The Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris may be eyeing a new destination in South America: Lima, Peru. While there hasn’t been an official announcement from the airline, certain management members from the low-cost operator visited Lima International Airport recently and could be planning to launch a new route. Would it make sense for the carrier to open this new destination? Let’s investigate further.
Next destination: Lima
In a now-deleted post, a senior employee in Volaris suggested the airline could be adding Lima as its newest destination in South America.
Simple Flying reached Volaris for a comment regarding the possible launch of a route to Lima. So far, the airline hasn’t given a statement on the subject. We’ll keep you updated if that changes.
If Volaris were to open a new destination in Lima, Peru, it would mean the low-cost Mexican carrier would land in a second South American country. Earlier this year, Volaris launched routes from Mexico City and Cancun to Bogota, Colombia.
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How’s the connectivity between Mexico and Peru?
As of December 2021, there are 268 scheduled flights between Peru and Mexico, according to data provided by Cirium. Two years ago, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 710 scheduled commercial flights between both countries; therefore, there has been a 62.3% drop in the connectivity.
Aeromexico, Sky Airline, and LATAM are the three airlines currently flying between both countries. In 2019, Avianca and Interjet also operated routes between Mexico and Peru, although Sky Airline hadn’t opened its flights yet.
Interjet ceased operations precisely a year ago, and Avianca closed its branch in Peru.
Aeromexico flies daily between Mexico City and Lima; LATAM has two daily frequencies between Lima and Cancun and has 23 monthly flights between Lima and Mexico City. Finally, Sky Airline has 18 scheduled flights between Lima and Cancun.
According to data provided by Mexico’s Civil Aviation Authorities, the number of passengers between both countries is 70% below its pre-pandemic trends. Nonetheless, the airlines operating in this market have recovered their pre-pandemic load factors, which is a good sign. LATAM Peru owns 71.1% of the market share, followed by Aeromexico with 25.7% and Sky with 3.2%.
Volaris expansion
Recently, Volaris received its 100th aircraft. The airline is expanding and aims to finish 2022 with a fleet of 113 units. Volaris still has to receive 132 new planes, according to Airbus’ latest Order & Deliveries database.
In 2021, the low-cost carrier has opened up many new routes and has launched a new branch in Central America. Moreover, it landed in two new countries, Honduras (via Volaris El Salvador) and Colombia.
The Mexico-Peru market grew steadily between 2011 and 2019, expqnding by 370%. The COVID-19 crisis left a gap in the market following the exit of Avianca and Interjet. Both carriers operated the routes Cancun-Lima and Mexico City-Lima.
Volaris could easily fill the gap in these two routes. With its Airbus A320neo and A321neo fleet, the Mexican low-cost carrier could help the market recover the pre-pandemic number of flights and seats available. Sky Airline is the only low-cost airline remaining in the market, so Volaris could help bring the fares down.
Moreover, while Mexico remains in Category 2 status in the US, Volaris can’t launch new routes to this country; therefore, Volaris has to deploy its capacity elsewhere.
Would you like to see Volaris flying to Peru? Let us know in the comments below.
