Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V."Report on Actions of Social Responsibility." Aeroméxico. 41 (43/44). Retrieved on 4 December 2010. "Paseo de la Reforma 445, Col. Cuauhtémoc. C.P. 06500 México D.F." () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AEROMEXICO), is the flag carrier of Mexico based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 120 destinations in Mexico, North, South, and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Its main base and hub is Mexico City International Airport, with secondary hubs in Guadalajara and Monterrey. The headquarters is in the Torre MAPFRE on Paseo de la Reforma.
Grupo Aeroméxico includes Aeroméxico and Aeroméxico Connect (regional subsidiary). The group currently holds the No. 2 place in domestic market share behind Volaris, with 24.2%; and No. 1 place in international market share with 15.8%, in the 12 months ending March 2020, becoming Mexico's largest international airline group. Aeroméxico is one of the four founding members of the SkyTeam airline alliance, along with Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air.
Aeroméxico works closely with the U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines, which owns part of Aeroméxico and in 2015 announced its intention to acquire up to 49% of the latter's shares. On 8 May 2017, a joint commercial agreement (JCA), came into effect, whereby the airlines share information, costs, and revenues on all their flights between the United States and Mexico.
In 2016, Aeroméxico flew 19.703 million passengers (up 5.0% vs. previous year), of which 13.047 million were domestic (+3.7%) and 6.656 million were international (+7.6%). It flew 34.776 million revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), had 43.362 million available seat kilometers (ASKs), and an 80.3% load factor.
History 1934
The airline was established as Aeronaves de México on 15 September 1934, by Antonio Díaz Lombardo. Its first aircraft was a Stinson SR Reliant 5A (registered XB-AJI). Julio Zinser piloted the maiden flight on the Mexico City – Acapulco route on 14 September 1934.
1940s When World War II began, the airline continued to grow with the help of Pan Am, which owned 40% of the new Mexican airline and upgraded the fleet with DC-2s and Boeing 247s. Aeroméxico saw few changes for the next two decades. However, during the 1950s, renovation began, and the airline took over various small competitor companies across the country, including Aerovías Guest (the second airline of the country at that time) that held the routes to Madrid and Paris. Aeroméxico added aircraft, including the Douglas DC-3 and its successor, the Douglas DC-4.
1950s
During the late 1950s, the Douglas DC-4s were replaced by some pressurized Douglas DC-6s and two Bristol Britannias (the first turboprop passenger aircraft in the fleet) and in 1958, services were inaugurated to Idlewild Airport (now JFK) using the Britannias. The Mexico City-New York route would prove profitable for "Aeronaves" and its North American competitors. The airline was nationalised in 1959.
1960s
In the early 1960s, the fleet of Aeronaves de México (Aeroméxico) included Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-6, and Bristol Britannia aircraft. Starting in 1961, "Aeronaves" began replacing its piston-engined aircraft with new jets. The first jet-engined aircraft were a pair of Douglas DC-8s. The DC-8s were used on routes within Mexico and to New York City. In 1963, Aeronaves de México (Aeroméxico) took over Aerovias Guest airlines and they were merged under the name Aeronaves de México. Later in the 1960s, more DC-8s were added, and service to Europe was resumed, operated by two de Havilland Comet 4C jet aircraft dry-leased by Aerovías Guest prior to the merger.
1970s The 1970s brought dramatic changes for Aeroméxico. In 1970, under a government plan, Mexican domestic airlines were nationalized into an integrated air transport system under the control of Aeronaves de México. The system included eight smaller carriers, although these were later disbanded. During the early 1970s, the remaining Douglas DC-6 and Bristol Britannia aircraft were retired. A new color scheme (orange and black) was introduced and the airline changed its name from "Aeronaves de México" to its current, shortened version of Aeroméxico in February 1972.
One of Aeronaves de Mexico's subsidiaries during that era was named Aeronaves del Sureste ("Southeast Air Ships"). That subsidiary had a mix of Twin-Otter and DC-9 jet aircraft.
Aeroméxico, as one of the launch customers of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 program, received the first of its aircraft in 1974. That same year, the airline also took delivery of its first seven McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32s. During this period, the airline's popularity and visibility grew dramatically. This was due in part to Aeroméxico's involvement in Mexican movies. Basically, every time characters in any movie produced in Mexico had to fly somewhere, they were depicted as flying on Aeroméxico aircraft.
1980s
The early 1980s were marked by expansion. A new color scheme was introduced (orange paint and silver), two DC-10-15s and a DC-10-30 were added in 1981 and in 1984. Aeroméxico, one of the launch customers of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (an elongated version of the DC-9), received its first two in late 1981. Between 1980 and 1981, eight more DC-9-32 aircraft were added. In 1982, Aeroméxico acquired four more MD-80s for $100 million, increasing the total number of aircraft in the company's fleet to 43.
