Volaris’ Salvadoran subsidiary has big expansion plans for 2022, including aircraft fleet expansion and new destinations to South America.
Ronny Rodríguez Chan, General Manager of Volaris El Salvador, said in an interview with El Mundo de El Salvador newspaper, that they expect to add three destinations to the United States, that include: New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), and Washington (IAD), which currently originate from San Jose (SJO) through the Costa Rican subsidiary. In October 2021, Volaris El Salvador had applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for permits to operate in the United States.
See also: Volaris El Salvador requests DOT for routes to the United States
The company plans to continue operating its routes to Mexico City (MEX), Cancun (CUN), and San Pedro Sula (SAP), in parallel to expanding to South America. In early 2021, the Costa Rican subsidiary applied to Colombia’s Civil Aeronautics to operate to Bogota (BOG) and Medellin (MDE).
“We will certainly make adjustments in operations to San Pedro Sula in schedules and connections, and it is very likely that we will have services to South America, more at the end of the second quarter,” said Rodriguez Chan.
The airline’s growth plans remain subject to approvals by government authorities and the evolution of the current health situation.
“We are already flying from Mexico City and Cancun, so as you know, and on March 15 we are starting from Costa Rica to Bogota, Colombia. These destinations, to South America and the Andean region, are initially part of our growth agenda, as well as Panama”, added the executive to El Mundo newspaper.
See also: Volaris and Viva Aerobus apply to fly to Colombia
Volaris recently received its 100th aircraft; the Salvadoran subsidiary’s expansion plans include increasing its fleet to five aircraft by the first quarter of 2022 when it currently has two Airbus A320neo.
The incorporation of new aircraft is in line with Volaris’ plans for growth and demand in Central America, where it expects to serve a potential market of 50 million inhabitants.
“We expect to reach maturity in Central America, a good part of it in Volaris El Salvador, that we can have 15 to 16 aircraft, this is not for 2022, the growth is related to demand,” explained Rodriguez Chan.
The Salvadoran air market has been dominated for many years by traditional operators such as Avianca El Salvador (ex – TACA), United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Copa Airlines, but trends have changed and the presence of low-cost airlines is increasing.
There are currently three low-cost airlines operating in El Salvador, the one with the largest number of available seats is Spirit Airlines, which has four destinations from San Salvador (SAL), including Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Houston – Intercontinental (IAH), Orlando (MCO) and Miami (MIA) which starts on March 10.
Frontier offers flights to the Salvadoran capital from Orlando (MCO) and expects to resume operations to Miami (MIA) in August.
Volaris El Salvador’s landing in the United States will give customers more options and benefits at the time of their trip.
“The (low cost) model is the one that is victorious in the pandemic, the model is undoubtedly the winner in the airline industry after the pandemic. It is associated with the use of the resource, of the money, and associated with the network of routes and destinations. That is why, for us, it is important to understand and read the flight vocations for Central Americans,” concluded Rodriguez Chan.
