C. V.): Terminal de Aviacion General, Hangar 7, Zona “E”, Col Federal, Mexico DF, 15620, Mexico; Phone 52 (5) 627 0205; Fax 52 (5) 758 1303; Http://www. aeromar-air. com; Code VW; Year Founded 1987. This third-level independent carrier is formed by a group of private investors at Toluca Airport, west of Mexico City, in January 1987.
The Grupo Aeromar, S. A. de C. V. holding company includes as its major shareholders Dr. Zvi Katz Kenner, Marcos Katz Halpern, seven members of the Autrey-Maza family, and Asistencia Empresarial Espe-cializada, S. A., a subsidiary of the nation’s largest television company, Televisa. Juan Ignacio Steta is general director.
An Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320 is leased and a codesharing arrangement is negotiated with Aeromexico (1) (Aeronaves de Mexico, S. A. de C. V.). Scheduled passenger/cargo revenue flights commence in November from Toluca (45 miles west of Mexico City) to Acapulco.
When Aeromexico (1) goes bankrupt in April 1988 and ceases operations temporarily, the national government requests Aeromar to step in and keep up regional flights under its new integrated air service program, “Esquema Rector del Sistema Nacional de Transporte Aereo.” The base of operations is transferred to Mexico City, two more ATR42-320s are acquired, and flights commence from Mexico City to Ciudad Victoria, Col-imas, Lazaro Gardenas, Morelia, Poza Rica, Salinas Cruz, and Urvapan.
In February 1989, the Ministry of Communications and Transportation allows the carrier to increase its fares, which, like those offered by other regionals, has been kept artificially low since startup of the new federal air service program. In April, the company moves its maintenance facility to Mexico City from Toluca.
Operations continue apace in 1990, the year in which the Mexican airline industry is deregulated. Although many cut-rate competitors spring up, they quickly fail for lack of capitalization or poor service.
In April 1991, the company’s route network is restructured to concentrate on a network of “hub and spoke” routes from Mexico City. The fleet now includes 5 ATR42-320s, 1 of which is leased to Trans States Airlines in the U. S. The company in August becomes only the third Mexican airline, after the nation’s two majors, to obtain a repair station certificate from the U. S. FAA. In September, a second hub is established at Guadalajara.
A code-sharing agreement is signed with Aeromexico (2) (Aerovias de Mexico, S. A. de C. V.) in April 1992. International service begins in December with the inauguration of scheduled roundtrips from San Luis Potosi to San Antonio, Texas. By 1993, airline employment is 300 and President Juan Ignacio Steta’s fleet has been increased by the addition of another ATR42-320; two earlier machines are leased out to Executive Air Charter. A code-sharing pact is signed with Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V. in July.
In 1994, the company becomes a launch customer for the ATR42-500, ordering two, with three options. In addition, two more ATR42-320s are leased from TAT European Airlines, S. A. A code-sharing agreement is reached with United Airlines in June, linking the American major’s flights from Chicago and Denver with Aeromar’s route from San Antonio to San Luis Potosi.
The regional becomes the American major’s General Sales Agent (GSA) in central and northern Mexico, with new joint-sales offices opened at San Luis Potosi and Monterrey. In December, the Mexican peso is devalued; Aeromar is able to absorb losses and continue to build market share.
In January 1995, company management institutes a new cost-cutting plan. At the same time, new routes are started from Mexico City to Hu-atulco and Manzanillo.
The economic crisis set off by the peso devaluation deepens in March as load factors plunge to just 30%. Rather than lay off employees under a plan that would see up to half the staff laid off, the company is able to convince its workers to accept a plan to take 20% pay cuts.
Meanwhile, flights are suspended on three unprofitable routes. In August, the financial picture brightens as one ATR is sold and leased back, thereby generating additional operating cash. Two ATR42-520s are delivered in November and the dual-designator pact with United Airlines is expanded to cover the regional’s entire Mexican network.
As a result of a significant come-back during the second half of the year, all staff are returned to full salary at the end of December and even given a 10% bonus.
Enplanements total 290,034.
The workforce is increased by 3.8% in 1996 to 545 and the fleet now includes 6 ATR42-320s and 2 ATR42-520s. The latter enter service during the first quarter as new or expanded services are introduced. Twice-weekly flights commence from Puerto Vallarta to San Antonio, while five-times-per-week frequencies begin to the Alamo from Guadalajara and service to San Antonio from Monterrey becomes daily. A connection via Mexico City is dropped on one new daily direct service from Monterrey to Puebla.
Customer bookings soar 22.4% to 373,754 and revenues reach $36.26. With expenses of $30.82 million, there is an operating gain of $5.44 million.
The company celebrates its tenth anniversary throughout 1997. The fleet is increased by the addition of 2 ATR42-310s. At the end of the year, a $90-million order is placed for 2 additional ATR42-520s, with options taken on 4 more. Plans are announced for the initiation of four-times-per-day roundtrips from Mexico City to Puebla. Enplanements total 452,364.
Flights continue apace in 1998. Customer boardings accelerate 10% to 506,000.
The ATR42-520s are delivered during the first half of 1999. The new aircraft are employed during the summer to launch the first-ever daily roundtrips to San Cristobal de las Casas, in the mountains of the southern state of Chiapas. On September 1, service begins to Zacatecas, followed by Comitan at year’s end.
Passenger bookings accelerate 8.6% to 549,000 while cargo traffic jumps 11.4% to 904,000 FTKs.
Airline employment stands at 700 at the beginning of 2000, a 14.8% increase during the previous 12 months.
Negotiations are undertaken with Ernesto Martens during the summer and, by early September, agreement has nearly been reached under which the Autrey family would sell a 10%-20% stake for a figure in excess of $12 million.
AEROMAR INTERNATIONAL, C. por A.: Virgilio Diaz Ordonez No. 7, Urbanizacion Fernandez, Aeropuerto Internacional Las Americas, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Code BQ; Year Founded 1962. Raymundo Polanco at Santo Domingo establishes Aero-mar in 1962 as an airfreight forwarder and all-cargo carrier. Revenue flights to Miami, San Juan, and St. Thomas commence with a fleet which, by 1968, comprises 9 Curtiss C-46 Commandos. Although the Curtiss fleet shrinks to 4 by 1972, it is increased to 6 by 1973.
While climbing away from the Dominican Republic on April 25, a C-46 with four crew loses its right engine and ditches into the Bay of Boca; although the aircraft sinks, there are no fatalities.
Unable to earn profits in face of the world energy crisis, the company suspends operations in 1974.
The company is revitalized during the late 1970s and equipped with a fleet comprising 2 Douglas DC-8-54Fs, 1 DC-8-33F, and 2 Boeing 720s. In addition to charter and contract service flights, the company undertakes scheduled freight flights from the capital’s international airport to Port au Prince, Haiti, Miami, and New York.
In 1983, the airline seeks permission of the American government to launch scheduled passenger and cargo flights to its U. S. destinations. Unable to realize this goal, the airline operation is liquidated in the midst of political difficulties in 1987. Airfreight forwarding activities are, however, maintained.
