Viva Aerobus
Encyclopedia
"RyanMex" redirects here. For the airline in Europe
, see Ryanair
.
Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as VivaAerobus.com, is a Mexican regional and ultra-low cost airline
part-owned by the founders of Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, Ryanair
and the biggest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA. It has its corporate headquarters in the Cargo Zone of Terminal C on the grounds of General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
in Apodaca
, Nuevo León
.
(MTY), in Monterrey
, Mexico. The airline initially connected General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
to a number of Mexican domestic locations and, in July 2007, publicly confirmed their intention to open their first base outside of Mexico and first US destination in Austin, Texas. The airline currently flies between Monterrey and twenty one other Mexican cities, Chicago Midway, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio and Houston.
VivaAerobus is co-owned by the Ryan family, founders of Ryanair
and the Mexican bus company IAMSA. The Ryans joined with Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to establish "RyanMex" to facilitate the Irish family's investment in the Mexican airline. RyanMex hold 49 percent of shares in the airline, while IAMSA will have the remaining majority stake. It started off with an initial investment of $50 million and two Boeing 737-300
airliners bearing its vivid green and red dots logo. The airline has served 1.3 million passengers in its first year of operations and anticipates handling 2.4 million passengers in 2008.
VivaAerobus fares were intended to undercut traditional Mexican carriers by up to 50 percent, in a change of the industry that started with the arrival of the country's first low-cost airlines (Avolar
, Click Mexicana
, Interjet
, Volaris
) and the privatization of Mexicana
, one of the two top local airlines. On November 5, 2007 the airline received approval from the US Department of Transportation to operate to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
, initially serving the Mexican destinations of Cancún
, Monterrey
, Guadalajara
and León
. Flights to the South Terminal Austin began on May 1, 2008.
On May 16, 2009, VivaAerobus stated it would cease passenger operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on May 31, 2009. The airline blamed the pullout in part on the outbreak of the swine flu, which caused an unprecedented decrease in demand for service. The company began to fly between Monterrey and Las Vegas since summer of 2009.
In November 2009, the airline announced that they have applied to commence operations between Hermosillo
and Las Vegas
beginning in March 2010.
In April 2010, the airline finally arrived to Mexico's capital with two flights one from Monterrey and the other from Guadalajara. They also started serving Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport
(IAH).
In September 2010, the airline will serve a focus city at Mexico City International Airport
on October 1 after Mexicana ceased operations. It will offer 6 more flights making Mexico City a focus city.
VivaAerobus will switch Mexico City focus city into a hub on April 1, 2011, beginning more destinations.
On July 26, 2011, the airline got approval to fly to Chicago-Midway International Airport.
On August 15, 2011 VivaAerobus announced it will begin round-trip service between San Antonio (SAT) and Monterrey (MTY), Mexico starting in November 2011. The new non-stop service to and from SAT and MTY will begin with three flights per week.
program offering food and drinks for purchase.
The airline also gives the passengers some reading entertainment by providing at no cost Enviva Magazine.
to Abraham González International Airport
in Ciudad Juárez
.
VivaAerobus operated a bus shuttle between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
South Terminal and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in eastern Houston in addition to a bus shuttle between the Austin airport and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in downtown San Antonio for passengers on flights going to and from Cancún and Monterrey.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, see Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
.
Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as VivaAerobus.com, is a Mexican regional and ultra-low cost airline
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
part-owned by the founders of Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
and the biggest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA. It has its corporate headquarters in the Cargo Zone of Terminal C on the grounds of General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
General Mariano Escobedo International Airport is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico. Together with Del Norte International Airport, General Mariano Escobedo International Airport handles domestic and international operations for the city of Monterrey and its...
in Apodaca
Apodaca
Apodaca is a city and its surrounding municipality that is part of Monterrey Metropolitan area. It lies in the northeastern part of the metropolitan area. As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 393,195 and the municipality had a population of 418,784. The municipality has an area of...
, Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
.
History
VivaAerobus started operations on November 30, 2006 with its hub at General Mariano Escobedo International AirportGeneral Mariano Escobedo International Airport
General Mariano Escobedo International Airport is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico. Together with Del Norte International Airport, General Mariano Escobedo International Airport handles domestic and international operations for the city of Monterrey and its...
(MTY), in Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Mexico. The airline initially connected General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
General Mariano Escobedo International Airport is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico. Together with Del Norte International Airport, General Mariano Escobedo International Airport handles domestic and international operations for the city of Monterrey and its...
to a number of Mexican domestic locations and, in July 2007, publicly confirmed their intention to open their first base outside of Mexico and first US destination in Austin, Texas. The airline currently flies between Monterrey and twenty one other Mexican cities, Chicago Midway, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio and Houston.
