Rival airlines are offering special fares for stranded passengers after the management of Grupo Mexicana suspended all flights on Mexicana Airlines, MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink on Sunday, August 28.
Aeromexico, Interjet, Volaris, Aeromar and VivaAerobus have said they will offer special rates for domestic passengers on routes they share with Mexicana. Aeromexico, the second largest airline in Mexico, has begun a vigorous advertising campaign to take advantage of Mexicana's demise.
American Airlines and American Eagle are also offering discounts of around 20 percent for Mexicana customers affected by the suspension of flights. Tickets must be bought by Sunday, September 5.
U.S. airlines are also looking at increasing frequencies of flights on some routes to cover the expected increase in demand for tickets. Last weekend, American Airlines added an extra round trip between Dallas/Fort Worth and Mexico City but, as yet, has not added any more flights from Guadalajara. Mexicana operated 220 domestic and international flights a day and carried 22,000 passengers.
Mexican Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara said Monday that she had spoken to international carriers, including Air Canada and British Airways, about expanding their routes to Mexico.
She said Alaska Airlines has already requested permission to increase frequency on its San Diego-Puerto Vallarta and San Diego-Los Cabos routes.
The investment group that took over ownership of the airlines a week ago said the decision to suspend flights was caused by "financial deterioration and lack of agreements to allow for the capitalization of its three airlines."
Last week's decision does not necessarily mean the end of the airline, government officials are saying. Mexican Transportation (SVT) Secretary Juan Molinar said the company could still be saved if shareholders, creditors and union leaders were able to hammer out a viable plan to restructure the stricken company, which has accrued debts of around one billion dollars.
A Mexican consortium purchased 95 percent of Mexicana for a symbolic price several weeks after the airline filed for insolvency protection in the the United States. However, the new owners say the financial situation worsened after the previous management decided to cut back itineraries and suspend Mexicana ticket sales, thus curtailing the company's revenue flow.
In a press release, investors said they would "continue seeking out ways of securing the company’s long-term financial viability, so our passengers can once again enjoy the quality services they are accustomed to."
The main sticking point with pilot and flight attendant unions appears to be the issue of job and salary cuts. The company has about 8,000 employees.
Mexicana directors say the salaries of pilots and flight attendants are between 30 and 40 percent higher than their U.S. equivalents. They had planned to fire the entire workforce and rehire just one-quarter of them but this was unacceptable to union leaders.
Several hundred Mexicana employees marched to the Jalisco State Palace in Guadalajara on Monday in a bid to persuade state and federal authorities to step in and help save the stricken airline – and their jobs. Similar protests have taken place in other Mexican cities.
The Mexican government has so far shown no indication that it is prepared to bail out Mexicana, as it has done several times in the past.
Mexicana tickets holders requiring information on how to apply for a refund should visit mexicanainforms.com, or contact Mexicana at 01-800-837-6150, 01800-801-2010 inside Mexico or 1-888-882-9994 or 1-877-801-2010 from the United States or Canada.
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