Photo: Daniel Martínez Garbuno.
The Mexican carrier Aeromexico announced its latest route on Tuesday. It will launch a daily service between the Felipe Ángeles International (NLU) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) starting on May 1, 2023. The airline will employ the Embraer E190 fleet operated by its regional branch Aeromexico Connect.
More capacity
Aeromexico will be the first airline to launch a new international route to the United States from the country’s newest Felipe Ángeles International Airport. This has been approved despite Mexico being currently downgraded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Category 2 status.
In a statement, Mexico’s flag carrier said it obtained the necessary authorizations from the competent authorities in Mexico and the United States to begin direct flights from Felipe Angeles International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
This way, Aeromexico is excited to consolidate its position as the airline with the most extensive connectivity to and from central Mexico. This route will begin operations on May 1, 2023, with one daily flight on Embraer 190 aircraft; flights already scheduled to Houston from Mexico City International Airport (AICM) will continue to be served. Tickets will be available for sale through the airline’s official channels in the coming days. This will be Aeromexico’s ninth destination from NLU and the first route to connect the airport with the United States. This flight will allow our customers to travel from Mexico City and the eight domestic destinations that Aeromexico operates at the Felipe Ángeles International (Acapulco, Cancun, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Merida, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, and Veracruz) to the United States of America, increasing connectivity between the two countries.
FAA approved the route
After a regulatory and current conditions assessment, the US and Mexican authorities approved this route, considering that NLU also serves the Valley of Mexico metropolitan area.
Aeromexico said it is working closely with the Mexican aviation authority to regain aviation Category 1 status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), following the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
Finally, Aeromexico reaffirmed its commitment to expand its connectivity network between Mexico and the United States with 22 routes.
Aeromexico currently operates 105 weekly flights from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport. It has 15 daily departures and offers 13,461 seats, the most among the airport’s current operating airlines (although Volaris, with far fewer departures, 66, offers nearly as many seats, 12,276, following its low-cost business model).
FAA opens a regional office in Mexico
Earlier this month, the US government announced the FAA will open a regional office based in Mexico City for the first time in its history. The announcement was celebrated by the Mexican airline industry and some international partners.
The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) regional vice president in the Americas, Peter Cerdá, said,
“We welcome this announcement, which shows and reinforces the commitment of the authorities of both nations to this essential means of transportation. This will help Mexico in the process of recovering Category 1 status in the short term, an important challenge for the development of national aviation. Connectivity between Mexico and the United States is one of the most important in the Americas and contributes significantly to the social and economic well-being of the country.”
Norma Campos will be the FAA’s representative in Mexico. The opening of this office seeks to strengthen cooperation, dialogue and work between the public and private sectors, with a view to reactivating binational air traffic and strengthening cultural, social and commercial ties between both territories. Mexico is the country with the most flights to and from the United States, making it the number one travel destination for Americans.