VivaAerobus is co-owned by the Ryan family, founders of Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
and the Mexican bus company IAMSA. The Ryans joined with Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to establish "RyanMex" to facilitate the Irish family's investment in the Mexican airline. RyanMex hold 49 percent of shares in the airline, while IAMSA will have the remaining majority stake. It started off with an initial investment of $50 million and two Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
airliners bearing its vivid green and red dots logo. The airline has served 1.3 million passengers in its first year of operations and anticipates handling 2.4 million passengers in 2008.
VivaAerobus fares were intended to undercut traditional Mexican carriers by up to 50 percent, in a change of the industry that started with the arrival of the country's first low-cost airlines (Avolar
Avolar
Avolar Aerolíneas, S.A. de C.V. was a low-cost airline based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, with corporate offices in Tijuana. The airline operated a domestic network of 17 cities as of November 2007. Avolar's main base was located at the sole large-hangar facility at the General Abelardo L...
, Click Mexicana
Click Mexicana
MexicanaClick, formerly Click Mexicana, was Mexicana's regional operator, serving most of Mexicana's domestic routes between more than 25 Mexican cities. It was founded as a low-cost carrier, but changed its market to regional operations after its acquisition by Mexicana...
, Interjet
Interjet
ABC Aerolíneas, S.A. de C.V., operating as Interjet, is a low-cost airline with its headquarters in Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico. The airline operates scheduled flights to 24 domestic and 3 international destinations out of Toluca Airport and Mexico City International...
, Volaris
Volaris
Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A. de C.V., operating as Volaris, is a low-cost airline from Mexico, and the country's second largest airline after Aeroméxico, thus being a leading competitor in the Mexican domestic market, with a market share of around 13-14% of domestic...
) and the privatization of Mexicana
Mexicana de Aviación
Founded in 1921, Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, S.A. de C.V. was Mexico's oldest airline, before ceasing operations on August 28, 2010. The group's closure was announced by the company's recently installed management team a short time after the group filed for Concurso Mercantil and US Chapter 15...
, one of the two top local airlines. On November 5, 2007 the airline received approval from the US Department of Transportation to operate to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a mixed-use commercial airport located southeast of the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. It covers and has two runways and three helipads.The airport began passenger service on May 23, 1999...
, initially serving the Mexican destinations of Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
, Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
and León
León, Guanajuato
The city of León, formally León de los Aldama is the sixth most populous city in Mexico and the first in the state of Guanajuato. It is also the seat of the municipality of León...
. Flights to the South Terminal Austin began on May 1, 2008.
On May 16, 2009, VivaAerobus stated it would cease passenger operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on May 31, 2009. The airline blamed the pullout in part on the outbreak of the swine flu, which caused an unprecedented decrease in demand for service. The company began to fly between Monterrey and Las Vegas since summer of 2009.
In November 2009, the airline announced that they have applied to commence operations between Hermosillo
Hermosillo
Hermosillo is a city and municipality located centrally in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the capital and main economic center for the state and region. It contains almost all of the state's manufacturing and has thirty percent of its population...
and Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
beginning in March 2010.
In April 2010, the airline finally arrived to Mexico's capital with two flights one from Monterrey and the other from Guadalajara. They also started serving Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59...
(IAH).
In September 2010, the airline will serve a focus city at Mexico City International Airport
Mexico City International Airport
Benito Juárez International Airport , in Venustiano Carranza, one of the sixteen boroughs into which Mexico's Federal District is divided, is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico...
on October 1 after Mexicana ceased operations. It will offer 6 more flights making Mexico City a focus city.
VivaAerobus will switch Mexico City focus city into a hub on April 1, 2011, beginning more destinations.
On July 26, 2011, the airline got approval to fly to Chicago-Midway International Airport.
On August 15, 2011 VivaAerobus announced it will begin round-trip service between San Antonio (SAT) and Monterrey (MTY), Mexico starting in November 2011. The new non-stop service to and from SAT and MTY will begin with three flights per week.
In-flight services
VivaAerobus has a buy on boardBuy on board
In commercial flight, buy on board is a system where food or beverages are paid for on board; often food or beverages are not included in the ticket price for certain fare classes....
program offering food and drinks for purchase.
The airline also gives the passengers some reading entertainment by providing at no cost Enviva Magazine.
Bus services
VivaAerobus operates a shuttle bus from downtown El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
to Abraham González International Airport
Abraham González International Airport
Abraham González International Airport is an international airport located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, near the U.S.-Mexico border opposite with El Paso, Texas. It accommodates national and international air traffic of the city of Ciudad Juárez...
in Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
.
VivaAerobus operated a bus shuttle between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a mixed-use commercial airport located southeast of the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. It covers and has two runways and three helipads.The airport began passenger service on May 23, 1999...
South Terminal and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in eastern Houston in addition to a bus shuttle between the Austin airport and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in downtown San Antonio for passengers on flights going to and from Cancún and Monterrey.
Fleet
The Viva Aerobus fleet consists of the following aircraft, with an average age of 22.4 years (as of October 2011).| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Options | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 149 |
| Total | 17 | 3 | 0 |