Mexican Aviation

Mexican Airbus A320-232 with Star Alliance (F-OHMH) library at Mexico City International Airport.

The Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, S. A. B. de C. V., commonly called Mexicana de Aviación or simply Mexicana, was a Mexican airline. Founded in 1921, it was the oldest airline in Mexico and the third oldest airline in the world.^{[citation needed]} Since its purchase in 1980, it was a majority state-owned company.

On August 28, 2010, it declared bankruptcy, that is, its operations were suspended to continue with a judicial process; finally, the magistrate in charge of the process declared the bankruptcy of the company, as well as the affiliated companies Click and Link on April 4, 2014, which ended the process. In 2022, elements of the Mexican Army and the Navy, evacuated what were once the Mexicana facilities at the Mexico City International Airport. Since its purchase in January 2023, it is a company under the command of the federal government. It is expected to restart operations at the end of that year.

It had its main offices in the old Mexican Aviation Tower (today AXA Mexico Tower), in Colonia del Valle, Benito Juárez, CDMX. It operated flights within Mexico and to North, Central and South America, as well from the Caribbean and Europe (specifically, to Spain and the United Kingdom). Its main center of operations was the Mexico City International Airport, where it shared operations with the Guadalajara International Airport, and with significant movement at the General Francisco J. Múgica International Airport in Morelia.

History

Former Mexican Aviation Tower, originally airline headquarters, now occupied by Axa Seguros

A Mexican Airbus A319 landing at Vancouver International Airport

Airbus A330 de Mexicana (retired in 2010) at Cancun International Airport with its new image

It was created in 1921 as a mail and passenger transport airline, whose creators were Lody A. Winship, Elmer Hammond and Harry Lawson, not to mention Ignacio S. Szymanski, one of their great collaborators. His first plane was a Lincoln Standard from the Nebraska Aircraft Co., whose route was Mexico City-Tuxpan-Tampico. Some time later, Charles Lindbergh himself was very present in the company, made its flights and participated in its structuring. Mexicana was part of the Pan Am consortium around 1940, and in the 1960s the engineer Crescencio Ballesteros Ibarra, Don Manuel Sosa de la Vega and national investors achieved for the first time in the history of Mexicana that all its capital was Mexican; In the 1970s it was known as the miraculous airline for its extraordinary results, increased revenue and passengers in a difficult time and world crisis, due to the increase in oil prices. In the 1980s it was nationalized by the federal government, which put it next to Aeroméxico, who was its eternal competitor, and in the 1990s under the command of Cintra. Since December 2005 it belonged to Grupo Posadas.

It was the third oldest airline in the world after KLM and Avianca: since it can be considered that the Australian Qantas was founded on November 16, 1920, before Mexicana, but changed its name to Qantas in 1934. With Mexicana Little by little, Mexico entered the new aeronautical technology; for example, the entry into service of four-engines such as the Douglas DC-6 and Douglas DC-7, and later, with the arrival of the jet age, Mexicana introduced the De Havilland Comet, the DC-10, B-727 in addition to a Douglas DC-8 for cargo service.

It was the second oldest airline in Latin America (after Avianca, which is the first in America and the second in the world to be founded). To celebrate its 85th anniversary, the publication of a book with historical, newspaper and photographic content began, which narrates the history of this company in great detail.

A large part of its domestic routes were operated with its low-cost airline Click, formerly known as Aerovías Caribe, a legal name it maintained until it ceased operations in 2010, which allowed it to restructure its international routes with the largest and most advanced fleet.

Mexico

On July 12, 1921, the Compañía Mexicana de Transportación Aéreo (CMTA) was founded in Mexico City. It began its operations with four open-cockpit Lincoln Standard aircraft, capable of transporting a passenger and 50 kilos of luggage and mail at the then incredible speed of 95 kilometers per hour. In their second year of operations they had logged 1,956 flight hours, with 10 Lincoln Standard biplanes, a number of hours that currently accumulate in less than five days.

On August 20, 1924, in Tampico, Americans George L. Rihl, William Mallory, R. G. Piper and Carl V. Schlaet founded Compañía Mexicana de Aviación S.A. (CMA). Under the new administration, the company's operations were diversified, in addition to the "taxi" service, services were provided to anyone who could pay for a plane ticket.

In 1926, totally innovative services were introduced: airmail and photography. In 1928, flights to Mérida, one of the cradle cities of Mexican aviation, began operations.

On January 23, 1929, the sale of all the shares of the CMA to Pan Am was completed, and that same year the route to Villahermosa began to operate. The union of both companies favored its growth and the internationalization of CMA. The CMA inaugurated the international route Mexico-Tuxpan-Tampico-Brownsville, with the first of five Ford Trimotor aircraft, then recently acquired and named "Mexico". With these teams, the mass transfer service was introduced, since it had capacity for a flight attendant and 13 passengers.