Although consideration is given to the reestablishment of flight operations in the early 1990s, these plans evaporate in 1993 when the U. S. FAA bans all airlines of the Dominican Republic from landing in the U. S. due to safety concerns. Thereafter, Aeromar contracts its services with other cargo airlines, including the Miami-based Fine Air. By the middle of the decade, the company, under President Jaime Polanco, has become the largest airfreight forwarder located between the Dominican Republic and the U. S.
Under contract to Aeromar and en route to Santo Domingo with 40 tons of fabric for Dockers and Slates brand men’s pants, Flight 101A, a Fine Air DC-8-61 with three crew and a security guard on board, crashes just after takeoff into an empty lot a quarter of a mile W of Miami (MIA) on August 7, 1997. Wreckage smashes into a warehouse and retail complex; there are no survivors. In addition, a motorist, Renato Alvarez, is killed.
On August 14, the Miami Herald runs an expose in which several former Aeromar employees complain that Aeromar workers had routinely overloaded or incorrectly loaded Fine’s airplanes, while former Fine workers claim that airline keeps two sets of books and prepares false manifests. Both companies deny the charges.
NTSB investigators will focus their probe of the crash on the manner in which Aeromar employees loaded and secured the 16 cargo pallets placed aboard the aircraft.
Enplanements for the year total 452,364.
Employing a fleet of B-727-200As, Aeromar inaugurates scheduled passenger services in 1998 from Santo Domingo to Miami. The number of passenger flights per week reaches 11 by fall, together with seven cargo services.
In September, Hurricane Georges devastates the Dominican Republic and other points in the Caribbean. Aeromar quickly becomes an active participant in the Dominican relief effort, carrying tons of supplies to residents of the stricken nation.
Famed Seattle Mariners shortstop and Dominican resident Alex Rodriguez headlines a special Flight 201 for relief donors from Miami to Santo Domingo on December 12. Personnel riding the charity flight will also attend the “Dominican Republic Hurricane Relief Concert starring Gloria Estefan.”
Passenger boardings accelerate 10.1% to 506,000. Freight traffic jumps 12.1% to 81.09 million FTKs.
Airline employment at the beginning of 1999 stands at 610.
As a result of its involvement in the 1997 crash of a Fine Air Services DC-8 at Miami, Aeromar is linked with the U. S. carrier in filed lawsuits pursued during the year. During the legal proceedings that follow, prosecutors point out that Aeromar, a company half owned by Fine, is no longer a real airline because it has no employees, and conducts no day-to-day business. Fine, it is charged, charters its own aircraft and flight crews to its own partnership.
On March 27, 2000, Aeromar and Fine accept a guilty plea agreement to five charges of obstruction in connection with the disaster. Fine and Aeromar are the first airlines to be tried and convicted of criminal charges stemming from a fatal air crash.
The two are collectively fined $5 million, $1.5 million of which will be paid by Aeromar; despite earlier history, Aeromar is prohibited from calling itself an airline.
On April 17, Allegro Air: Lineas Aereas de Allegro, S. A. de C. V.
Begins flying one of its recently hushkitted all-white Boeing 727-200As from Santo Domingo to Miami on behalf of Aeromar. Under court requirement, the carrier erases its titles from the leased Allegro Air trijet on June 12; the Aeromar logo is left on the plane’s tail.
With approval from the U. S. Attorney’s office in Miami, Aeromar and Fine install compliance officers in August to monitor a court-mandated safety program.
AEROMARINE AIRWAYS: United States (1920-1924). Having established his Aeromarine Plane & Motor Corporation at Raritan Bay, Keyport, New Jersey, to build USN training planes during World War I, New York Cadillac dealer Inglis M. Uppercue is hard pressed to find business for his 16-building factory after the November 1918 Armistice. Convinced that a major commercial market for civilian aircraft can be developed, Uppercue, in late 1919, begins to convert surplus Felixstowe/ Curtiss F-5L flying boats into Curtiss Type 75 Aeromarine Cruisers, the nation’s first production passenger planes or “flying limousines.”
Unable to find airline customers for his aircraft during a time of recession, Uppercue forms a subsidiary air transport division, the Aero-marine Sightseeing & Navigation Company, in the spring of 1920, to offer demonstrations. The first aircraft is christened Santa Maria at the
Columbia Yacht Club by New Jersey’s Governor Edward I. Edwards on June 22; it is rumored that the executive uses a bottle of real champagne for the ceremony, an illegal commodity under Prohibition. Those aircraft that Uppercue will employ in his commercial operations will be painted white with black markings; later, all will have their tails finished in black and gives the planes their collective nickname of “the black-tailed fleet.”
During the summer, the Type 75-equipped charter operator provides nonscheduled, but regular, services between New York City and the holiday destinations of Newport, Southampton, and Atlantic City. In October, Aeromarine purchases financially distressed Florida West Indies Airways of Key West, holder of the nation’s premier foreign airmail contract (FAM-1).
The new subsidiary division is named Aeromarine West Indies Airways; Inglis Uppercue is chairman with Albert Tilt named president. Plans are made to honor the U. S. Post Office’s original route concession. A pair of Type 75s, the Santa Marine and the Pinta, are dispatched from New York to Key West on October 23. These begin twice-daily return mail flights, timed to coincide with train arrivals and departures, to Havana on November 1. Among the pilots is former naval aviator Edwin C. Musick, who will later gain fame with Pan American Airways (PAA) . The flyers hold their own inaugural ceremony before departure, breaking small bottles (of spirits?) held against the bows with small hammers in order not to damage the fragile wooden hulls.
This service, which requires 2.5 hrs. flying time each way, is initially offered for a six-month period. During this time, the carrier is renamed Aeromarine Airways and Charles F. Redden is named president. Four more Type 75s, including the Columbus, Nina, Mendoza, and Ponce de Leon, join the two already committed; however, the Nina is torn loose from her moorings during a Havana storm and destroyed. She will be replaced by the Balboa. In an unsuccessful communications experiment designed to get around the problem of not carrying heavy and unreliable radios, carrier pidgins are released from in-flight aircraft; most do not reach their destinations.
Charters are flown to a variety of local destinations, including the British island of Bimini, West Palm Beach, and Miami. Many of these are covert rum-running liquor flights organized by pilot Musick and company mechanic Johnny Donohue. In the half-year, a total of 1,100 passengers (at $75 per head) and 171-plus tons of mail are carried.
On May 1, 1921, at the close of the winter tourist season, Aeromarine concludes its Florida operations, drops the second part of its name to become simply Aeromarine Airways, returns its mail contract, and places four aircraft into storage until next season. One, the Santa Maria, flown by Capt. Musick, undertakes a sensational 7,000-mile, multistop demonstration flight beginning on May 9 from Key West to New York and on to Toronto, Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, and back to Key West, plus a variety of stops in between. Demonstration flights are provided at each stop; at Chicago, Musick’s ship participates in the city’s Pageant of Progress. Passengers, while flying 2,000 feet above the Windy City, are able to view the silent film Howdy Chicago! Meanwhile, newly converted Curtiss HS-2Ls become available and are placed into service flying charters from New York to Atlantic City and New England destinations.
