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.jpg) Airbus A320neo of Viva with the former livery and name | |||||||
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| Commenced operations | 30 November 2006; 18 years ago (2006-11-30)(as Viva Aerobus) 30 October 2024; 4 months ago (2024-10-30)(as Viva) | ||||||
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| AOC # | V8OF230F[1] | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Viva Fan[3] | ||||||
| Fleet size | 111 | ||||||
| Destinations | 60[4] | ||||||
| Parent company | Grupo IAMSA | ||||||
| Headquarters | Monterrey International Airport,Apodaca,Mexico | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Website | www | ||||||
Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading asViva (formerlyViva Aerobus), is amajor Mexican low-cost airline headquartered atMonterrey International Airport, in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon,Mexico. Measured by passenger numbers, it is Mexico's third-largest airline and eleventh-largest airline in North America, offering more than 160 routes in more than 50 destinations servingMexico, theUnited States, Central and South America.[5]
Viva is fully owned by the largest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA, and was co-founded by and invested in by Irelandia Aviation.[6][7][8]
Viva operates mostly within a combination ofpoint-to-point system with direct flights between middle-size airports and ahub system.Monterrey International Airport serves as its largest hub in terms of passengers carried and the number of departures.Cancun,Guadalajara,Mexico City-Benito Juarez,Los Cabos,Merida,Mexico City-Felipe Angeles andTijuana serve as operating bases.
The airline, launched as Viva Aerobus, commenced operations on November 30, 2006 with its hub atMonterrey International Airport, inMonterrey, Mexico, and with an initial investment of $50 million and twoBoeing 737-300 aircraft.[8] Viva Aerobus was co-owned byRyanair's Irelandia Aviation and the Mexican bus company IAMSA.[9] Ryanair joined with Alexander Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to establish "RyanMex" to facilitate the Irish family's investment in the Mexican airline. IAMSA has showed interest in developing a new stage of transportation after its successful bus market in Mexico, and Irelandia has been actively investigating the market opportunity, leading to the companies' partnership to form a Mexican low-cost carrier.[6] Irelandia held a 49% of shares in the airline, while IAMSA had the remaining majority stake.[9]
The airline initially connected Monterrey to a number of Mexican domestic locations, and in July 2007, publicly confirmed its intention to open its first base outside of Mexico and first US destination in Austin, Texas (although it ultimately pulled out of Austin in 2009).[10]
Viva Aerobus fares were intended to undercut traditional Mexican carriers by up to 50%, in a change of the industry that started with the arrival of the country's second generation of low-cost airlines (Avolar,MexicanaClick,Interjet,Volaris) and the privatization ofMexicana de Aviación, one of the two top national airlines. The airline started operations atMonterrey International Airport in November 2006 with two aircraft and one nonstop service connectingMonterrey toTijuana, under the leadership of Mike Szucs as its CEO. A year after its foundation, in October 2007, Viva Aerobus had already transported one million passengers. Later, Donald Rogers became Viva Aerobus CEO in May 2009, the month whenGuadalajara became the airline's second base. In June 2010, the airline's leadership was assigned to Juan Carlos Zuazua, current CEO. Expansion continued and the airline establishedMexico City,Cancun,Tijuana andMérida as its new bases in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2022, respectively.[11]
On November 5, 2007, the airline received approval from theUS Department of Transportation to operate toAustin-Bergstrom International Airport, initially serving the Mexican destinations ofCancún, Monterrey,Guadalajara andLeón. Flights to theSouth Terminal Austin began on May 1, 2008.
On May 16, 2009, Viva Aerobus stated it would cease passenger operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on May 31, 2009. The airline blamed the pullout in part on an outbreak ofswine flu, which caused an unprecedented decrease in demand for service.[12] The company began to fly between Monterrey and Las Vegas in the summer of 2009.
In November 2009, the airline announced it had applied to commence operations betweenHermosillo andLas Vegas beginning in March 2010.
