Volaris
Encyclopedia
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 traffic.
Volaris' headquarters are located in Santa Fe
, Álvaro Obregón
, Mexico City
, and its operational base is located at the Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport
(TLC) in Toluca
.
s of the company were Grupo Televisa (the world's biggest Spanish language media conglomerate), Inbursa
(an insurance company owned by billionaire Carlos Slim), TACA
and the Discovery Americas Fund. Each of these partners invested 25% of the initial cost of activities, or 100 million USD
. On July 2010, it was announced that Televisa and Inbursa had sold their stake in Volaris leaving the ownership of Volaris as follows: TACA with Roberto and Maria Cristina Kriete (50%), Investment fund Discovery Americas (over 25%) and Indigo Partners: Fund led by former America West CEO B. Franke. Ticket sale started on January 12, 2006, and the first (non-commercial) flight was operated in February 2006, following the delivery of the airline's first aircraft. Scheduled revenue flights were launched on March 13, 2006, with the inaugural flight having been operated from Toluca
to Tijuana
.
The airline has been received well on a number of areas including fares, fleet, service and on time service. However, if a flight is delayed for more than 30 minutes, passengers are given free, transferable tickets for use on any destination on their next purchase. If check-in lasts more than 10 minutes after passing the waiting line, passengers are given a discount coupon for their next purchase.
Initially, the airline avoided flying to Mexico City
because of its congested and expensive airport. The airline took over several slots formerly owned by defunct Mexicana
and its subsidiaries MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink
, establishing service in September 2010.
On February 20, 2011, the airline celebrated its fifth anniversary.
On March 8, 2011, Volaris announced that its hub in Toluca will move to Guadalajara.
.
In April 2009, Volaris announced the start of US-bound flights out of Toluca and Guadalajara (initially to Los Angeles
and Oakland) to feed into the hubs
of Southwest Airlines. Later on, US-flights were also offered from Zacatecas
and Morelia
, with Monterrey
-Los Angeles (and further routes, especially to Fresno Yosemite International Airport
) in planning.
On December 13, 2010, Volaris started services to Chicago Midway International Airport to Guadalajara. It is Volaris fourth international destination, first international service to a secondary airport and the longest route of Volaris' history. After Mexicana
's close-down, Volaris will take over many Mexicana international destinations and fly from its focus city
, Guadalajara
.
On February 25, 2011, it has announced that Volaris will acquire Mexicana de Aviacion
's destination, Fresno Yosemite International Airport
and will begin on April 14, 2011. Fresno will be Volaris' first destination to fly without partnering with Southwest Airlines
. As of February 28, 2011, the airline is slated to serve an American gateway hub at Guadalajara International Airport in late 2011.
Volaris has received permission to fly between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Mexico City, along with a number of other U.S.-Mexico routes. Volaris sought the permission Feb. 3, and the U.S. Department of Transportation gave its approval on February 11. For the most part, Volaris hasn't disclosed when it might begin service on the DFW-Mexico City route. For that matter, it revealed its plans on only a few routes. The applications are of interest to Southwest Airlines
because Volaris and Southwest began offering connections between their flights at 19 western cities in December. The new Volaris routes to and from Los Angeles International Airport
, Sacramento International Airport
, Oakland International Airport
and San Jose International Airport
will offer Southwest customers new places in Mexico that can be served through the Volaris alliance.
Volaris received approval to fly to San Diego International Airport on July 12.
As of June 2011, the Volaris fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 4.3 years:
Volaris selected the International Aero Engines V2500
engines for its Airbus fleet, similar to those selected by TACA
.
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and the country's second largest airline after Aeroméxico
Aeroméxico
Airways of Mexico, SA de CV , operating as Aeroméxico, is the flag carrier airline of Mexico based in Colonia Cuauhtémoc, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. It operates scheduled domestic and international services to North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia...
, thus being a leading competitor in the Mexican domestic market, with a market share of around 13-14% of domestic traffic.
Volaris' headquarters are located in Santa Fe
Santa Fe (Mexico City)
thumb|400px|Panoramic view of Santa Fethumb|200px|Carlos Lazo AveSanta Fe or City Santa Fe is one of Mexico City's major business districts, located in the west part of the city in the delegaciones of Cuajimalpa and Álvaro Obregón. Paseo de la Reforma and Constituyentes are the primary means of...
, Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón, D.F.
Álvaro Obregón is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It contains a large portion of the south-west part of Mexico City. It had a 2010 census population of 727,034 inhabitants and lies at an elevation of 2,319 m...
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, and its operational base is located at the Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport
Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport
Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport is an international airport located at Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico. It is part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Airport Group, and it's being improved and promoted to handle some traffic for the city of Toluca, but it mainly serves as a...
(TLC) in Toluca
Toluca
Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...
.
History
The pre-operations phase (founding of the legal entities and setting up of the required infrastructure) started in August 2005 under the name Vuela Airlines. Major initial shareholderShareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
s of the company were Grupo Televisa (the world's biggest Spanish language media conglomerate), Inbursa
Inbursa
Inbursa is a financial company through its subsidiaries, provides banking and related services in Mexico. The company operates business lines in investment funds, general insurance, automobile insurance, mortgates, health insurance, retirement funds and commercial banking.The company has 96...