1930s

Mexicana became the first international airline to link two foreign destinations: Brownsville and Guatemala. The route covered the scales of Veracruz, Minatitlán, Ixtepec and Tapachula, to continue to Guatemala City.

The CMA had, in addition to the Ford Trimotors, 8 Fairchild FC2, 3 Fokker F10, 1 Keystone K-78 Patrician and 2 Stearman, which were used especially for the transfer of mail and training for pilots.

During the 1930s, services would be implemented to the capitals of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Cuba and Los Angeles, California, which it arrived as the first and only foreign airline.

1940s

During this decade, the Mexico-Monterrey service was inaugurated, with Douglas DC-2 aircraft, which were also used in the extension to Nuevo Laredo. An aircraft that would become a legend was incorporated: the twin-engine Douglas DC-3, which brought together the most advanced safety features such as autopilot, as well as luxury and comfort for passengers.

1950s

The All Paid Tours are born, immediate antecedent of the VTP's, packages that included air transportation, lodging in first-class hotels, food, land transfers and, many times, visits to places of tourist interest. The first tours in different plans were to Veracruz, Oaxaca, Mérida and Puerto Vallarta.

In 1955, the School for Flight Attendants of the Compañía Mexicana de Aviación was inaugurated.

1960s

On July 4, 1960, with one of the three De Havilland Comet 4C aircraft purchased in England, the CMA inaugurated the jet age in Mexico and the American continent, with a flight between the Mexican capital and Los Angeles. Months later it introduced the Sud Aviation Caravelle from France for shorter flights. In this decade it would face competition from national and foreign airlines, and a difficult economic situation that was about to lead it to bankruptcy in 1967.

The drastic change made in his administration (including the arrival of Mr. Manuel Sosa de la Vega as general director) and his team of collaborators committed to the project, but fundamentally the support of all the workers by not receiving a salary increase or benefits for some time in order to capitalize the company, as well as new business strategies, made the survival of the company possible. From that moment on and in the 1970s, Mexicana was known as the miracle airline, for having obtained profits for 10 consecutive years.

Don Carlos Roca Belmont and Don Manuel Sosa de la Vega.

1970s

Its new Flight Simulators Center was inaugurated, equipped with the simulator for Boeing 727 aircraft. In that year the Efficiency Contest award was instituted, and it was the Mérida station that would win it three consecutive times. In order to win this trophy, it was necessary to increase income, passengers, cargo, quality of service, among others. It was Mr. Carlos Roca Belmont (regional manager of Mexicana) who received this recognition from the company's general director, Mr. Manuel Sosa de la Vega, who recognized him as the absolute monarch of Mexicana de Aviación. This trophy consists of a replica of the Boeing 727-200 in bronze, and weighs 7 kilograms. Later, he stayed at the Mérida station permanently.

In 1974 the company Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in an unprecedented event, delivered for the first time in its history 3 Boeing 727 planes simultaneously to Mexicana de Aviación.

The first female pilot joins a commercial airline in Mexico, Conchita Ivonne Barnard Ruiz; the following year Elena Folch joined, and in 1976, they would be part of the same crew, on a flight Mexico-Mérida-San Juan P.R. aboard the Boeing 727-100, XA-TUY.

In January 1979, the Mexico Maintenance Base was inaugurated, which became the largest in Latin America, consisting of a hangar with the capacity to house three Boeing 727 aircraft and also to offer service within the same hangar to Boeing aircraft 747 and DC-10-15. It also had a platform with capacity for 22 aircraft, as well as buildings and facilities for offices, workshops and complementary services.

It should be noted that in the 1970s and later, Mexicana was the largest operator of Boeing 727 aircraft outside the United States until May 31, 2003, when these aircraft were withdrawn from service.

During this time, Mexicana expanded its horizons by covering a large part of the national territory in cities such as Tijuana, led by Sergio Nayar Morales as regional manager; Until then, the only airline in that city had been Aeroméxico, and then members of the aviation union emigrated; Pascual Barona Guerrero was the company's first ground worker.

1980s

A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 series 15 was added to the fleet, with a capacity for 315 passengers.

In 1982, the Federal Government acquired 54 percent of the company's shares, and began an era of operations with mixed capital.

1990s

This decade began the true decline of what became the most important airline in Latin America. The government sells its majority stake and Don Manuel Sosa de la Vega, who had managed to present positive numbers for a company that was considered lost, is removed from his position. At the beginning of the 1990s, with the formation of Grupo Falcon, Mexicana returned to the hands of the private sector. Upon the arrival of Mr. Ricardo García Sanz, appointed by the new owners as the new CEO, many changes took place in the most strategic areas of the company. People without knowledge of what an airline was made many changes that threatened the company itself. The distinctive international service of Mexicana, which offered complimentary hot meals, champagne and fine wines, was replaced by the standard service of the rest of the airlines, passengers resented this measure and diversified their preferences towards other lines.

