When Mexico’s flag-carrier airline AeroMexico began service to Las Vegas years ago, it offered two flights a week on both its Mexico City and Monterrey routes.
Today, AeroMexico has two round trips a day between Las Vegas and Mexico City and four a week to and from Monterrey.
The trend shows how the airline's startup of twice-weekly service today between McCarran International Airport and Guadalajara could blossom into something bigger in the future.
Representatives of AeroMexico, the airport and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority gathered at McCarran’s international Terminal 2 this afternoon for the kickoff of service to Mexico’s second-largest city with operations Thursdays and Sundays on twin-engine Boeing 737 jets configured for 124 passengers.
A mariachi band serenaded the airport festivities.
“You can see from our track record that we start conservatively and tend to grow as the market develops,” said Giancarlo Mulinelli, regional sales director for AeroMexico in Los Angeles. “But we’re in a growth period and have 20 aircraft, including 10 737s, planned for delivery.”
Mulinelli added that Guadalajara is a hub airport for the airline and passengers bound for Las Vegas would flow into that airport from smaller cities.
AeroMexico will compete on the route with upstart discount carrier Volaris, which launched Guadalajara service earlier this year and currently offers nine flights a week to and from McCarran.
Rafael Villanueva, the LVCVA’s liaison to Latin America, said 280,000 air passengers traveled to Las Vegas from Mexico last year, making it the No. 2 source of international travelers behind Canada. The LVCVA said AeroMexico’s Guadalajara flights could generate $8.4 million annually in nongaming revenue in Southern Nevada.
The growth of AeroMexico and Volaris over the past year filled a void created when Mexicana Airlines shut down in August 2010. Mark Suman, air service development administrator for the Clark County Aviation Department, said prior to the Mexicana shutdown, air carriers provided about 600 seats a day to Las Vegas from various destinations. Today, there are about 800 seats a day and capacity has grown 35 percent over two years.
In addition to AeroMexico providing new lift to McCarran, airline officials also are encouraging Las Vegans to visit Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco and the center of the country’s information technology industry. Known as the cultural center of Mexico, the host of this year’s Pan American Games and the birthplace of mariachi music, Guadalajara is near the nation’s beach resort area.
Next summer, AeroMexico and other international carriers will move to the new Terminal 3 currently under construction.