Mexicana de Aviación (legally ''Aerolínea del Estado Mexicano, S.A. de C.V.'') is a Mexican domestic,

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

airline established on 15 June 2023. It operates under the historical commercial name Mexicana de Aviación, after the government acquired the former airline's brands and assets on 9 August 2023. The airline is managed by the

Secretariat of National Defense The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA; ) is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equal Secretary of the Navy, is directly answe ...

and its headquarters is at

Felipe Ángeles International Airport Felipe Ángeles International Airport , also known as Mexico City Felipe Ángeles International Airport or simply Mexico City-AIFA, is an international airport located in Zumpango, State of Mexico, north of Mexico City. Originally named Santa ...

History

On 18 May 2023, the Official Journal of the Federation listed the creation of the company Aerolínea del Estado Mexicano, S.A. de C.V, that will "promote, operate and provide the public service of national and international regular air transport of passengers, cargo, mail or a combination of these, on its own account or through public or private persons.” In August 2023, deals were finalized by the Mexican government, which introduced the airline during a press conference. After briefly launching ticket pre-sales in September, the airline planned to begin operations in December 2023. In October 2023, the airline was granted an Assignment Title by the Federal Civil Aviation Agency. The first aircraft was delivered on 17 December 2023, registered as "XA-ASM". It made its maiden test flight from Santa Lucia to

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

. The inaugural flight was on 26 December 2023 from

Tulum International Airport Tulum International Airport (), officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Carrillo Puerto'' (Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport) , is an international airport situated approximately southwest of Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It serv ...

; though, the flight briefly diverted to Mérida due to weather before finally landing in Tulum. In January 2025, it was announced that Mexicana has ended services to seven destinations, and that it has begun a restructuring process.

Operations

The airline intended to start operations on 1 December 2023, with a planned fleet of 10

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

aircraft. However, it did not receive a valid

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial air transport purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and s ...

at the time and delivery was postponed. The airline used an Embraer 145 aircraft for certification, wet leased from

TAR Aerolíneas Link Conexión Aérea, S.A. de C.V., operating as TAR México, previously ''TAR Aerolíneas'', is a Mexican regional airline based in the city of Querétaro, the capital city of the homonymous state. It operates scheduled flights to 34 national ...

, and was registered as "XA-VGQ". The airline initially reduced its destination count from 20 to 9. The fleet was planned to consist of two Boeing 737-800 and one 737-300, all inherited from the

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; ) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, in ...

. In March 2024, the airline announced plans to purchase 10

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...

aircraft after Boeing's deal fell through, and deliveries were expected after 2025. It was suggested that they would operate the

Embraer E175 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast, narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, short- to medium-range, twinjet, twin-engined jet airliners designed and produced by Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed to c ...

and Embraer E195-E2 planes. In June 2024, it was confirmed that Mexicana has ordered 20 Embraer E2 aircraft, consisting of 10 E190-E2 and 10 E195-E2 jets. Select flights are operated in partnership with

TAR Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

, using two of its 50-seated Embraer 145 planes. As of 2025, only one leased aircraft from TAR remain operational for three destinations due to its partnership termination, and as part of Mexicana's change of operations.

Lawsuit

In March 2024, the airline was sued by Texas-based SAT Aero Holdings, seeking up to $841 million in damages due to issues such as failing to pay $5.5 million for aircraft leasing, contract breaching, and failure to obtain licenses for importing aircraft. SAT was recruited to provide services to the airline. A complaint was filed in Manhattan, and the Mexican military defense did not have any information regarding the case.

Destinations

, Mexicana de Aviación flies to a total of 12 domestic destinations. Mexicana has announced additional routes wiill be incorporated following work to strengthen the airport infrastructure: * Apodaca, Nuevo León * Tulum, Quintana Roo * Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca * Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas * Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas * Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche * Ciudad Obregón, Sonora * Loreto, Baja California Sur * Palenque, Chiapas * Nogales, Sonora * Puebla * Tamuín, San Luis Potosí * Uruapan, Michoacán * Matamoros, Tamaulipas * Colima * Guaymas, Sonora

Fleet

, Mexicana de Aviación operates the following aircraft:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aerolinea del Estado Mexicano Mexicana de Aviación Airlines established in 2023 Mexican companies established in 2023 Airlines_of_Mexico Low-cost carriers Government-owned companies of Mexico