The huge company-owned fleet of DC-10s and Boeing 727-200s was replaced with rented equipment. Between 1991 and 1993, new technology in air navigation equipment was introduced with the arrival of the European-made Airbus A320 aircraft and the Dutch-made Fokker 100. In the mid-1990s, it launched its website and integrated the first Boeing 757 aircraft into its fleet, formalized its alliance with United Airlines and began codeshare flights. Business Class service is established and codeshare flights with Lufthansa begin to operate. The Airbus A320 simulator comes into operation, the first of its kind in Latin America, which meets the certification requirements and standards, under a team of qualified and recognized Airbus Instructor-Advisors. The Mexicana Maintenance Base receives JAR-145 certification from the Joint Aviation Authorities, as a worldwide authorized workshop to provide maintenance services to European registration equipment.

The two main Mexican airlines (Aeroméxico and Mexicana) joined Aero Perú to form a group called Alas de América, from which, shortly after, the South American airline would separate. Business costs began to be paid. A synergy was sought in certain areas that, for Mexicana de Aviación, were more detrimental than beneficial. A great example of this was the disappearance of the Aerovías University, belonging to Aeroméxico, which became a Training Center that, for Mexicana, was more onerous and incongruous than its own Training Center. Some of its instructors, who were supposed to instruct Mexicana workers, were people who had been fired from the company.

Over the years, the once great airline company gradually declined. The result cannot lie. Years of prosperity under the wise direction of Don Manuel Sosa de la Vega, and the painful subsequent administrations that did not know how to maintain what they had inherited.

New millennium

• 2000 - Mexicana joins Star Alliance.
• 2002 - It concludes the first phase of substitution of the fleet. Mexicana receives the distinctive Socially Responsible Company granted by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI)
• 2003 - Mexican removes the Boeing-727. On November 13, in Frankfurt, Germany, it was agreed to stop belonging to the Star Alliance. On February 18, Mexico starts operations in a code shared with Copa Airlines. The Federal Environmental Protection Office (PROFEPA) granted the Environmental Compliance Certificate. It becomes the first airline to provide flights to Buenos Aires, Argentina without stopovers (after Argentine Airlines). For the second consecutive year Mexicana receives the distinctive of Socially Responsible Company.
• 2004 - In January, CEMEFI delivered to Mexicana for the third consecutive year the socially responsible company. The most modern fleet in the world announces the replacement of its Fokker 100 aircraft by Airbus A318. Mexicana signs bilateral agreements with American Airlines and Iberia LAE.
• 2005 - Starting in January the counters are operational express. Mexicana becomes the first Mexican airline to issue E-TKT or Electronic Ticket. It also introduces the concept Ticketless, which consists in the realization of the process of booking, buying and acquiring the pass to board automatically without having to go to counters.
• 2006 and 2007 - Agreements were made with 3 of its 4 trade unions and their trusted workers, on the premise of reducing their costs over the next three years by more than $1.6 billion, which would be used to buy 40 aircraft. This wage reduction amount represented approximately 35 per cent less in pay and benefits
• 2007 - Mexicana joins Oneworld.
• 2009 - Mexicana enters de facto as a member of the Oneworld airline on November 10 of this year.
• 2009 - In October due to the economic crisis and the influenza, Mexicana requested a loan of 1,000 million pesos and left nine A-320 planes and a land worth 60 million pesos.
• 2010 - Mexicana enters a new era of services with Easy Fly, a concept that allows its passengers to access mobile technology being the first airline in Mexico that provides their customers the possibility to receive on their smartphones the passes to board to enter the rooms and board the plane, only showing the mobile device. Alerts are received via SMS messages informing about boarding doors, boarding start, baggage belts and changes to bookings, among others. This same year it incorporates to its fleet the Airbus A330-200 to cover the route to Madrid.
• 2010 - Mexicana de Aviación suspends operations to enter the Commercial Contest
• 2011 - Tenedora K acquires 95% of Mexican actions.
• 2011 - Tenedora K does not agree with the workers, and the Mercantile Contest for new investors is reopened.
• 2011 - Mexicana hopes again to resume operations.
• 2012 - Med Atlántic starts trying to transfer actions to Mexicana.
• 2012 - Mexicana would resume operations this year.
• 2012 - Med Atlántic departs from the commercial competition of Mexicana de Aviación.

Suspension of operations and bankruptcy

Airbus A330 by Mexicana de Aviación.

In 2010, Compañía Mexicana de Aviación was in a latent and virtual financial bankruptcy, for which reason it had to resort to a commercial bankruptcy to financially or administratively restructure its obligations towards creditors and maintain its relations and operations and adapt In addition, the labor costs to the "industry standards", since the board of directors of Mexicana considered that they are higher than those of counterpart companies abroad, the latter due to inertia of various kinds when the The company was a parastatal, so it proposed a negotiation with the union of pilots and flight attendants to reduce salaries and cut personnel. The union offered the reduction of a workforce of 1,500 ground workers as an alternative in what would be the salvation of the airline.

