Mexico’s airlines: Trump
and now AMLO — July 2018

The past couple of years have been challenging for Mexican aviation, with the US-Mexico open skies regime coming into force, competition intensifying in the domestic market, and Trump effects hitting the Mexican peso, business sentiment and travel demand. The July 1 presidential election and the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations pose further economic uncertainty. How are Mexico’s main airlines — Aeroméxico, Volaris, Interjet and VivaAerobus — dealing with it all?

Mexico is heavily dependent on its northern neighbour, with 80% of its exports going to the US. The airline sector is heavily exposed to the Mexico-US air travel market — about 30m passengers in 2017, or two-thirds of the total international travel to and from Mexico.