A second promotional tour is undertaken, beginning on July 7, by Durston G. Richardson in the HS-2L Biltmore. Departing New York north along the Hudson River, he flies a 7,490-mile, 102-hour (flying time) Great Lakes circumnavigation, landing along the way at over 100 stops bordering Lakes George, Champlain, Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Michigan. His tour completed without incident, Richardson arrives back at New York City on September 21, where he receives the Glidden Trophy for establishing a new distance record for seaplanes. Meanwhile, Capt. Musick, flying in the New York-New Jersey area, recruits his friend Bert R. J. “Fish” Hassell to join him in secret night rum-running flights.
In his autobiography, Fish Hassell: A Viking with Wings (Bend, Ore.: Maverick Publications, 1987), the recruit admits his pleasure that “Aeromarine and Musick wanted a good pilot for the job.”
Next day, the Aeromarine Type 75 Santa Maria inaugurates semimonthly, two-day High-Ball Express flights from New York to Havana via Atlantic City, Beaufort, South Carolina, Miami, and Key West; the 19-hr., $250 service covers 1,521 miles. At the close of the summer season on October 27, which also marks the end of the first year’s service, Aeromarine officials report that company aircraft have flown over
95,000 miles in 12 months, carrying 6,814 passengers without injury.
In late October, the Type 75 and HS-2L fleet is reassembled in south Florida for a second tourist season, flying from Miami and Key West. The service is offered bimonthly on an irregular basis. Regularly scheduled daily Key West-Havana and Miami-Nassau services—the former over the still-subsidized route pioneered by Florida-West Indies Airways—are initiated on November 1. The former route covers 105 miles one way and requires two hours plus a tariff of $50 per head (a $25 tariff reduction from the previous season); the latter is a new service, flown over 185 miles in three hours at $85 per person or $150 roundtrip. The company’s advertising reads: “Breakfast in Miami, Lunch in Nassau, and Dinner at Miami—All in the Same Day.” Charters and covert rum-running flights are again undertaken. When the winter season ends on May 1, 1922, company books show that a total of 2,399 passengers have been carried in 755 flights.
Prior to the start of the 1922 summer season, the airline is divided into three geographically based divisions. The Southern Division is charged with providing transport to Havana, Bimini, and Nassau, plus charters. Following the conclusion of the tourist season on May 1, the Southern Division goes into hiatus while its carrier’s Type 75s are transferred to Cleveland, where a new Great Lakes Division is established.
The New York or Eastern Division will undertake the regularly scheduled services to Atlantic City and those down to Florida during the winter tourist season, as well as flights into New England and various charter operations. A carnival and air show is staged at New York City to inaugurate this year’s summer season. Local and foreign civil and military dignitaries are on hand to witness the cruiser Mendoza make a record-breaking (if entirely unsafe) flight during which 27 passengers are flown aboard the 14-seat seaplane. In early June, two-day “HighBall Express” flights commence from Manhattan to Havana, via intermediate stops. Through September, the New York unit makes 807 flights and hauls 2,380 customers.
Beginning on June 17 from the Cleveland lakefront, the Curtisses of the Great Lakes Division undertake “90 Minute Line” roundtrip flights across Lake Erie to Detroit. The service nickname is chosen as a reflection of the 90 minutes required to transverse the unsubsidized 95 miles between cities, each passenger paying $25 one way. The daily offering proves so successful that a second daily frequency is laid on. Charters are also undertaken and, upon demand, flights are occasionally arranged from New York to Detroit, via Albany, Montreal, Buffalo, and Cleveland. The most noteworthy of these occurs on August 22 when the new cruiser Buckeye, piloted by Capt. Musick, transports a Ford Model-T automobile to Cleveland from the “Motor City.”
In the three inaugural months of operation ending on September 17, the Ohio-based unit carries 1,839 passengers and 2,574 pounds of freight, including the car. The initial work of the Great Lakes Division is completed on October 1, at which point it becomes inactive and its aircraft are transferred down to Florida, from whence winter offshore flights are resumed under jurisdiction of the Southern Division.
Having obtained a renewal of the Key West-Havana mail contract, operations by the Florida unit resume in an atmosphere of optimism. In November, President Uppercue is able to announce that his pioneer carrier has transported a total of 20,000 passengers since its startup without a single mishap. Bookings continue to be successfully recruited through the Christmas-New Year’s season. Disaster strikes in early 1923. On January 13, the Type 75 Columbus is forced down by engine failure 20 miles from Havana. Four of the seven passengers awaiting rescue atop the hull, including two children, are swept overboard by high waves and lost. Later in the month, a severe storm pounds Havana harbor, sinking the Type 75 Ponce de Leon. Neither flying boat is replaced as costs rise above traffic or subsidy-generated income. Adverse publicity hurts bookings.
Owner Uppercue continues to support Aeromarine Airways and the Eastern and Great Lakes Divisions reopen summer services. Traffic figures in the east are weak and the New York Division is closed down in mid-July. The Great Lakes operation proves quite popular with passengers however, and it is retained; a total of 5,000 customers are safely flown by the time that unit stops operating in the fall. Still, the airline is financially draining upon its manufacturing parent, which has failed to neither sell a single converted flying boat nor receive significant business from the government. Unable to accept additional losses, the Southern and Eastern Divisions cease operations in December.
On January 17, 1924, Aeromarine Airways is sold for an undisclosed amount to the Florida Railroad and Steamship Company, owned by Barron G. Collier and Associates. An effort is made to relaunch the enterprise; new capital is found and the company name is changed to Aeromarine Airways Corporation of New Jersey. Planned well before the takeover, the new owners enjoy the positive press generated by the Morro Castle II, the first metal-hulled flying boat designed and built in the U. S. In what will be remembered as the first practical passenger-carrying commercial flight between the U. S. and Puerto Rico, the all-metal flying boat departs New York for San Juan on January 16. It arrives at San Juan on March 4 via the “Highball Express” route, extended from Florida with stops in Cuba and Santo Domingo. During the remainder of March, the Morro Castle II retraces its stops back to New York.
Meanwhile, no sustained passenger service results from the Collier acquisition and, without warning, airmail subsidies are withdrawn by both the U. S. and Cuban governments. The pioneer’s story ends on May 1 with the final scheduled flight from Miami to Nassau. Over 30,000 passengers have been flown over a million passenger-miles with only one fatal accident in three-and-a-half years and, for awhile at least, Aeromarine is the largest civil flying boat operator in the world. Interestingly enough, its pilots may also have been among the best anywhere: if any of them involved in the illegal rum-running activities had been caught, the entire company might have been forfeit.
