Mexicana de Aviación has been sued by SAT Aero Holdings for damages in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiff company alleges breach of contract with the airline.
Furthermore, SAT claims that Mexicana de Aviación attempted to impose economic sanctions by holding it responsible for not delivering the aircraft on time and in the agreed manner.
SAT Aero Holdings, formerly known as PETRUS Aero Holdings, is a company hired by the National Defense Secretariat to lease ten Boeing 737 aircraft intended for the Mexicana fleet. This contract also includes fleet management, insurance, pilot hiring, and maintenance services.
See also: Revival of Mexicana de Aviación as a State-Owned Airline: Inaugural Flight Today
According to El Financiero, the lawsuit filed in the federal court of New York claims damages totaling $838.5 million, plus $2.4 million in costs.
SAT asserts that Mexicana de Aviación failed to deposit $5.5 million, which would have been used to lease the first two 737 aircraft for the airline. The contract includes the leasing of a total of 10 airplanes.
The Dallas-based company attempted to continue with the aircraft leasing process without receiving the payment from the airline. Despite efforts, SAT has been unable to incorporate the two 737s and has fallen into a financial crisis.
«Unfortunately, after SAT spent months negotiating the relevant financing and leasing documents with the bank and potential lessors, the airline refused to sign the documents with these institutions,» states SAT in the lawsuit.
«SAT has made efforts to work with the National Defense Secretariat to resolve these issues. However, instead of remedying these breaches, Mexicana de Aviación has attempted to impose economic sanctions on SAT and hold it responsible for not delivering any of the identified aircraft,» it added.
Since the launch of the airline in the middle of last year, Mexicana de Aviación has undergone various operational adjustments, more in line with the times of politics than those of the commercial aviation industry.
Despite this, a couple of weeks ago, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, assured that before the end of his term, they will acquire 20 planes for Mexicana.
See also:AMLO’s Ambition: 20 Planes for Mexicana de Aviación Ahead of Term End