(an insurance company owned by billionaire Carlos Slim), TACA
TACA
TACA may refer to:* TACA Airlines, a group of five Central American airlines* Talk About Curing Autism* Turkish American Cultural Alliance...
and the Discovery Americas Fund. Each of these partners invested 25% of the initial cost of activities, or 100 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. On July 2010, it was announced that Televisa and Inbursa had sold their stake in Volaris leaving the ownership of Volaris as follows: TACA with Roberto and Maria Cristina Kriete (50%), Investment fund Discovery Americas (over 25%) and Indigo Partners: Fund led by former America West CEO B. Franke. Ticket sale started on January 12, 2006, and the first (non-commercial) flight was operated in February 2006, following the delivery of the airline's first aircraft. Scheduled revenue flights were launched on March 13, 2006, with the inaugural flight having been operated from Toluca
Toluca
Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...
to Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
.
The airline has been received well on a number of areas including fares, fleet, service and on time service. However, if a flight is delayed for more than 30 minutes, passengers are given free, transferable tickets for use on any destination on their next purchase. If check-in lasts more than 10 minutes after passing the waiting line, passengers are given a discount coupon for their next purchase.
Initially, the airline avoided flying to Mexico City
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...
because of its congested and expensive airport. The airline took over several slots formerly owned by defunct 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...
and its subsidiaries MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink
MexicanaLink
MexicanaLink, a subsidiary of Mexicana, was a regional airline based in Guadalajara International Airport that operated as a feeder airline for both Mexicana and MexicanaClick. It operated into markets that were considered too thin to justify the use of larger aircraft...
, establishing service in September 2010.
On February 20, 2011, the airline celebrated its fifth anniversary.
On March 8, 2011, Volaris announced that its hub in Toluca will move to Guadalajara.
US operations
In November 2008, Volaris announced a codeshare agreement with US-based low-cost carrier Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
.
In April 2009, Volaris announced the start of US-bound flights out of Toluca and Guadalajara (initially to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Oakland) to feed into the hubs
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
of Southwest Airlines. Later on, US-flights were also offered from Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
and Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
, with 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...
-Los Angeles (and further routes, especially to Fresno Yosemite International Airport
Fresno Yosemite International Airport
Fresno Yosemite International Airport , formerly known as Fresno Air Terminal, is a joint civil-military public airport located in eastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California. The airport is more than south of Yosemite National Park on California State Route 41. The airport covers and has two...
) in planning.
On December 13, 2010, Volaris started services to Chicago Midway International Airport to Guadalajara. It is Volaris fourth international destination, first international service to a secondary airport and the longest route of Volaris' history. After 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...
's close-down, Volaris will take over many Mexicana international destinations and fly from its focus city
Focus city
In the airline industry, a focus city is a location that is not a hub, but from which the airline has non-stop flights to several destinations other than its hubs...
, Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
.
On February 25, 2011, it has announced that Volaris will acquire Mexicana de Aviacion
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...
's destination, Fresno Yosemite International Airport
Fresno Yosemite International Airport
Fresno Yosemite International Airport , formerly known as Fresno Air Terminal, is a joint civil-military public airport located in eastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California. The airport is more than south of Yosemite National Park on California State Route 41. The airport covers and has two...
and will begin on April 14, 2011. Fresno will be Volaris' first destination to fly without partnering with Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
. As of February 28, 2011, the airline is slated to serve an American gateway hub at Guadalajara International Airport in late 2011.
Volaris has received permission to fly between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Mexico City, along with a number of other U.S.-Mexico routes. Volaris sought the permission Feb. 3, and the U.S. Department of Transportation gave its approval on February 11. For the most part, Volaris hasn't disclosed when it might begin service on the DFW-Mexico City route. For that matter, it revealed its plans on only a few routes. The applications are of interest to Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
because Volaris and Southwest began offering connections between their flights at 19 western cities in December. The new Volaris routes to and from Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, Sacramento International Airport
Sacramento International Airport
Sacramento International Airport is a public airport located 10 miles northwest of the central business district of Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California, USA. It is run by Sacramento County...
, Oakland International Airport
Oakland International Airport
Oakland International Airport , also known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, is a public airport located south of the central business district of Oakland, a city in Alameda County, California, United States...
and San Jose International Airport
San Jose International Airport
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is a city-owned public-use airport serving the city of San Jose in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is named for San Jose native Norman Yoshio Mineta, who was Transportation Secretary in the Cabinet of George W...
will offer Southwest customers new places in Mexico that can be served through the Volaris alliance.
Volaris received approval to fly to San Diego International Airport on July 12.
Destinations
Volaris serves 24 domestic destinations and as well 7 international destinations.Codeshare agreements
Volaris currently has a codeshare agreement with: Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
Fleet
| Type | In Service | Orders | Passengers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319 | ||||||
| Airbus A320-200 | ||||||
| A320neo Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001... |
TBA | |||||
| Total | 33 | 67 | ||||
Volaris selected the International Aero Engines V2500
International Aero Engines V2500
The IAE V2500 is a two-shaft high-bypass turbofan engine which powers the Airbus A320 family , and the McDonnell Douglas MD-90. International Aero Engines is a consortium backed by four aero-engine manufacturers, formed in 1983 to produce the engine...
engines for its Airbus fleet, similar to those selected by TACA
Grupo TACA
TACA is the trade name "brand" comprising a group of five independently IATA-coded and -owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other independently owned and IATA-coded regional airlines which code-share and feed the TACA brand system...
.