Avianca and Viva increase connectivity Colombia-Mexico

The Colombian carriers Avianca and Viva are increasing the connectivity between Colombia and Mexico by announcing new routes. In the last few months, the aviation market between both countries has become very interesting to watch. Avianca and Viva increase connectivity Colombia-Mexico. Avianca and Viva, what’s new between Colombia and Mexico? According to data provided by Cirium, there are 1,133 flights scheduled between Mexico and Colombia in January 2022. Compared to January 2020 levels, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the airlines in this market are offering 4.3% more flights and 16.7% more seats, despite losing one of the players when Interjet ceased operations. Aeromexico operates flights from Mexico City to Bogota and Medellin; Avianca flies from Bogota to Cancun and Mexico City, and from Medellin to Cancun; Wingo has the routes Bogota-Cancun, Bogota-Mexico, Cali-Cancun, and Medellin-Cancun; Viva Aerobus flies from Mexico City and Cancun to the Colombian capital; Viva has the routes BOG-MEX, CUN-MDE, and MEX-MDE, while Volaris serves the same routes as Viva Aerobus. Low-cost carriers heavily dominate the market. To increase the connectivity between both countries, Avianca and Viva have announced new routes. Today, Avianca opened the sales for its new routes from Medellin and Cali to Mexico City. These two new routes are among the 23 new international routes announced by the company; Avianca’s goal is to offer new point-to-point connectivity in the Americas and beyond. The South American carrier is also planning to resume its flights between Madrid, Medellin, and Cali. Avianca’s new routes from Cali and Medellin to Mexico will begin on March 27 and 29, respectively. Cali-Mexico City will have four weekly frequencies on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Meanwhile, Medellin-Mexico City will have three flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. What about Viva? The low-cost carrier is also looking to operate its sixth direct route between Colombia and Mexico City. This route will be uncontested since its last operator, Interjet, ceased operations in December 2020. We are talking about the Cartagena-Mexico City flight. Tickets are already available, and Viva will begin flying this route on May 4, 2022, said the airline in a statement. It will have three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. “Viva will continue strengthening its growth plan, reaching new destinations with its ultra-low-cost model, and providing new options to travel throughout the region,” said Felix Antelo, president and CEO of Viva Air Group. [caption id="attachment_61818" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Data: SCT.[/caption] The recovery of the Mexico-Colombia market Mexico and Colombia are two countries with the fastest recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic. The governments of both countries issued little to zero travel restrictions, allowing a quick rebound. Additionally, flying between both countries became a hot trend, and both countries are in the top three international destinations between each other. Nonetheless, let’s look through the Mexican data between January and November 2021. We can see that the number of passengers traveling between Mexico and Colombia was only 46.4% of what it was prior to the pandemic. So, you could ask me, where’s the recovery? Looking only at the passenger numbers in November (compared to November 2019), we see a 94.7% recovery. Once the December data is published, we may see more passengers last month between both countries than in 2019. Additionally, the load factors have rebounded to 85.3% (compared to 85.5% in 2019). In 2022, the airlines operating in these markets could increase their passenger numbers over their pre-pandemic traffic levels. We'll have to wait and see.

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