced two new routes.

Viva will have six routes between both markets:

1. Medellín-Mexico City
2. Medellín-Cancún
3. Bogotá-Mexico City
4. Cali-Mexico City
5. Cali-Cancún
6. Cartagena-Mexico City, starting on May 3.

Viva Aerobus has two routes:

1. Mexico City-Bogotá
2. Cancún-Bogotá.

Volaris has two routes:

1. Mexico City-Bogotá
2. Cancún-Bogotá

Avianca has three routes:

1. Bogota-Mexico City
2. Cali-Mexico City, starting on March 27
3. Medellin-Mexico City, beginning on March 29.

Aeromexico operates:

1. Mexico City-Bogota
2. Mexico City-Medellín

Wingo operates:

1. Bogotá-Cancún
2. Cali-Cancún
3. Medellín-Cancún.

There are 1,159 scheduled flights between both countries in March 2022, with 202,003 seats available. Both numbers are a 36.8% and 47.8% increase compared to March 2019. Between both years, the market lost two operators (Interjet and LATAM) and won three (the Vivas and Volaris).

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In 2021, Colombia was Mexico’s third-largest international market, behind the United States and Canada. It surpassed Brazil, Spain, and Venezuela.

Likewise, Mexico held the third-largest international market for Colombia in 2021, behind the United States and Venezuela.

In 2021, Viva Aerobus became Mexico’s second-largest domestic carrier. Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar. 

Viva Aerobus in 2021

Last year, Viva Aerobus grew heavily, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Domestically, it surpassed Grupo Aeromexico as the country’s second-largest airline, behind Volaris.

Viva Aerobus had 15.2 million passengers last year, a 27% increase compared to 2019. The airline launched many new routes, including its flights to Colombia.

In terms of fleet, Viva Aerobus received its fiftieth aircraft last year. Currently, the airline has a fleet composed of 55 aircraft, including 20 Airbus A320, 20 A320neo, eight A321, and seven A321neo. The airline is looking to receive 38 additional A321neos in the near future.

Additionally, Viva Aerobus and US low-cost carrier Allegiant Air announced a Joint Venture that would help them increase their connectivity between Mexico and the United States. Nonetheless, while Mexico remains in Category 2 with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Joint Venture will not be possible.

Have you traveled with Viva Aerobus in the past? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments below.

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