Boeing 767 covered routes to London, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.

On the other hand, the union of pilots and flight attendants assured that the proposals to take it to bankruptcy were unfeasible and would put the operations and security of the air service at risk, expressing in a demonstration inside the facilities of the capital airport, for which, in a letter to the President of the Republic, the general secretary of the union answers to the airline authorities that the current situation of the company was due to the failed administration of Gastón Azcárraga and that since 2005, when the government sold Mexicana de Aviación to Grupo Posadas for 165 million dollars, the necessary investments were not made by the owner of the company, which caused its debt to amount to 796 million dollars. In addition, it is indicated that their labor conditions and costs are similar to those abroad. Mexicana de Aviación reported that it suspended its ticket sales indefinitely, and also put online the website Mexicana infor ma to inform about the destination of the airline to its customers, and other related data.

Federal representatives and the federal government itself rejected the possibility that the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit "rescue" to Mexicana de Aviación and resume control of the airline, since they considered it unfeasible to retake it and assume the high costs and exorbitant liabilities of the company, in addition to not being able to intervene in a conflict involving a private company. At most, they could offer to mediate between the parties to move the conflict forward.

Finally, after several attempts to stabilize the company's finances, the airline Mexicana de Aviación announced the total and indefinite suspension of operations on August 27, 2010, effective Saturday August 28 (the day after the announcement) at 12:00 noon (UTC-5). This was done in order to continue with the bankruptcy.

After the suspension of its air operations to continue with the judicial process and having not achieved what was necessary to end it, on April 4, 2014, Judge Edith Alarcón, who was investigating the process, declared the bankruptcy of the company, as well as its affiliated companies.

Mexicana's last flight was on August 28, 2010 from CDMX to Toronto, Canada on flight MX 866 at 04:15 p.m. m.

Events in bankruptcy

Year 2010

• January. The federal government promotes a merger between Mexicana de Aviación and Aeroméxico to have a flag line in the country, which was rejected by the entrepreneurs.
• May. The National Bank for Foreign Trade (Bancomext) refuses to be avalent for Grupo Posadas to place a bond for $2500,000.
• Julio. Surcharges and pilots disclose the company's decision to modify collective employment contracts or sell the company to a weight.
• August 2. It was presented to the District Court XI of Mexico City request for commercial competition in order to restructure its costs and ensure the viability of the company.
• August 8th. IATA withdrew the ticket marketing code to Mexicana, so the company was forced to suspend its sale.
• August 9th. It reports that flights will gradually decrease, so it announces changes and cancellations on its routes, in addition to the suspension of the payroll of more than 8000 workers in the group.
• August 10. Grupo Mexicana agrees to accept workers as shareholders of the entire holding, amen to inject fresh resources from the order of $150,000.000.
• Mexicana de Aviación enters into a commercial contest, in order to acquire a new investor and resume operations.
• The sale of the Mexican Tower causes controversy, since it was accused of selling it at a lower price than the one assessed.
• PC Capital, Tenedora K and other groups compete in the purchase of Mexicana.
• Grupo Posadas sells its shares to Tenedora K, group formed by Grupo Industrial Omega and Grupo Arizan for a symbolic value of $1000 Mexican pesos, approximately $70 US.
• August 20. Tenedora K acquires 95% of the actions of Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico and sets an eight-day period to report on the possibility of the rescue of the airline for the short term, the remaining 5% shares belong to the Association of Aviation Pilots of Mexico (Asociación Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de MéxicoIVAASPA).
• Tenedora K Group injects $10,000.000 to the firm for 10 days, but failed to support the company's debts.
• Mexicana de Aviación decides to interrupt the operations on August 28, 2010 and concludes operations at 12:00 p. m. (time of the center of Mexico) of Mexicana, as well as of Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link, with the argument that no agreement was reached that could keep the operating costs.
• Shortly after Grupo Posadas reported on the financial deterioration and "imminent" bankruptcy of Mexicana de Aviación; groups of workers, such as ASPA, led by Fernando Perfect, and ASSA, led by Lizette Clavel, requested the Mexican magnate Carlos Slim Helú to buy the company; these petitions were added several deputies, as well as the secretary general of the Telefonistas de la República Mexicana (STRM) Later, the press questioned Carlos Slim if he wanted to access this request and analyze the company's purchase, but the Mexican magnate considered that "the airline must have declared itself suspended and not suspended from flights." Carlos Slim, president of the Carso Group, dismissed that any of his companies have an interest in investing in Mexicana de Aviación, in order to rescue the airline and that it restarted its operations.