AEROMARITIME, S. A.: France (1935-1944). With the purpose of providing air transport between West Africa and Equatorial Africa, the shipping concern Compagnie des Chargeurs Reunis, S. A. organizes this carrier in spring 1935. Francis Fabre is named chairman of the new airline.
On July 7, a Caudron Pelican is employed to inaugurate service over a route between Cotonou (Dahomey) and the Niger Territory town of Niamey. As soon as two Caudron Goelands become available, they replace the Pelican. In need of amphibious aircraft, an order is sent to the U. S. for three Sikorsky S-43s.
The premier Sikorsky is sent crated to Marseilles by ship, arriving on July 8, 1936. It is assembled at the southern French city, tested, and then flown down to Dakar. Entering service in late December, it inaugurates same-day, 650-km. roundtrip service from Dakar to Conakry. Two additional S-43s are ordered at year’s end.
The Cotonou leg is stretched to Dakar on March 1, 1937, via Kon-akry, Monrovia, and Abidjan. On May 17, with the second two Sikorsky S-43s on hand, the Dakar stop is stretched down to Pointe Noire with stops en route at Takoradi, Douala, and Libreville.
The fourth Sikorsky is delivered in December.
The last S-43 arrives in March 1939. In September, the Governor of Sierra Leone arranges for the carrier to fly mail from Freetown to Dakar for movement on to Europe via Air France. The beginning of World War II effectively ends the company’s pioneering work.
On February 24, 1944, the Free French government’s Reseau Aerien Militaire Francais and Lignes Aeriens Militaires are joined with Aeromaritime and placed under the centralized authority of Directions des Transports Aeriens. The West African operator will not reemerge as an independent.
AEROMARITIME INTERNATIONAL (COMPAGNIE AEROMARITIME D’AFFRETEMENT, S. A.): France (1966-1991). Aeromaritime is organized in 1966 as a subsidiary of UTA French Airlines, S. A. to operate passenger and charter flights. Revenue services commence in 1967 employing Douglas DC-6s, DC-8s, and Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelles leased from the parent.
In January 1971, Aeromaritime obtains a contract with the European Airbus consortium to operate its two Aero Spacelines AS-201 Super Guppys (converted outsized Boeing 377 Stratocruisers) in the transport of A300B and Concorde components between various assembly plants.
Services continue over the next seven years and in 1978, President Antonie Veil’s company employs ten workers. In 1980-1986, a total of four Super Guppys are offering “Airbus Skylink” flights between factories in France, West Germany, Spain, and the U. K. Plans are now made for the eventual operation of regular passenger group charters.
Late in the 1980s, the company begins to emphasize and undertake passenger charters and inclusive-tour flights to European destinations, many on behalf of Nouvelles Frontiers. As a result, the company begins to assemble its own fleet and in 1988, it comprises 6 Boeing 737-300s, 1 B-747-200, 2 B-767-200ERs, and 1 Douglas DC-10-30. Operations begin to Reunion and the Antilles during the year and enplanements reach 334,000.
Operations continue apace in 1989-1990 and the fleet includes 6 Boeing 737-300s, 1 B-737-400, 1 B-747-200, 1 B-747-300, and 2 B-767-200ERs. A total of 431 employees work at President M. Boutbien’s carrier. Unable to maintain viability, the carrier ceases operations in 1991.
AEROMAS, S. A.: Belgium (1946-1949). Aeromas is established in 1946 at Leopoldville in the Congo as a subsidiary of the Belgian owned trucking company Messageries Automobiles du Sankuru, S. A. Non-scheduled revenue services are provided throughout the colony over the next three years with a fleet of 3 Caudron C-440 Goelands and 2 de Hav-illand DH 82 Tiger Moths.
When Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. is, by government decree, given exclusive rights to operate all services to and within the Congo on April 6, 1949, MAS grounds its aerial division.
AEROMAYA, S. A. de C. V.: Mexico (1966-1969). In September 1966, the Mexican government authorizes Fernando Barbachano’s Aero Safari, S. A. de C. V. and Manuel Gomez Mendez’s Servicio Aereo Gomez Mendez, S. A. de C. V. to interchange services and equipment at Tuxpan. Finding themselves compatible, the two owners fly to London, conduct negotiations, and on November 1 announce the amalgamation of their two airlines into one, Aeromaya, S. A.
The two partners serve as co-general managers, with Gomez Mendez concentrating on operations and Barbachano dealing with promotions, finance, and government relations; the combined company boasts a fleet of 4 Douglas DC-3s and 2 Hawker Siddeley HS 748s. On December 12, HS 748 service is inaugurated, via Tuxpan, from Mexico City to Merida. DC-3 Mexico City-Guanajuato-Guadalajara flights commence on December 20.
Barbachano and Gomez Mendez negotiate a route exchange with state-owned Aeronaves de Mexico, S. A. de C. V. CEO Jorge Perez y Bouras in May 1967. As a result, Aeromaya obtains access to Acapulco in exchange for its route into Merida. On June 1, the company is struck by its unions in a job action that will last four months.
Despite this setback, the process of building a trunk line continues in 1968 as Barbachano and Gomez Mendez attempt to peel concessions away from Mexicana Airlines and other independent carriers. During the year, the company is incorporated; however, the state airline now forms “Aeronaves Alimentadoras” (“Feeder Airline”) to break the upstart.
On October 6, an armed woman with two children in tow hijacks an HS 748 with 17 aboard during a domestic flight from the island of Cozumel to Merida, and forces it to fly to Cuba; the plane returns later in the day.
Early in 1969, the entire company route network west of Mexico City (excepting the single Mexico City-Tuxpan service) is suspended as traffic downturns and financial difficulties begin to pile up. Aeromaya ceases flying on May 10 and enters receivership; its aircraft are all grounded by government order. Aeronaves Alimentadoras and another Aeronaves de Mexico, S. A. de C. V. associate, SAE (Servicios Aereos Especiales, S. A. de C. V.) , now carve up the former competitor’s concessions.
AEROMECH AIRLINES: United States (1964-1983). Having operated a small FBO at Morgantown Airport since 1947, Angelo C. Kouk-oulis moves his family to Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1951 to open a larger aviation enterprise, Aeromech. Aside from aircraft services, sales, and flight training, charter and air taxi flights become an important segment of his business. Koukoulis acquires a Cessna 310 in 1959 to service local corporate airlift requirements. In 1964, when the runway at Clarksburg Airport is temporarily closed for repairs (thereby forcing curtailment of flights by the larger planes of Lake Central Airlines), Aeromech provides regularly scheduled Cessna service to Pittsburgh, Pa. Three years later, in 1968, with Lake Central Airlines failing to meet community air transport needs, Koukoulis resumes full-scale regular, albeit nonscheduled, service.
Aeromech Airlines, as the company flight division becomes known, joins the Allegheny Commuter network in November 1971, simultaneously receiving the first of six Beech 99s it will acquire over the next halfdozen years. Scheduled passenger and freight services are now provided not only to and from Pittsburgh, but to Morgantown, Charleston, Parkersburg, and Elkins, West Virginia, plus Washington, D. C. (DCA). Operations continue apace in 1972-1973 and by 1974 enplanements are 89,380.
