Airlines announced a flurry of new flights in the past year that make getting to Mexico easier than ever.
Interjet (interjet.com.mx), Mexico’s second largest air carrier keeps making forays into the U.S. market. The newest flights depart New York’s JFK daily to Mexico City, and daily from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, to Mexico City and Guadalajara. These are the third and fourth gateways for the airline, which already operated out of San Antonio and Miami. The airline also inaugurated twice-weekly services on the route from Toluca, the capital of Mexico State, to Las Vegas late last year. Toluca Airport is another option for travelers coming into Mexico City. The airline already offers twice-weekly flights from Toluca to San Antonio.
With nearly 71 years of service to Mexico under its wings, American Airlines’ (aa.com) regional affiliate, American Eagle added service to Puebla from Dallas/Ft. Worth, adding that colonial beauty to its list of 18 destinations that include Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose del Cabo, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico City, Mazatlan and more from different gateways all over the U.S.
Late last year, Mexican airline Aeromexico (aeromexico.com) announced new twice-daily service between DFW International Airport and Mexico City. Other new flight routes include New York to Cancun; Washington, D.C. to Mexico City; and Atlanta to Mexico City. The airline also announced a new frequent flier and codeshare partnership with Alaska Airlines (alaskaair.com), meaning miles flown on Aeromexico will count toward qualification in Alaska’s Mileage Plan MVP elite-level program. Frequent fliers will be able to redeem miles for award travel on Aeromexico beginning later this year. The agreement affects 20 city pairs, including all eight Alaska destinations in Mexico with service from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose.
Brides setting their sights south of the border are getting more options courtesy of Southwest Airlines (southwest.com) and AirTran Airways (airtran.com), which announced new international flights between Denver International Airport and Los Cabos International Airport in Baja California. AirTran daily service on the new route begins March 10, 2013. AirTran Airways also currently serves Los Cabos International Airport with daily service to/from Orange County (increasing to twice-daily as of June 2, 2013). The airlines currently operate a combined 200+ daily departures from Chicago (Midway) including daily service to Cancun, which began in May 2012.
CalJet Air (caljetair.com) launched service to Mazatlan, its first tourist destination in Mexico, on January of this year. The pilot program ends on April 9, 2013. The carrier will operate nine weekly flights, each with a capacity of 150 passengers, from Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles and Oakland. In addition, the airline will increase frequency and seat capacity from Phoenix.
Volaris (volaris.mx), Mexico’s low cost airline, had a busy year. Last December they began a new direct route connecting Mexico City to Denver. The flight schedule is now running twice a week through April and once a week from May through November. Denver is the airline’s ninth city in the United States serving flights to Mexico. Volaris already flies from Los Angeles to Guadalajara, Morelia, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Mexico City and Culiacan, and between Sacramento and Guadalajara.
Allegiant Air (allegiantair.com) headquartered in Las Vegas, is currently looking into expanding its service to Mexico. There are 10 cities under consideration and service would begin by the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. Part of Allegiant Air’s strategy is to fly to cities that have little or no existing service.
MAIN AIRPORTS
Acapulco: ACA / Gen. Juan N. Alvarez International Airport
Cancun: CUN / Cancun International Airport
Chiapas: TGZ / Angel Albino Corzo International Airport
Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche:
CME / Ciudad del Carmen International Airport
Guadalajara: GDL / Guadalajara International Airport
Guanajuato (and San Miguel de Allende):
BJX / Del Bajio International Airport
Huatulco: HUX / Bahias de Huatulco International Airport
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo: ZIH / Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport
Los Cabos: SJD / Los Cabos International Airport
Mazatlan: MZT / General Rafael Buelna International Airport
Merida: MID / Manuel Crescencio Rejon International Airport
Mexico City (and Cuernavaca):
MEX / Benito Juarez International Airport
Morelia: MLM / Gen. Francisco J. Mujica International Airport
Oaxaca: OAX / Xoxocotlan International Airport
Puerto Vallarta: PVR / Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport
Queretaro: QRO / Queretaro Intercontinental Airport
