Viva turns strategy in Mexico while agreeing with Avianca

At the same time that the Colombian ultra-low-cost airline Viva (formerly Viva Air) seeks to establish a commercial alliance with Avianca to operate as sister companies of the same group, in Mexico it will suspend, as of October 29, the Bogotá- Mexico City and return.

And since August 28, the Cali-Cancun and return route ceased to operate.

“These changes in the Viva offer respond to a review and adjustment of the size of the company that we have been proposing for some months, bearing in mind the challenging market situation and the macroeconomic variables, mainly due to the price of fuel that have affected the airline industry in general, and Viva in particular,” the airline told El Economista.

This week, the specialized portal A21 reported the suspension of one of these two routes and stressed that the firm will be responsible for the protection of passengers who have confirmed reservations for the flights affected by the suspension.

Viva landed for the first time in Mexico in June 2021 (its arrival was scheduled for 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic postponed it) with the Medellín-Mexico City, Medellín-Cancún and Bogotá-Mexico City routes, which were the first to exceed the three hours of flight that their planes have on their international routes.

His promise was to offer rates up to 40% lower than the rest of the airlines that at that time flew between Mexico and Colombia, including Avianca and Aeroméxico.

Faced with the new reality, the airline chaired by Félix Antelo detailed: With the idea of ​​keeping our promise of offering low fares to passengers, in recent months we have made efforts to face the adverse effects of the price of fuel, the dollar and record inflation, but given that these conditions still exist, we have made adjustments to our fleet and operation, to adapt it to the reality of the current market, always protecting operational safety and seeking Viva’s long-term sustainability.

After the adjustment, only the routes will remain in force: Medellín-Cancún, Medellín-Mexico and the recently opened Cartagena-Mexico.

Last April Viva and Avianca announced the signing of an agreement to be part of the same business group (Avianca Group), however, in recent weeks local airlines, including Ultra Air (chaired by William Shaw, one of the founders of Viva) have expressed their opposition to the agreement because they believe that competition in Colombia will be affected.

alejandro.delarosa@eleconomista.mx