Mexico: Viva Aerobús surpasses Aeroméxico, which falls to third place in passenger traffic.

Aeroméxico fell to third place in passenger traffic during August, surpassed by Viva Aerobús, according to passenger traffic reports from both airlines.

In the eighth month of 2020, Aeromexico displaced 644 thousand passengers while Viva Aerobus moved 651 thousand; moreover, in relation to 2019 data, Aeromexico’s drop remains above 50%.

See also: Mexico: The new Santa Lucia airport, a puzzle in a time trial.

In August, Volaris, which leads the market by volume of passengers mobilized, reported 1,212 million displaced passengers. In relation to the same month of 2019, it meant a 35.1% fall, the lowest among airlines listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. Viva Aerobús in the same period registered a 44.3% drop,

Aeromexico is in the process of restructuring its debt under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Law since June 30th, after which it was authorized a financing of $1 billion.

See also: Aeroméxico seeks to fire 1,000 Flight Attendants.

Last week, the Union Association of Aviation Surgeons (ASSA) reported that Aeromexico is studying a plan to cut up to a thousand people from its staff, which would represent almost a third.

At 11:35, Aeromexico’s shares were trading at 4.70 pesos, nine cents less than the previous day’s close, its lowest price since July 21.

Looking ahead to September, the airlines stressed that they will increase their operations in the country. Volaris informed in its report that it expects to reach 75% of its capacity in operations.

Meanwhile, Viva Aerobús estimates to reach 80% of its capacity with the coverage of 95 routes.

In the same way, Aeromexico intends to increase its domestic operations by 75% compared to August, by adding frequencies to 25 of the 39 domestic destinations.

“It will restart operations from Mexico City to Acapulco and inaugurate two new routes from Guadalajara to Los Cabos and Cancun,” it said in a press release.

By Forbes