Airline employment is 75 in 1975 and the fleet now includes 4 Beech 99s. The carrier is awarded the U. S. mail contract for the Charleston-Pittsburgh via Parkersburg/Clarksburg route. New corporate identification is now unveiled, including a new logo, and increased advertising and marketing activities are begun. During the year, Aeromech enters into a unique degree-granting cooperative aviation program with nearby Salem College.
Passenger boardings jump 18% to 109,000.
The workforce is increased 18% in 1976 to 99. Scheduled service is launched from Beckley and Bluefield, West Virginia, to Pittsburgh, via Clarksburg and Morgantown. A truck fleet is acquired as supplement to the carrier’s airfreight business. A new flight dispatch department is created and a computerized reservation system is installed. Customer bookings accelerate 7% to 116,540 and cargo is up by 24% to 1.94 million FTKs.
By 1977, the company’s fleet has grown to 5 Beech 99s and Akron-Canton has been added to the route network. Carriage of the 500,000th passenger (cumulative) is celebrated in June.
Enplanements this year total 136,354.
The number of employees is increased by 20.4% in 1978 to 130.
Following passage of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, the privately held commuter, like many other small regionals, embarks on an ambitious, often hectic, expansion program designed to fill service gaps and take advantage of opportunities created by the federal legislation.
Sizeable increases in schedule frequencies to the company’s nine markets are ordered as Aeromech replaces Allegheny on the Clarksburg-Morgantown-Washington route. The sixth Beech 99 is acquired as are two de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. Passenger bookings accelerate 6.8% to 145,648, as the 750,000 customer (cumulative) is enplaned. Freight traffic grows faster, rising 30% to 790,000 FTKs.
When Allegheny withdraws from Morgantown and Clarksburg in 1979, Aeromech becomes the sole scheduled airline to connect those two stations with Pittsburgh. Orders are placed for six British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31s (which will not be delivered) and a novel self-ticketing facility is opened at Greater Pittsburgh Airport.
Traffic this year rises 9.5% to 159,000 and further plans are made to modernize the fleet.
The year 1980 is a banner one for the Clarksburg-based small regional as it departs from the Allegheny system, electing to fly under its own name as an independent operator. Withdrawal from the commuter pact means that Aeromech is formed to provide all of the services formerly delivered by the union, including reservations, market planning, station handling, and accounting.
The Koukoulis family airline becomes the tenth tenant carrier at Greater Pittsburgh Airport and inaugurates operations on the following routes: Akron/Canton-Pittsburgh; Parkersburg/Marietta-Pittsburgh; and Bluefield/Princeton, West Virginia-Roanoke. Airline employment reaches 190. As far as many are concerned, however, the highlight of the year is in the area of fleet replacement.
After beginning the disposal of its Beech 99s and having leased its Twin Otters to Air Illinois, Aeromech, with certain inducements from the manufacturer, becomes the American launch customer for the new 19-passenger Brazilian commuter, the Embraer EMB-110P1 Ban-deirante, five of which are initially placed on the line. Author Smith and Gary S. McAllister of the Salem College Aviation program are among those given complimentary introductory flights aboard the new turboprops.
Passenger boardings jump 16% to 185,585 and the company transports its one-millionth passenger; cargo is off by 34% to 495,638 pounds.
In 1981, the workforce grows to 240 and five more Bandeirantes are delivered to Koukoulis, who also places orders for six successor aircraft, the EMB-120 Brasilia. Three new cities—Columbus, Ohio, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Huntington, West Virginia—are added to the route system. Unhappily, the PATCO air traffic controllers’ strike has a dramatic and negative impact on Aeromech as the FAA curbs traffic into Pittsburgh and Washington (two of Aeromech’s most vital destinations) during the fall and causes costly restrictions on company operations. Despite cash flow problems, overall passenger traffic for the year on 71 daily flights increases 3% to 191,148; freight climbs 5.7% to 524,000 pounds.
The Brasilia order is cancelled in 1982 as the problems of 1981 force the carrier to stand pat with its fleet of 10 EMB-110Ps and 5 Beech 99s. Seemingly undismayed, management boosts the payroll 15% to 238 employees and launches services on four new routes: Akron/Canton-Columbus; Cincinnati-Pittsburgh; Harrisburg-Pittsburgh; and Baltimore (BWI)-Pittsburgh.
Passenger traffic at 191,964 passengers boarded remains virtually level (0.4% gain); however, cargo accelerates a welcome 25.6% to
658,000 pounds.
Aeromech never fully recovers from the effects of the 1981 PATCO job action and despite its route expansions in that year and in 1982, costs rise and traffic falls off. During the first nine months of 1983, Angelo Koukoulis seeks ways to save his life’s work while sadly watching passenger boardings fall off 15% to 125,223. Finally, on October 1, it is announced that the Mountain State’s only indigenous scheduled carrier will merge with Cleveland-based Wright Airlines to create a 21-city route system across eight states.
At this point, a number of pilots must find other positions. Among them is Capt. Stuart Updike Jr., who, in August 1997, will receive the Airline Pilot Association’s Presidential Citation for Outstanding Service.
AEROMEGA, LTD.: Hangar One, Stapleford Aerodrome, Staple-ford Tawney, Essex, England, RM4 1RL, United Kingdom; Phone 1708-688361; Fax 1708-688566; Year Founded 1979. Aero-mega is set up at Stapleford in 1979 to provide passenger taxi/charter flights, aerial surveying and photography, and maintenance/overhaul.
By 2000, Managing Director Christopher D. Pemberton oversees a workforce and his company generates ?1.9 million annually. The fleet includes 4 Aerospatiale AS-355Fs, 1 Bell 206B JetRanger, and 3 Bell 206L LongRangers.
AEROMEXEXPRESS, S. A. de C. V.: Ave Texcoco s/n, Esq. Tahel, Mexico City, DF, 15620, Mexico; Phone 52 (5) 237 0266; Fax 52 (5) 237 0232; Code QO; Year Founded 1994. Established on January 13, 1994 as the cargo subsidiary of Aeromexico (2) (Aerovias de Mexico, S. A. de C. V.) , this autonomous airline begins operations on June 9, employing one each leased Boeing 727-2K5F and B-727-2Q6F. Javier
Elizalde Valdez is named president and general manager and he will recruit a workforce that reaches 1,195.
Operations continue apace over many of the parent’s routes without change in 1995-1996. During these years, however, the company opens its own cargo terminal and warehouses, as well as four branch offices in Mexico City. Directly or indirectly, it comes to provide services from 40 terminals in Mexico, 19 in the U. S., 2 in Europe, 3 in Central America, and 10 in South America.
During takeoff from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on March 10, 1997 on a flight to Mexico City, the carrier’s B-727-2K5F loses its No. 3 main wheel; the plane makes a safe emergency landing back at its point of origin and none of the four crewmen aboard are injured.
