Mexico-China flight connectivity set to grow with new alliance between Volaris and Hainan Airlines

Mexican fund hose Volaris is teaming up with China’s Hainan Airlines to importantly grow aerial connectivity betwixt the 2 counties.

The 2 airlines announced a strategical confederation connected Tuesday which volition usage the planetary airports successful Tijuana and Mexico City arsenic hubs.

With astir 42% marketplace share, the fund bearer Volaris is Mexico’s largest airline. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)

The statement partners a full-service carrier, Hainan, with an ultra low-cost bearer (ULCC). Such partnerships are not communal signifier successful the manufacture and typically trust connected code-sharing, allowing the ULCC to usage the full-service carrier’s marque and web to scope caller markets.

Hainan offers much than 1,700 routes with destinations successful Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and Africa. Last year, the Chinese bearer began operating twice-weekly flights to Mexico, 1 to Mexico City and the different to Tijuana.

The Volaris-Hainan confederation volition diagnostic a codeshare agreement, making each flights disposable done Hainan’s income channels.

Though inactive awaiting regulatory approval, the concern is acceptable to commence successful the 2nd fractional of 2025. It remains to beryllium seen if loyalty integration and premium services volition transverse over.

Tijuana, the lone Mexican airdrome that offers nonstop flights to China, volition beryllium a hub for the alliance, on with Mexico City International Airport (AICM). (Cross Border Xpress)

Once implemented, the program volition let Hainan customers to entree Volaris’ home web — comprising much than 50 destinations — without being required to marque aggregate reservations, streamlining the question experience.

This integrated booking strategy is designed to streamline the question acquisition from Asia to Mexico’s interior, allowing for a azygous preservation covering some segments.

In a property release, Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranen described the statement arsenic significant, saying the concern strengthens Volaris’ committedness to providing accessible connectivity.

“We are arrogant to denote this confederation with Hainan Airlines, a highly prestigious planetary airline,” helium said. “Its beardown beingness successful China opens a wide scope of opportunities for tourism and concern betwixt Asia and Mexico.”

The confederation represents a important milestone for Volaris, establishing its archetypal concern with a Chinese carrier.

Travel Update mag said the statement could perchance pb to a reciprocal arrangement, which would connection Mexican travelers enhanced entree to planetary destinations via Hainan’s expansive network.

Volaris’ existing codeshare agreements with Frontier Airlines and Iberia Líneas Aéreas appears to beryllium portion of a strategy to broaden the Mexican airlines’ planetary reach, perchance paving the mode for further collaborations.

The statement boosts Mexico’s planetary connectivity and, according to Aviación al Día magazine, reinforces Volaris’ presumption arsenic Mexico’s starring hose successful rider numbers.

Volaris rival Aeroméxico has partnerships with China Southern and China Eastern.

With reports from El Economista, Expansión, Aviación al Día and Travel Update