On 31 August 1986, the company suffered its only fatal accident outside Mexico when Aeroméxico Flight 498, a Douglas DC-9, approaching Los Angeles International Airport was struck by a light aircraft. Both aircraft then fell to earth in the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos, California. All 64 passengers and crew on board the DC-9-32 were killed, as were the three people in the light aircraft and 15 people on the ground. After three years and a long trial, the aircraft's crew and the airline were found not to blame. This was because the pilot of the Piper had strayed into an air traffic control zone reserved for commercial flights. That same year, the airline acquired the charter carrier GATSA and used it for charter operations until December. In April 1988, the state-owned company was declared bankrupt and grounded for three months because of lack of organization, a fleet with an average of 20 years without a renovation plan and a depreciating administration by the Mexican Government. In August, a privatization program was underway. This involved retiring the eight Douglas DC-8s along with the remaining ten DC-9-15 aircraft. After a strike and bankruptcy between April and May 1988, a privatization process started and included a new corporate name (Aerovias de Mexico SA de CV). The airline restarted operations with some of its predecessor's assets, including the headquarters building, maintenance hangar, some aircraft, and some former Aeronaves de Mexico employees.
1990s
The early 1990s were turbulent times, with the rise in fuel costs due to the Gulf War, and a domestic fare war caused by start-up airlines like TAESA, Servicios Aéreos Rutas Oriente, Aviacsa, among others, as well as constant labor problems. In April 1991, the first two 767-200ERs were introduced to the fleet to replace DC-10s in services to Europe, New York, and Tijuana, and another two 767-300ERs joined the fleet later that year. This was all a part of a renovation and expansion program to introduce 24 direct flights to Madrid and Paris from Mexico City with Boeing 767s as well as services to Frankfurt via Paris and Rome via Madrid.
In 1992, Grupo Aeroméxico was among other investors that failed to consummate the acquisition of Continental Airlines. After failing to invest in Continental, Aeroméxico acquired the bankrupt Aeroperú from the Peruvian government.
In 1993, Aeroméxico Group took over Mexicana, the second-largest airline in the Mexican market, under the same management. There was a great dispute in June 1993 with the pilot union regarding the transfer of flights to regional subsidiary Aeromonterrey, which had non-union pilots. Between 1994 and 1995, the six DC-10 aircraft in the fleet were finally retired. Their last revenue flight was in 1995.
In December 1994, three weeks after Carlos Salinas de Gortari left the office, the first of several devaluations in the next 18 months started, giving way to the Mexican peso crisis. As a consequence, Aeroméxico had to cut capacity, and flights to Frankfurt and Rome were canceled; four McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and four Boeing 767s were returned to their lessors, early retirement for pilots and other staff was underway, and a new Boeing 767 due for delivery in April 1995 was instead transferred to another airline. Flights to Madrid and Paris were operated only by two Boeing 767-300ER jets.
In 1996, Cintra was created to prevent the two main carriers from going bankrupt. Some Boeing 757s of Aeroméxico's original renovation program were transferred to Mexicana and Aeroperú. The market and the airline recovered between 1996 and 1998; eight McDonnell Douglas MD80s were leased back along with two Boeing 767-200ERs.
The sale of Grupo Cintra was scheduled after several delays in September 1999, and with the looming presidential elections in 2000, everything was delayed once again. The ruling party lost the election after 70 years in office and all the policies changed. Due to the recession in 2000, the new government put everything on hold, waiting for better economic conditions to start the stock sell-off, and just when everything was about to start, the 11 September 2001 attacks occurred, and nothing materialized since the two main carriers, Mexicana and Aeroméxico, were losing large amounts of money.
2000s
Between 2000 and 2005, Aeroméxico had an average fleet of 60 aircraft in mainline operation, plus 20 in Aerolitoral, as well as five CEOs during this time. On 22 June 2000, the airline, along with Air France, Delta, and Korean Air, founded the SkyTeam global airline alliance. After 9/11 and the Iraq War, it pursued a fleet renovation program. In 2003, the airline acquired its first Boeing 737-700 instead of the Boeing 717 as a replacement for its aging DC-9 aircraft. On 29 March 2006, Aeroméxico CEO Andrés Conesa announced the inauguration of direct flights between Japan and Mexico City via Tijuana. This was after the purchase of two Boeing 777-200ERs, making Aeroméxico the third airline in Latin America to fly regularly to Asia, after Varig and the now-defunct VASP. Since Varig's demise, Aeroméxico is currently the only airline with this service. Aeroméxico resumed its Mexico City-Tijuana-Shanghai route twice a week as of 30 March 2010. Suspension of this flight was due to the 2009 flu pandemic.
On 29 June 2006, the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and Aeroméxico announced that the airline would operate three Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Aeroméxico's deliveries were scheduled to begin in early 2012. From 2006, Consorcio Aeroméxico S.A. de C.V., the parent company of Aeroméxico at the time, faced large debts and had no profits to pay them off, so it offered Aeroméxico for sale in 2007. In early October, a week-long auction was held, with Grupo Financiero Banamex, a unit of Citigroup, competing against the Saba family. On 17 October 2007, Banamex offered the highest bid and purchased the airline for US$249.1 million. In October 2010, Aeroméxico's largest competitor, Mexicana de Aviacion, filed for bankruptcy and was placed in administration.
2010s Delta/Aeroméxico alliance In 2011, Delta Air Lines and Aeroméxico signed an enhanced commercial alliance, building on an original agreement from 1994. The 2011 agreement provided for codesharing on all the carriers' Mexico–US flights; Delta investing US$65 million in Aeroméxico shares, and Delta gaining a seat on the Aeroméxico board of directors.