In September, labor problems with the company’s Mexican pilots for a curtailment in cargo flights to all five U. S. destinations, as well as many Latin points.
Service is resumed in early February 1998. The company begins to rebuild its U. S. presence, flying first to Los Angeles and then to Miami, Chicago, and Dallas. During the third quarter, B-727F all-cargo flights between Mexico City and Dallas (DFW) are doubled to twice weekly.
During the year, the company opens new destinations in the Far East and becomes the main carrier of asparagus from Peru to the Orient.
Flights continue in 1999-2000.
AEROMEXICO (1) (AERONAVES DE MEXICO, S. A. de C. V.): Mexico (1972-1988). On January 1, 1972, Aeronaves de Mexico, S. A. de C. V. adopts the new marketing name Aeromexico and introduces new red and black aircraft livery. The fleet at this point comprises 2 leased Douglas DC-8-63s, 4 DC-8-51s, 10 DC-9-10s, 5 Hawker Sidde-ley HS 748s, and 8 de Havilland Canada DHC-6s. Airline employment stands at 4,326.
During the year, impressive per diem aircraft utilization figures are recorded: 12.25 hrs. for the DC-8-63s; 10.23 hrs. for the DC-8-51s, and 9.44 hrs. for the DC-9-10s. Although orders are placed for two DC-10-30s in June, the government temporarily blocks the requisition. Passenger boardings rise 19.64% to 1,844,000, and freight traffic increases 23.46%.
The employee population in 1973 numbers 4,975. The DC-10-30 orders are allowed, as well as requests for DC-9-30s. In the spring, HS 748/DHC-6 service is begun to the Cancun/Ixtapa resort areas.
On initial approach to Puerto Vallarta from Houston on June 20, a DC-9-15 with 5 crew and 22 passengers crashes 32 km. SE of the runway; there are no survivors.
A total of 1,941,072 passengers are carried on the year while cargo traffic is level.
The employee population in 1974 is 4,975. The first DC-9-30 is received in February and begins service on March 1. On April 1, the first DC-10-30 is delivered; christened Ciudad de Mexico, it begins service on the Mexico City-Madrid route on May 1. The second DC-10-30 also arrives and is placed on the Acapulco/Mexico City to New York run on June 1.
Passenger boardings increase 25.8% to 2,616,000, while freight is up a slight 1.9%.
The fleet in 1975 now includes 2 DC-10-30s, 2 DC-8-63s, 5 DC-8-51s, 6 DC-9-30s, 10 DC-9-10s, 8 DHC-6s, and 3 HS 748s. In August, DC-9-10s replace HS 748s/DHC-6s in providing service from Miami, Houston, and Mexico City to Cancun and Ixtapa. In September, during a Mexican government protest against the excesses of the tottering Franco regime in Spain, Madrid service is suspended. The Philadelphia stop is withdrawn from the New York route late in the year. Passenger bookings advance 23.6% to 3,233,775, while cargo climbs 28.9%.
The workforce in 1976 is now 6,613. One additional DC-9-30 is delivered as an order is placed for another DC-10-30. A route is started to Buenos Aires, via Bogota/Lima, and service is resumed to Madrid.
A DC-9-15 overruns the runway after landing at Leon, Mexico, on September 2; no injuries are reported.
Freight is up 10.7% and passenger traffic climbs 13%, resulting in the carriage of 3,652,819 passengers.
Following the change in national government, Pedro Vasquez Col-menareas in January 1977 succeeds Raymuldo Cano as director general. As an economy measure, the DC-10-30 is withdrawn from the New York service and is placed, instead, on the Mexico City to Guadalajara/ Tijuana routes; the wide-body is replaced on June 24 by DC-8-51s offering “Margarita Service.” DC-9-10 service is launched in July to San Jose del Cabo/Manzanillo in Baja California as one additional DC-9-30 joins the fleet.
A strike by airline ground workers halts services on November 7 and, as a result, bookings fall to 3,566,230.
Airline employment is reduced 2.5% in 1978 to 6,503. Unduplicated route mileage is now 55,071. The fleet now includes 2 DC-10-30s, 5 DC-9-51s, 7 DC-9-30s, and 9 DC-9-10/15s.
While en route from Torreon to Mexico City on May 16, a DC-9-10 is subjected to a rather weak hijacking effort. Two men hand a stewardess a note claiming that they have explosives and are demanding “social justice” for themselves. When the jetliner lands at its destination, police are called aboard and the men accompany them off the plane without incident.
During the summer, the DC-10-30 is restored to the New York route; European frequencies are increased to five-per-week, but the Buenos Aires route is withdrawn.
Passenger enplanements increase 11% to 4,007,000, while freight climbs 19.7%.
Ship One, the first DC-8-21, is leased from F. B. Ayer in March 1979. On September 24, orders are placed for two DC-10-15s. On Christmas Day, the first nonstop direct service is inaugurated from Mexico City/ Guadalajara to Los Angeles. A DC-10-30 and its occupants are lost in a crash at Luxembourg on November 11. Passenger boardings jump 15% to 4,607,183, and cargo drops 1.2%.
Airline employment is reduced by 1.7% in 1980 to 6,656. On January 2, special three-month extra-low fares are initiated on the new Los Angeles direct route. Nominated as a candidate for governor of the State of Oaxaca, Director General Colmenareas is now succeeded by Enrique M. Loaeza Tovar. Orders are placed for 8 DC-9-80s.
Freight rebounds, up 3%, while passenger bookings accelerate 12.1% to 5,168,968. Profits are reported: $26 million (operating) and $21.4 million (net).
The fleet is increased in 1981 through the addition of 2 DC-10-15s and 3 DC-9-80s. A DC-9-32 with 6 crew and 60 passengers makes a hard landing at Chihuahua on July 27, bounces up and then strikes the ground, breaking the fuselage, which catches on fire (30 dead).
Due to decompression, a DC-9-32 with 6 crew and 18 passengers is forced to make an emergency descent over Sierra de Guerro on November 8 and crashes into a mountain slope near Mexico City; there are no survivors.
Maintenance bases are decentralized during the year. Passenger boardings grow 7.2% to 5,538,514, but cargo dips 3.1% to 57 million FTKs. Total revenues are up 12.5% to $443 million, but expenses, especially fuel costs, jump 19.8% to $440.5 million; the operating profit is down to $2.5 million and a net loss of $25 million is suffered.
As the world and national recession deepens and brings inflation and peso devaluation, the outgoing Lopez Portillo government in 1982 attempts to nationalize the competing Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V. After taking 54% of its stock, on July 29 it appoints Aeromexico President Tovar as director general of a combined carrier. Integration and coordination proves extremely difficult.
The new Miguel de la Madrid government scraps the merger plan in December and Tovar returns to Aeromexico. One more DC-9-80 is placed in service during the year and the Ayer-leased DC-8-21 is withdrawn.
