Volaris Expands its Network from Guadalajara

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris is increasing its presence at Guadalajara’s Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport from next month with the introduction of 12 weekly rotations on four new domestic routes. From May 23, 2012, it will launch three times weekly flights to Chihuahua and Puebla, while the following day it will launch a four times weekly connection to Monterrey and a twice weekly rotation to Los Mochis. The airline will face direct competition on two of these routes but will be the sole operator providing non-stop flights from Guadalajara to Los Mochis and Puebla.

Volaris first launched flights from Guadalajara in November 2007 when it inaugurated links from Hermosillo, Mexicali, Mexico City/Toluca, Monterrey (which it served until April 2008) and Tijuana. In the subsequent four and a half years it has grown to become the largest carrier from Mexico’s second largest municipality serving 16 domestic and international markets with over 180 rotations and more than 25,000 seats on offer from the city every week. This represents a 31.4 per cent share of the available seat capacity this month

The table below highlights the estimated O&D demand on each of its four new routes and the existing competition…

As mentioned above, Volaris will be the only carrier providing direct flights from Guadalajara to the East-Central Mexican state of Puebla, which was originally discovered by the Spanish in 1531 to secure the trade route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz, which is located to the East. The route was previously served with direct flights between September 1990 and December 2010, most recently by Mexicana Link, the regional operation of the now defunct Mexicana. Volaris has previously served the route for a single schedule period providing up to a daily offering between April and October 2008.

The route between Guadalajara and Los Mochis, a coastal city in northern Sinaloa in the municipality of Ahome, was also last served in 2010 this time by fellow low-cost carrier VivaAerobus which operated its last flight in September 2010 having entered the market in December 2009. Aeromexico Connect, the regional division of SkyTeam member Aeromexico had also served the market but terminated its own flights in January 2010. This route was previously dominated by AeroCalifornia which had provided daily flights up until its closure in September 2008.