In April 2010, the airline finally began serving Mexico's capital with two flights, one from Monterrey and the other from Guadalajara. It also started serving Houston'sGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport. However, the airline planned to serveHouston Hobby Airport on completion of that airport's new terminal in 2015.[13]
In 2010, the airline opened a focus city atMexico City International Airport on October 1 after Mexicana ceased operations. Viva Aerobus switched Mexico City from focus city into a hub on April 1, 2011, beginning more destinations from the airport.[14][failed verification]
On July 26, 2011, the airline received approval to fly toChicago-Midway International Airport.[15] On August 15 the same year, Viva Aerobus announced it would begin round-trip service between San Antonio (SAT) and Monterrey (MTY), Mexico starting that November.[16] On April 13, 2012, the airline ceased flights to Chicago Midway. On December 7, 2019, the airline resumed flying from Monterrey to Chicago, but this time viaO'Hare International Airport. In addition, the airline flew toMorelia,Guadalajara,Leon andZacatecas from Chicago-O'Hare for the 2019-2020winter season.[17]
In October 2013, Viva Aerobus has signed an agreement to order 52Airbus A320 aircraft for $5.1 billion, making it the largest order by a Latin American carrier.[9][18]
On May 15, 2014, Viva Aerobus received and started usingAirbus A320s. It continued using Boeing 737s until the end of 2016, when it began operating an all Airbus fleet.[19][20]
In October 2014, Viva Aerobus began nonstop flights from Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua State) to Mexico City, León, and Hermosillo. In 2015, the airline launched flights toDallas–Fort Worth from several Mexican cities.[21] The service was terminated in October 2015.[22]
As of December 8, 2016, IAMSA has acquired a 100% stake of the company after Irelandia Aviation sold its 49% stake to the company following regulatory approval.[8][23]
On December 17, 2017, Viva Aerobus began non-stop service toLos Angeles International Airport from Guadalajara International Airport.[24]
In 2018, Viva Aerobus began non-stop service toLas Vegas andNew York City from Mexico City International Airport.[25]
Viva Aerobus announced the launch of its cargo subsidiary, Viva Cargo, in January 2020.[26]
In late October 2021, Viva Aerobus has announced aninterline agreement withViva Air Colombia which took effect on November 1, 2021.[citation needed]
In December 2021, Viva Aerobus has partnered withAllegiant Air to form an alliance and expand low-budget services between the United States and Mexico. Subject to regulatory approval, the alliance is planned to launch in 2023.[27][28][29]
In early August 2022, Viva Aerobus announced acodeshare agreement withIberia to better connect passengers going between Mexico and Spain.[30]
In September 2024, Viva Aerobus andAir Canada announced an interline agreement.[31]
In October 2024, the airline underwent a major rebranding as simply "Viva", and introduced a new "Flex-Sí-bilidad" policy for a more relaxed experience for passengers, which include improved ticket, name, and flight changes. Alongside, a new logo and livery was introduced.[32][33]
The key trends for Viva are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):[34][35]
| Revenue (US$ m) | Net profit (US$ m) | Number of passengers (m) | Passenger load factor (%) | Fleet size | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 271 | 36 | 6.3 | 84.6 | 21 | [36][37][38] |
| 2017 | 378 | 28 | 8.1 | 89.9 | 24 | [36][39][40] |
| 2018 | 512 | 37 | 10.0 | 90.0 | 31 | [36][41][42] |
| 2019 | 679 | 25 | 12.0 | 88.7 | 36 | [36][43][44] |
| 2020 | 414 | −123 | 8.1 | 80.5 | 43 | [45][46][44] |
| 2021 | 998 | 76 | 15.2 | 83.6 | 55 | [45][44] |
| 2022 | 1,461 | 8 | 20.6 | 85.8 | 69 | [45][47] |
| 2023 | 2,024 | 121 | 24.9 | 86.8 | 81 | [45][48] |
The corporate headquarters is in Terminal C ofMonterrey International Airport inApodaca, Nuevo Leon.[49] It occupies space in the terminal's cargo zone.[50]
To promote physical activity and healthy recreation, Viva has been the official sponsor of theAtlas,Tigres UANL andAmerica Liga MX soccer teams; as well as Los Tomateros de Culiacan and Los Sultanes de Monterrey Mexican baseball teams. Internationally, it is also a sponsor of theNBA team theSan Antonio Spurs and theLas Vegas Raiders of theNFL.[51][52][53][54][55][56]
As of 2009[update], Viva has abuy on board program offering food and drinks for purchase.[57]
Viva operates a shuttle bus from downtownEl Paso, Texas toAbraham González International Airport inCiudad Juárez,Chihuahua.[60] Viva also operated a bus shuttle betweenAustin-Bergstrom International Airport South Terminal and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in easternHouston in addition to a bus shuttle between the Austin airport and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in downtownSan Antonio for passengers on flights going to and from Cancún and Monterrey.[61][62]
As of March 2025[update], Viva operates an all-Airbus A320 family fleet composed of the following aircraft:[63][64]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers[65] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 47 | — | 180 | |
| Airbus A320neo | 24 | — | 186 | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 10 | — | 220 | |
| Airbus A321neo | 30 | 16[66] | 240 | Signed MoU for 90 airframes, no firmed order yet.[67] |
| Total | 111 | 16 | ||
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In its beginnings, Viva Aerobus operated with a fleet integrated byBoeing 737-300 aircraft. In October 2016, the airline took ownership of the firstPW1100-JM-poweredAirbus A320neo.[68] This was part of an order placed with Airbus in October 2013 for 52Airbus A320 family aircraft, including 12 A320ceos, at the time the largest number of aircraft ordered by a Mexican airline directly from Airbus.[68][69][70] The first A320ceo had been delivered in May 2015.[68] At the time of receiving the first A320ceo, the carrier operated a fleet of six leased A320s andBoeing 737-300 aircraft.[71]
Viva Aerobus amended an existing order with Airbus in July 2018 to include theAirbus A321neo, of which 41 were included in the new orderbook.[70] The carrier took delivery of the first of these aircraft in June 2020.[69] In July 2023, the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for an additional 90 240-seater Airbus A321neo aircraft.[72]
Written correspondance --- Monterrey International Airport. Terminal C Miguel Aleman highway Km 24 Apodaca, NL, Mexico. C.P. 66600
Media related toVivaAerobús at Wikimedia Commons
