Viva Aerobus released its preliminary traffic results for December, as well as the year-to-date results for 2021. For the first time, the company surpassed the barrier of 1.6 million passengers carried per month.
For such month, capacity (in ASK) grew by 58.6% compared to 2019, resulting in a load factor of 84.3% (-2.4 percentage points versus pre-pandemic and +7.6 pp if compared to December 2020).
As for 2021 annual passenger traffic, it reported a 27% increase compared to 2019 with more than 15.2 million passengers, a record figure for the airline, and with an occupancy factor of 84%, ranking it as the third-largest Mexican carrier, although it surpassed Aeromexico in domestic traffic.
«Our ultra-low-cost business model allowed us to continue boosting demand and serve more than 15 million passengers last year, surpassing our pre-pandemic demand levels and with a healthy occupancy factor despite Covid-19 waves during 2021,» said Juan Carlos Zuazua, CEO of Viva Aerobus.
«Our nonstop service, low fares, new fleet, and unmatched reliability have been key to the preference and trust passengers have placed in us during this pandemic,» he added.
In 2021, Viva Aerobus added new flights and destinations in Cancun, taking advantage of the void left by Interjet. It also landed in South America with flights to Bogota (BOG), Colombia, from Cancun and Mexico City.
In the United States, the following routes have been added to its network: Harlingen (HRL) in Texas from Monterrey (MTY); Cincinnati (CVG) from Cancun (CUN); Houston (IAH) and San Antonio (SAT) from Leon/Guanajuato (BJX).
To meet this growth, 13 aircraft were added: one Airbus A320ceo, four Airbus A321neo and eight Airbus A321ceo (the company’s debut model), totaling a fleet of 53 aircraft.
At the same time, it signed with VIVA the first interline agreement between two low-cost airlines in Latin America, making it possible to expand the offer between both countries and South America. In 2022, they expect to land in Medellín, which is the main base of the Colombian ultra-low cost.
In order to stimulate one of the largest international markets in the world, the airline entered into an alliance with U.S.-based Allegiant Air, which also invested USD 50 million in Viva Aerobus.
It is estimated that the alliance, once the respective governmental approvals are obtained, will become effective during the first quarter of 2023.