Year 2011

• Many groups show interest in buying Mexicana, including PC Capital, who previously competed in the commercial competition against Tenedora K, owner of the airline.
• TG Group, PC Capital for the second time and BMC Financial mainly compete for the actions Tenedora K offers for sale.
• American Airlines announces its interest in acquiring Mexicana.
• PC Capital is positioned as an investor potential, initiate legal proceedings.
• The group of PC Capital investors seeking to capitalize on Mexicana de Aviación reached an agreement with the National Union of Transport, Transformation, Aviation, Services and Similar Workers (SNTTTASS) for the establishment of a new collective contract of work, according to which the airline will "resurrect".
• After a long time spent on the purchase of Mexicana by PC Capital, Tenedora K reported that the group did not credit the transfer of 95% of the actions of NGA; the firm will reopen the process for another interested investor to acquire the airline.
• The case of PC Capital creates great controversy in all media, the exemployees legally denounce it and accuse it of "fraud"; even economists create the so-called "CP Capital Syndrome" for this process.
• The District Justice of the District District on Civil Matters, Felipe Consuelo Soto, in charge of the commercial contest, gives even more time for an agreement to be reached.
• New stakeholders are listed: Med Atlantic, Ahcore Intl, Logistics International, Value Growers, Avanza Capital, Iván Barona, Altus Prot.
• Mexicana imposes the plan "PC Capital". The federal government, the company and the workers agree to use the Plan that PC Capital, which had been presented for the next investors to realize the acquisition.
• Med Atlantic appears as a potential buyer of Mexicana de Aviación.
• Last minute Med Atlantic does not confirm the resources, similar to what happened with PC Capital.
• Ivan Barona heads the list of investors to the purchase.
• The businessman Iván Barona presented to the judge who carries the Mexicana de Aviación commercial contest the documents that endorse the promised capital to invest in the airline.
• Barona, chief interested in acquiring the airline, committed to delivering $400,000.000 to demonstrate its solvency and advance the purchasing process.
• Ivan Barona states that "Mexicana is rescued and will fly in December."
• On November 11, 2011 Ivan Barona gives the guarantee of $1 million and the restructuring process begins.
• Iván Barona exhibits resources for the rescue of Mexicana; it is missing to validate them.
• The Mexican conciliator, Gerardo Badín, meets with Mexican trade union leaders to inform them in private about the case Iván Barona.
• Gerardo Badín reports that there has been a failure to acquire the airline by Barona, as the one mentioned ended his relationship with his anchorman Mikhael Shamis "because there are no conditions required to invest in the Iván Barona project." For the third time the recapitalization of Mexicana de Aviación is not concrete after the attempts with PC Capital and Med Atlantic.
• Union Swiss Mexico, via Twitter, warns its followers:

"Better get on this plane and go on a long journey to success #mexicana will be the 1st and always the 1st. Let's go together!"

Union Swiss Mexico

Message confirming his position in the Mexicana rescue process.

• The judge in charge of the contest, seeing the panorama, once again decides to extend the process by 10 February 2012, without further opportunities.

Year 2012

• From the first days of the year, a company's atonement decided to strike a hunger strike, to request support from the Union Congress. Days later, even when the government was not going to rescue the airline, it was decided to create a group of investigators of the case.
• Before the end of January, less than 15 days after the process ended, Med Atlantic returned to the commercial contest, but now showed that he has $300 million for a part of the airline rescue. With this panorama, and if the Secretariat of Communications and Transport gives a good view of the resources, it was stipulated that Mexicana could restart operations in March 2012.
• On 9 February, when the judge saw that the SCT does not have documents that endorse the capital, he decided to extend the extension for an indefinite period, although Med Atlantic remains interested in the rescue.
• The SCT reported on 14 February, due to a request from the judge in charge, that the rights of Mexicana de Aviación, in terms of their routes and schedules of takeoff at airports, are safeguarded; that is, as soon as Mexicana returns, the airlines operating the routes and schedules used by Mexicana will return them.
• On 24 February Med Atlantic demonstrated economic solvency and that the resources are of legal origin to restart operations, so from this date the SCT will initiate investigations to grant the air certificate.
• During April Med Atlantic tried to hand over the agreed actions to Tenedora K, however on several occasions the transaction was not completed, so at the end of this month they agreed to carry out the transfer on 2 May for $9,000.000 USD.
• Finally, on May 11, Med Atlantic signed the transfer of shares to Tenedora K without any economic agreement, only via fiduciaria. From this date, the final part of the commercial contest begins, consisting of debt settlements and legal re-entry procedures before the SCT and the judge in charge.
• Med Atlantic departs from the Mexicana de Aviación commercial contest.
• In August 2012, Judge Felipe Consuelo Soto was removed from the Mexican case by the Council of the Federal Judiciary, leaving the judge Edith Encarnación Alarcón Meixueiro.

Year 2014

• The commercial contest and the judge Edith Alarcón, declares the bankruptcy of the company, as well as its affiliates.

Year 2015

• Mexican Aviation Case Judge suspends bankruptcy so the airline can look for an investor interested in reviving the company^{[chuckles]required]}.

