Transportes Aeromar, S.A. de C.V, doing business as Aeromar, was a Mexican

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

that operated scheduled domestic services in Mexico and international services to the United States, and Cuba. Its main base was

Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the primary international airport serving Greater Mexico City. It is the List of the busiest airports in Me ...

. The airline ceased all operations on February 15, 2023, following a financial collapse.

History

Foundation and development

The airline was established on January 29, 1987, and started operations on November 7, 1987, as ''Transportes Aeromar''. It was owned by Grupo Aeromar (a private company) (99.99%) and had 864 employees in July 2010. On April 1, 2010, Aeromar signed a commercial alliance with

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

. Aeromar then announced it would lease two Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets. These twin-jet aircraft were subsequently removed from the airline's fleet. On August 30, 2010, Aeromar and Continental Airlines announced a frequent flyer partnership that allowed each carrier's passengers to earn and redeem miles on either airline. In addition, Continental international first and business class passengers, Presidents Club members, and

Star Alliance Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...

Gold customers were able to access Aeromar's Salon Aeromar lounge in Mexico City at that time. When Continental Airlines merged into

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

, the codeshare agreement was transferred over to United. As of 2018, Avianca had expressed interest in acquiring or merging with Aeromar to become "Avianca Mexico". The airline awaited a 100 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

injection from Avianca's parent company, Synergy Group. Avianca would've had to first acquire up to 49% of the airline over the next five months. The deal did not go through.

Demise

As of 2023, it was reported that the airline was $600 million USD in debt, primarily due to efforts to avoid a Mexican government financial collapse, and faced the possibility of cessation of operations after February 14, 2023. Operations had declined since 2020, impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. At the same time, reports also emerged that Brazilian start-up carrier Nella Linhas Aéreas had acquired Aeromar, according to logo updates on its official website and social platforms. The deal was reported to be pending, but would not proceed if debts were not canceled by the Mexican Federal Government. Aeromar announced on February 15, 2023, the definitive cessation of its operations, due to financial problems, after 35 years of flying uninterruptedly in Mexico, the United States, and Cuba. Aeromar owes over MX$5 billion pesos (US$268 million) to different creditors, including the Mexican authorities. Several laid off employees have been offered jobs for airlines such as Aeroméxico, Aerus, and

Volaris Volaris (legally ''Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.B. de C.V.'') is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Mexico City, Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City with its operating bases in Canc ...

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

On February 1, 2011, Aeromar and Continental Airlines implemented

codesharing A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

on all routes at Aeromar's hub in Mexico City International Airport. Aeromar then started operating additional domestic services such as flights to Durango, Matamoros, Ixtapa, and Piedras Negras; and announced it would re-evaluate its international services. Currently, the only international destination served by the airline is

McAllen, Texas McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, acros ...

although Aeromar previously served

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

and

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. When Continental Airlines merged into

, the codeshare agreement was transferred over to United. On August 1, 2019, Aeromar and

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

signed a codeshare agreement, after the latter carrier commenced operations to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. On August 3, 2021, Aeromar and

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

signed an interline partnership that will provide customers with connectivity between destinations in Mexico and the United States through Mexico City with the Emirates global network. On March 29, 2022, Aeromar and

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

signed an interline agreement to boost connectivity between Mexico and Canada. The agreement was planned to grow by the summer season.

Fleet

Over the years, the Aeromar fleet consisted the following aircraft:

Fleet development

In early 2015, Aeromar decided to remove its Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet aircraft from operations. The airline then supplemented its fleet of fifteen ATR 42 turboprops with two new larger ATR 72-600 aircraft. In November 2016, the airline ordered eight new ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft and optioned another six ATR 72s. Aeromar's first ATR 42-600 was handed over by the airframer in December 2016.

Services

Frequent Flyer Programs

Aeromar participated in the United Airlines MileagePlus program and the Air Canada Aeroplan program, despite not being owned by

United Airlines Holdings United Airlines, Inc. is a major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six continents with more destinations than any o ...

or Air Canada, nor being a member of

, of which those airlines are currently a member.

Airport lounges

Salon Aeromar was Aeromar's private airport lounge.

References

External links

*
official website

Aeromar Making Waves
" ''

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

''. 6–12 March 1996. Page 31. {{authority control Defunct airlines of Mexico Airlines established in 1987 Airlines disestablished in 2023 Airlines of Mexico City Mexican companies established in 1987 2023 disestablishments in Mexico Regional airlines of Mexico