Mexicana de Aviación’s first Boeing 737-800 emerges days before the start of revenue flights
The government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is racing against time to put the new Mexicana de Aviación into operation from December 26th.
The state-owned airline, reborn from the estate of the former bankrupt company in 2010, will have an initial fleet of three Boeing 737s donated by the Mexican Air Force.
The first of them, a 737-800 with registration XA-ASM, was seen last weekend in flight after leaving MRO Latinoamérica, where it received its livery.
Mexicana de Aviación is an initiative by the left-wing government to try to offer more affordable flights for the country’s population. The government acquired the bankrupt estate of the airline, including brand rights, and some equipment and facilities.
Plans, however, have been changed frequently. Initially, the government launched the carrier in August intending to begin flights in September with a fleet of ten leased Boeing 737-800s.
There was no time to conclude an agreement, and Mexicana decided to borrow an ERJ 145 jet from the company TAR to advance the Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
It was then that the government decided to “donate” three Boeing 737s from the Air Force (two 737-800s and one 737-300) to form the basis of the fleet.
The 737-800 XA-ASM is expected to be used to achieve AOC in time to launch the first flights next week.
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