Year 2016

• On Wednesday, April 13, Judge Horacio Ruiz Palma ordered the realization of a public auction of the goods of Mexicana de Aviación, declared bankrupt, this with the aim of preventing such assets from further devaluing due to their deterioration.
  This auction was held in the Former Airline Loading Terminal, in the Venustiano Carranza Delegation of Mexico City from 28 to 30 April. Among the assets to top the best bidder were works of art, furniture and office equipment, tools, uniforms, computing equipment, photocopiers, and promotional items, among other things.

Catalogue of Mexicana de Aviación goods that will be auctioned from April 28 to 30 in Mexico City.

Year 2017

• In the framework of the II Aerospace Fair, the sale of its main asset has been announced the M.R.O. itself that will take place next year in anticipation of an offer with solid resources.

• The Council of the Federal Judiciary suspends functions of Judge Felipe Consuelo Soto for irregularities in the processes of commercial competitions of Mexicana de Aviación and of the shipping company Oceanografia

Year 2018

• 13 December 2018: The President of the Mexican Aviation Delegation to the Association of Aviation Pilots of Mexico (ASPA), Rafael Gutiérrez Barajas will propose in January 2021, to the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and to the Secretary of Communications and Transport, Javier Jiménez Espriu, to rescue the third oldest airline in the world^{[chuckles]required]}

2019-2022

In November 2019, the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Court ruled that Mexicana's assets should be transferred to the company's former employees. This decision was made to settle part of the company's debt to employees in unearned wages. The assets included a maintenance base, a pilot training center and an airline lounge.

In March 2020, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, stated that there was the possibility of a new airline founded by former Mexicana employees. Employees also sought the support of the past three presidents since the airline's closure in 2010, but no progress was made.

We're helping employees have options, like having a new airline We cannot rule out the possibility of a cooperative, which may have the authorizations (to do so).

Andrés Manuel López Obrador

In 2022, after 12 years of having taken over the airline's counters at the Mexico City International Airport, what were once its facilities inside Benito Juárez, in the early morning of September 2, members of the Navy, the Mexican Army and the Private Security of the AICM would have evicted the former employees of the airline without violence after 12 years of its takeover.

The action surprised the Association of Retirees, Workers and Former Workers of the Mexican Aviation (AJTEAM) who mentioned:

We are totally surprised because in the previous PRIAN governments we find no solution, but at least tolerance, unlike this government that we thought was characterized by a high social sense, but above all an inclination towards the most unprotected classes “the first poor and those of the third age”...

Asociación de Jubilados, Trabajadores y ex Trabajadores de la Aviación Mexicana

2023-

In January 2023, it was reported that the government of Mexico signed an agreement to purchase the Mexicana brand for $816 million pesos. This as part of a plan by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the agreement would allow the resumption of the airline's operations as a commercial airline operated by the military and would acquire buildings for training and simulation. The legal actions initiated against the airline since 2014 would also be lifted.

It is expected that with the purchase, the carrier will be in lease negotiations for the American brand Boeing, in addition to seeking to have its headquarters at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport.

Affiliates

Click Mexicana plane.

Mexican Click

In 2005, Aerocaribe was renamed Click Mexicana and replaced its fleet of McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s with Fokker 100 aircraft. Click was a wholly owned subsidiary of Mexicana de Aviación.

Mexicana used Click as a low-cost airline to counter low-cost competitors such as Aviacsa, Interjet, Avolar and Volaris. Mexicana used Click as a domestic feeder on lower routes and passenger times, while Mexicana focused on longer international and domestic routes. Mexicana considered adding the Airbus A319 to the Click fleet to serve destinations in Central America and the Caribbean.

Click had 22 Fokker 100 jets in a totally economical design. The cabin had gray leather seats with a 35-degree tilt and a Click logo on the headrests. In 2008, Mexicana and Click were invited to join the Oneworld alliance at the member and affiliate level, respectively.

Mexicana rebranded Click Mexicana as MexicanaClick with the announcement of the new corporate livery in late November 2008. MexicanaClick highlighted the link to Mexicana. Mexicana said it signed an agreement in March 2009 with Boeing to lease 25 Boeing 717-200 aircraft to be operated by MexicanaClick. The B717s were planned to replace the Fokker F-100 aircraft that MexicanaClick flew. 16 of the B717s had previously been operated by Midwest Airlines. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

MexicanLink

MexicanaLink was a short-lived affiliate headquartered at Guadalajara's Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport, the airline served as a feeder airline for both Mexicana and MexicanaClick. It was the regional airline of Mexicana, while MexicanaClick was a national low-cost airline that competed with Interjet, Volaris and VivaAerobus.

A Douglas DC-8 from Mexicana Cargo.

Others

• MexicanaGO
• MRO Services
• Mexicana Cargo
• Aeromonterrey (1991-1995)
• Aerocozumel (1978-2002)
• Aerocaribe (1975-2005)

Destinations

Codeshare Agreements

Airbus A320 landing in Los Cabos (SJD).