Freight is off 8.7% and enplanements are down to 5,455,584. Both operating and net losses are reported.
The employee population in 1983 is reduced 0.9% to 10,703. Onboard services are improved and first-class service is introduced on international flights.
En route from Mexico City to Miami via Merida on June 24, a DC-930 with 60 passengers is subjected to a takeover attempt by an assailant demanding a flight to Havana. While the Douglas is on the ground refueling at Merida, a police offer disguised as a mechanic is able to gain access to the aircraft and captures the pirate.
Passenger boardings climb 8.8% to 5,981,957, but cargo declines another 1.3% to 50.8 million FTKs. On revenues of $276 million, an operating profit of $20.4 million is reported; however, a net $18-million loss is taken. The first Aeromexico will never again have a profitable year.
The workforce is increased 4.9% in 1984 to 10,803. The fleet now comprises 3 DC-10-30s, 2 DC-10-15s, 5 DC-8-51s, 7 DC-9-80s, 17 DC-9-30s, and 8 DC-9-10s.
While on approach to Los Angeles (LAX) on January 10, a DC-9-30 with 32 passengers encounters wake turbulence from a Trans World Airlines (TWA) Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1 which is six miles ahead; four Aeromexico passengers receive minor injuries.
While en route from Mexico City to Miami on July 24, a DC-8-51 with 144 passengers encounters clear air turbulence at a point 50 miles W of Key West; nine persons are injured, one seriously.
Passenger boardings rise 3.6% to 6,194,900 and freight soars 29.7% to 70.95 million FTKs.
Airline employment in 1985 stands at 11,578, a 1% dip. The last ordered DC-9-80s are placed in service. Cargo climbs 24.4% to 88.29 million FTKs and passenger boardings increase 7.2% to 6,644,000.
The payroll grows by 7% in 1986 as the carrier adds three DC-8-62s and retires a DC-9-51. Orders remain outstanding for two McDonnell Douglas MD-82s. Service is started to Atlanta and Montreal during the spring-summer.
While on initial approach to Los Angeles (LAX) from Tijuana on August 31, Flight 498, a DC-9-32 with 6 crew and 58 passengers collides with a Piper Archer with three aboard. In addition to the 67 deaths on the two aircraft, another 12 people are killed when the airliner plunges into a quiet residential neighborhood, destroying ten houses and damaging seven more. The disaster is reviewed by Peter Garrison in his “L. A. Danger Zone: Was the Collision between the Archer and DC-9 Inevitable?” in Flying, CXIII (November 1986), 90-94.
Customer bookings for the year fall 8.9% to 6,053,000 and freight declines by 17.5% to 72.89 million FTKs. Revenues are $241.12 million, costs are $275.38 million, and the operating loss is $34.26 million. The net loss is even worse: $38.1 million. The employee population continues to rise in 1987, by 7.2% to 12,524. Fleet modernization continues as 1 DC-8-51 is withdrawn and plans are made to dispose of the 3 remaining DC-8-51s and 8 DC-9-15s.
Passengers aboard a DC-10-30, en route from Mexico City to New York on January 23, but which cannot land because of snow, unsuccessfully insist on being allowed to remain in the U. S. when the plane makes a refueling stop in Houston en route back to the Mexican capital.
A number of longstanding, but unprofitable, routes are closed, including those to Panama City, Caracas, and Bogota. Severe currency fluctuations continue to have a significant impact and plans are made to sell eight DC-9-15s and five DC-8-51s and dismiss 165 pilots.
Passenger boardings drop again, down 4.1% to 5,802,939, but cargo rallies, and moves ahead by 5.7% to 77 million FTKs. Revenues advance to $274.7 million, but expenses are again high and there are losses: $7.37 million (operating) and $47.7 million (net).
En route from Tijuana to Mexico City on January 4, 1988, Flight 179, a DC-9-32 with 119 passengers is taken over by a lone assailant claiming to have explosives and demanding to be flown to Brownsville, Texas. The man surrenders as the aircraft refuels at Monterrey; he will commit suicide while in police custody.
The fiscal situation at Aeromexico is critical during the first quarter. The pilots’ union, ASPA, makes an unsuccessful bid to purchase 100% shareholding, but receives no response from the government. SNTTAM, the union for the ground workers, at first proposes to work overtime at no pay if the aircraft are not sold; however, the airline proceeds with its plans.
With Mexican law prohibiting a company from selling its assets during a strike, SNTTAM begins a job action on April 12. Three days later, the carrier declares bankruptcy, a state confirmed by a judge on April 18. The government orders the airline closed. The company will be reformed by bureaucratic action in the fall and renamed Aeromexico (2) (Aerovias de Mexico, S. A. de C. V.).
AEROMEXICO (2) (AEROVIAS DE MEXICO, S. A. de C. V.): Paseo de la Reforma 445, Col Cuauhtemac, Mexico City, DF 06500, Mexico; Phone (52-5) 327-4000; Http://www. wotw. com/aeromexico; Http://www. imparcial. com. mx/publicidad/aeromex/aeromexico. htm; Code AM; Year Founded 1988. Following a four-day strike by ground personnel in mid-April 1988, the “old” Aeromexico (1) (Aeronaves de Mexico, S. A. de C. V.), shuts down and declares bankruptcy. The government orders it closed in May. In the fall, after several months planning, a “new” Aeromexico (2), Aerovias de Mexico, S. A. de C. V., is born of bureaucratic action. Ownership of this holding company, with the privatized Aeromexico the principal subsidiary, is divided between Icaro Transportes Group (55%), the Mexican ALPA (25%), and the Banconer Bank (20%), which together invest some $193.8 million.
All but 424 pilots from the previous entity are rehired (two dozen of those fired are able to sign on with Singapore Airlines, Ltd.); however, only 3,600 employees (a small percentage of the previous total) are reemployed. Services are resumed on October 1 over former routes to 31 Mexican and U. S. destinations, with an all-McDonnell Douglas fleet of 15 DC-9-32s, 8 MD-82s, 3 DC-10-30s, and 2 DC-10-15s. All of these aircraft are purchased from the assets of the previous Aeromexico, which are then are sold and chartered back from a leasing firm. A total of 876,437 passengers and 915,000 FTKs of freight are flown during the fourth quarter.
Company employment grows 24.6% in 1989 to 4,683 and 3 MD-88s join the fleet. Made possible by a recent $3.5-billion U. S. government loan, the government of Mexico allows 65% privatization; the shareholding being taken by a consortium of Mexican companies. Services are inaugurated to Madrid and Paris, thrice weekly, via Miami. A third DC-10-30 arrives in November and, in December, a DC-9-82 arriving at Los Angeles is the first jetliner to publicly display the company’s new red and dark blue livery.
Passenger boardings skyrocket to 4,348,318 and freight climbs to 6.14 million FTKs. Revenues total $366 million and costs allow an operating profit of $4.6 million and net gain of $2.6 million.