As of November 2009, Mexicana was code sharing with the following airlines that are also members of the Oneworld alliance:

• American Airlines
• Iberia Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• LAN Airlines
• Qantas
• Cathay Pacific
• British Airways

Airlines outside the OneWorld alliance with which Mexicana had codeshares:

• Aeromar
• Aeromexico (SkyTeam)
• Air Canada (Star Alliance)
• Air New Zealand (Star Alliance)
• Avianca (Star Alliance)
• Condor
• Lufthansa (Star Alliance)

Products and services

Mexican Elite

Mexicana offered a business class product called MexicanaElite, which includes more spacious spaces in all its planes, and more comforts in them, as well as special treatment.

The catering was in charge of Executive Chef Enrique Olvera

Elite Lounge

Mexicana had Elite Lounge in the following airports:

National

• Mexico City International Airport (Terminal 1 Pasillo A1)
• Mexico City International Airport (Terminal 1 Pasillo E)
• Guadalajara International Airport (Terminal 1 Wing C)
• Mariano Escobedo International Airport (Terminal Ala Norte)
• Cancun International Airport (Terminal 2 Satellite Building)
• Tijuana International Airport (Terminal B Pasillo A)
• International Airport General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada (Terminal)

International

• Los Angeles International Airport (Tom Bradley International Terminal)
• Chicago-O'Hare International Airport (Terminal 5 Concourse M)
• San Francisco International Airport (Terminal Internacional)
• International Airport Minister Pistarini (Terminal A)
• San Antonio International Airport (Terminal 1)
• Vancouver International Airport (International Terminal)

Frequents

It had a system for accumulating traveler miles called "Frecuenta", which offered the customer the possibility of accumulating mileage points on each flight and later exchanging them for flights and services. As of 2009, all "Frecuenta" would become "MexicanaGO" as part of the makeover announced in November 2008.

VTP

The company also had various tourist packages and was the creator of the All Paid Trip (VTP), a preferential cost package that included, in the same price, flight, transportation, lodging and food services for the passenger through alliances made with various hotel chains and tourist services.

Meal service on board

Mexicana won the international award “Outstanding Food Service by a Carrier Americas 2008”, given by the leading specialized magazine Pax International Magazine.

Fleet

Airbus A318 de Mexicana.

Current fleet

De Havilland Comet de Mexicana

Historical fleet

Mexican MRO Services

This airline also had a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaulin' service known as "Mexicana MRO", which provided specialized maintenance and painting services for aircraft from various airlines and companies, certified by Airbus manufacturers, Boeing and Fokker, as well as before the EASA, DGAC and the FAA.

Main facilities

The airline's main facilities in Mexico City are located in the Torre Mexicana de Aviación, inspired by a control tower that was built in the eighties. Used to house the company's administrative, legal, strategic, commercial and reserve personnel; the building is located on avenida Xola in Mexico City, near the WTC Mexico. The Maintenance Base was located inside the AICM, next to Mexico Customs, on taxiways C, C3 and B9. This complex consists of two Hangars, which were used one for maintenance and overhaulin' In addition to having a building to house the maintenance departments and management, and the second for painting jobs; in addition to engine, spare parts, plumbing and hydraulic warehouses, company vehicle parking for airport use, and two extensive platforms divided into spacious outdoor positions, for the safe protection of aircraft undergoing maintenance and overnight and even used as Alternate remote positions in case of an overcrowding of air traffic at the Airport. It also had a Maintenance Base at the Guadalajara airport where from February 2009 it would maintain its A320/A319/A318 aircraft.

Slogans used in your story

• 1960-1970: "It is Mexico... with wings (Mexico... with wings)"
• 1970-1973: "Mexico's First Airline since 1924" ("The airline that knows Mexico since 1924")
• 1970-principles of the 1980s: "More wings for Mexico" ("More wings for Mexico")
• 1980: "First airline in Latin America"
• 1990: "Browning is Flying" ("Sailing is flying")
• 2000: "The pleasure of flying without limits" ("The pleasure of flying without limits")
• 2003-2005: "The most modern fleet in the world" ("With the most modern fleet in the world")
• 2004-2006: "The first will always be the first"
• 2006-2007: "No one knows Mexico as Mexican" ("Nobody knows Mexico like Mexicana")
• 2008-2010: "Fly in the highest" ("Fly in the highest")^{[chuckles]required]}

Accidents and incidents

• On September 26, 1949, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft with 23 occupants on board struck the Popocatépetl volcano, while flying from Oaxaca City to Mexico City. The Aparato, XA-DUH plates, was completely destroyed, losing the three crew members and the 20 passengers, among whom were the young actress Blanca Estela Pavón and the acronym Gabriel Ramos Millán. The accident was attributed to the bad weather and a navigation error by the pilot.
• On June 4, 1969, in its final approach to the city of Monterrey, the 704 flight of Mexicana de Aviación collapsed in the Cerro del Fraile. It was a Boeing 727 that had 79 people on board, none of whom survived.
• On September 21, 1969, in its final approach to Mexico City, the 801 flight of Mexicana de Aviación from Chicago, crashed due to unknown causes at kilometer and a half of the AICM near the old train to Texcoco, was a Boeing 727 XA-SEJ tuition with 118 people on board, of which 91 survived.
• On 8 November 1972, the abduction of Mexicana de Aviación flight 705 occurred. It was a passenger plane flying from Monterrey (Nuevo León, North Mexico) to the Federal District. This act of aerial piracy was executed by members of the League of Armed Communists, headed by Germán Segovia.
• On March 31, 1986, a Mexican aircraft starred at the largest air disaster in the history of Mexican aviation. Flight 940 of Mexicana de Aviación, a Boeing 727, programmed with various scales between Mexico City and Los Angeles, crashed near Maravatío, Michoacán, where the 167 people died on board the aircraft, because a tyre of the landing gear exploded. This plane crashed in the Western Mother Mountains.
• On January 19, 2010, an Airbus A318 aircraft carrying with it passengers from Mexico's 368 de Aviación flight from Cancun International Airport to Mexico City suffered a strain when taking off. One of the engine's tops number 1 dropped from it, hit the fuselage and the left semi-ala, and left residue on the track.

Photo Gallery

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  Mexican Airbus A320-231 (N369MX) landing at Harry Reid International Airport.

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  Airbus A320-231 de Mexicana (F-OHME) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Mexican Airbus A318-111 (XA-UBT) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Airbus A319-112 de Mexicana (N429MX) landing at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

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  de Havilland DH.106 Comet 4 de Mexicana landing at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Airbus A320-231 de Mexicana (N567BB) at Phoenix-Goodyear Airport

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  Fokker 100 de Mexicana (XA-SHG) landing at Miami International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-2A1-Adv. de Mexicana (XA-MXI) at Miami International Airport.

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  Control cabin of a Havilland DH.106 Comet 4 de Mexicana (N888WA) in Paine Field Airport.

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  Airbus A319-112 de Mexicana (N866MX) taking off Juan Santamaría International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-264 Adv. de Mexicana (XA-MXD) at Cancun International Airport.

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  Airbus A319-112 de Mexicana (N634MX) landing at Harry Reid International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-264 Adv. de Mexicana (XA-HOV) landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-264 Adv. de Mexicana (XA-MXA) at Los Angeles International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-2A1-Adv. of Mexicana (XA-MXI) landing at Miami International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-264 Adv. de Mexicana (XA-MXA) at Miami International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-264 Adv. de Mexicana (XA-HOH) at Los Cabos International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-264 Adv. de Mexicana (XA-HOH) at Miami International Airport.

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  Boeing 727-2J7-Adv. de Mexicana (N553NA) at Miami International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N763MX) with Star Alliance book at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Airbus A318-111 de Mexicana (XA-UBU) at O'Hare International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-25D ER from Mexicana (XA-MXO) landing at London-Gatwick Airport.

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  McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15 of Mexicana (N1003W) at Miami International Airport.

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  McDonnell Douglas DC-10 of Mexicana (N907WA) at Miami International Airport.

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  Mexican Airbus A330-243 (XA-MXP) landing at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Mexican Airbus A330-243 (XA-MXP) landing at Madrid-Barajas Airport.

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  Mexican Airbus A330-243 (XA-MXQ) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Front part of a Mexican Airbus A330-243 (XA-MXQ) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N763MX) with Star Alliance book at Cancun International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N755MX) landing at Harry Reid International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N763MX) with Star Alliance book at Cancun International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N762MX) at San José International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N755MX) landing at Harry Reid International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N762MX) at Los Angeles International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-230 de Mexicana (XA-TRA) landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N765MX) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-230 de Mexicana (XA-TRA) landing at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N763MX) with Star Alliance book at Los Angeles International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N765MX) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 757-2Q8 de Mexicana (N755MX) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) of Mexicana (XA-MXO) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) of Mexicana (XA-MXN) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-383 (ER) of Mexicana (XA-MXB) at Pistarini International Airport

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) by Mexicana (XA-MXO) reeling at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) of Mexicana (XA-MXN) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) by Mexicana (XA-MXO) reeling at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Front de un Boeing 767-3P6 (ER) de Mexicana (XA-MXE) en el Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México.

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) of Mexicana (XA-MXN) at Mexico City International Airport.

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  Boeing 767-25D (ER) of Mexicana (XA-MXN) landing at Pistarini International Airport.

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  Cabina de un Boeing 767-25D (ER) de Mexicana (XA-MXN) en el Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México.

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  Monument for the 50 years of Mexican Aviation at Tampico International Airport.

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  Douglas DC-6 de Mexicana (XA-MON) at Mexico City International Airport.