The employee population is increased by 18% in 1990 to 5,524 as, in March, a contract is signed with Polaris for the ten-year lease of up to ten MD-88s, the first five of which soon enter service. Also in March, 50% shareholding is acquired in the telecommunications company, SERTEL. A contract is signed with IBM for an upgrade of the carrier’s CRS while a technical support agreement is signed with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. By fall, a total of 140 flights are made each day. On December 1, the Vera Cruz-based regional Aerolineas Litoral, S. A. de C. V. is purchased and moved to Monterrey to feed the major from American destinations under the name Aerolitoral (Servicios Aereos Litoral, S. A. de C. V.). On behalf of its new subsidiary, Aeromexico (2) orders nine Fairchild Metro IIIs.
Meanwhile, the year’s customer bookings jump 26% to 5,478,604 and cargo climbs an almost unbelievable 368.8% to 28.91 million FTKs. Revenues ascend 46% to $567.5 million, but expenses are higher. As a result, there is an operating loss of $1.9 million and net gain slides to $800,000.
The payroll grows 17.4% in 1991 to 6,484 and the leased fleet now includes 2 B-767-284ERs, 2 B-767-283ERs, 15 DC-9-32s, 10 each MD-82s and MD-88s, 2 DC-10-15s, and 4 DC-10-30s.
In February, a $100-million order is placed with Fairchild for 27 Metro IIIs and Metro 23s to be delivered through 1993. Upon receipt, they will be turned over to Aerolitoral (Servicios Aereos Litoral, S. A. de C. V.). In March, a $1.2 billion order is placed for ten B-757s and eight B-767s, the first Boeing order received from the carrier.
The last of ten MD-88s is delivered in June. The government deregulates the Mexican airline industry in July, a move that allows the carrier to initiate services to Rome, Frankfurt, Tampico, and Veracruz.
In August, daily nonstop flights begin from Mexico City and Cancun to New Orleans. A frequency is stretched from New Orleans in October to Merida, in the Yucatan.
Impressive figures are reported in November: a dispatch rate of 97%, a 60% increase in sales, and departures of 220 flights each day, 60 out of Mexico City. Passenger boardings ascend 13.6% to a record 6,225,481 while freight skyrockets 99.9% to 57.79 million FTKs. Revenues climb 21.1% to $690.6 million, but expenses are higher and the operating loss is $500,000. There is a $1-million net profit.
The employee population is increased a slight 0.2% in 1992 to 6,500 as the number of MD-82s grows to 12, plus the addition of two each MD-83s and MD-87s, one DC-9-32, two DC-9-31s, and one B-767-3Y0ER. On June 1, the carrier enters into a code-sharing agreement with Phoenix-based America West Airlines. The pact will permit frequent flyer partnerships between the two airlines and code-sharing on the route from Mexico City to Phoenix.
A cost-cutting program is announced in September; designed to save $3 million, it aims to reduce fuel, leasing, labor, and maintenance costs. Simultaneously, plans are noted for an expansion of charter flights into the U. S. and Canada and a lease is signed with ILFC for the charter of six B-757s, beginning the next spring. The parent Aerovias de Mexico holding company establishes Universidad de Aerovias, a corporate university; the first of its kind in Latin America, it provides training for airline and travel agency personnel.
Customer bookings jump 15.3% to 7,177,021 while cargo rises an equal 15% to 66.47 million FTKs. Revenues jump 22.5% to $1.02 billion; however, expenses force an $18.5-million operating loss. A net loss of $52.3 million, the first since the 1988 rebirth, is attributed to a capacity glut. Parent Aeronaves de Mexico also has a downturn, suffering an operating loss of $22.7 million and a net loss of $56.6 million.
In 1993, Chairman/CEO Gerardo de Prevoisin Legorereta’s company continues an effort to rationalize its fleet and fares. The carrier joins with longtime competitor Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V. on February 17 to announce an agreement on the strengthening of previous alliances, but no merger; the boards of the two pledge cooperation in the areas of maintenance, purchasing, training, and cargo. Ten days later, on February 26, a majority 54.7% stake is acquired in Mexicana. The shares are acquired from the Falcon Corporation for $110 million in stock and cash.
A strategic marketing alliance is signed with Air France on March 28. Under its terms, the two companies agree to increase the number of nonstop flights between the capital cities of their nations and to join in joint marketing, cargo, and ground handling activities. The Mexican airline is allowed to relocate its operations from Paris’ older airport (ORY) to its newest (CDG).
When the first two of six newly leased B-757-2Q8s are received in April, they are provided to the charter subsidiary AeroMextour, S. A. de C. V.; parent Aeromexico now changes that operating name to Aeromonterrey, S. A. de C. V. (2). Charter flights will continue, as before, between North American cities and Mexico’s resort communities.
Also in April, the company begins to expand deeper into South America by purchasing 47% near-majority shareholding in AeroPeru (Em-presa de Transports Aereos de Peru, S. A.) for $54 million. Its winning bid is shared with the Peruvian government, which retains a 20% stake; private Peruvian investors hold 23% and employees are allowed a 10% interest.
Aeromexico (2), Mexicana, and AeroPeru now form the “Alas de America” alliance, which calls for joint FFP, training, marketing, advertising, scheduling, and cargo. Joint ground-handling pacts are made and Aeromexico (2) begins code-sharing with AeroPeru over a route from Mexico City to Sao Paulo via Lima.
In May, the Mexican government approves the alliance under which a 55% interest is acquired in Mexicana. Markets now served include: Acapulco, Albuquerque, Agusacalientes, Buenos Aires, Cancun, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juarez, Ciudad Obregon, Culiacan, Durango, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Houston, Istapa, La Paz, Larado, Leon-Guanajuato, Los Angeles, Los Mochis, Madrid, Manzanillo, Matamoros, Mazatland, McAllen, Merida, Mexico City, Miami, Mon-clova, Monterrey, Morelia, New Orleans, New York (JFK), Oaxaca, Paris (ORY), Puerto Vallarta, Queretaro, San Antonio, San Diego, San
Louis Potosi, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Torrem, Tucson, Urtapan, Vera Cruz, and Vilahermosa.
A tentative agreement is signed with the pilots’ union in June. On August 3, preliminary agreement is reached with Delta Air Lines for implementation of a strategic alliance; under its terms, the two majors will share flight information, CRS data, frequent flyer programs, training, maintenance, and passenger bookings, as well as coordinate vacation programs and schedules.
On September 10, Augusto Bojorquez, president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agents (Asociacion Mexicana de Agencias de Via-jes), files a complaint with the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Trans-porte charging that Aeromexico (2) and Mexicana are putting pressure on his members to give preference to those airlines when issuing tickets or selling promotional packages. There is great concern among members of the travel and hotel community, as well as other airline competitors, that the two large carriers will gain a monopoly over the Mexican domestic airline market.
Also in September, AeroMexico (2) begins to code-share with Mexi-cana on routes from Miami to Mexico City, Cancun, and Merida and from Mexico City to Huatulco and Acapulco.
World History
