Latin Americans take to the sky

Mexico sets the trend for ‘Bus-to-Air’ model

‘Bus-to-Air’ travel is not an unknown concept to low cost carriers (LCCs) in the region and Mexico has been fully leading the way. LCC market share in Latin America, standing below 10 percent in 2002, exceeded 35 percent at the end of 2014. In Mexico in particular, LCCs’ success is noticeable by a market share growth from a mere 11 percent back in 2002 to above 60 percent in 2015.

Volaris and VivaAerobus are both targeting the market segment of passengers who visit friends and relatives. Thanks to a high level of service and reduction in fares, passengers who may have previously traveled by bus can now travel by air in order to save valuable time. Not to mention passengers flying with Mexican LCCs get to fly in Economy Comfort, the superior 18-inch wide seats offered by Airbus, which is now standard across the Airbus product line.

According to Mexican LCCs, ‘Bus-to-Air’ travel has a potential for approximately 300 million passengers who are waiting to make the switch. That’s 10 times the current number of annual air passengers. This is a huge growth potential for these airlines and even though the current Mexican LCCs’ backlog is more than 140 aircraft, only about half will be used to transport new passengers, while the remainder will be used for aircraft replacement. Moreover, these 140 aircraft are just a small percentage of the over 650 aircraft required to serve the Mexican market over the next 20 years, according to the latest Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF).

The GMF also foresees a middle class growth in Mexico of 77 percent in 2024, up from 68 percent in 2000. This will go hand-in-hand with an increase in Mexicans’ propensity to travel, creating even more potential for these airlines.

Although Mexican LCCs have greatly benefited from this business model, there is room for new entrants in the region like recently-launched VivaColombia, which serves the Colombian market. It’s clear that Mexican LCCs have pioneered, and sooner or later the rest of region’s LCCs will undoubtedly follow in their footsteps.

For more information:
Olivier Schuler, Marketing Manager
olivier.schuler@airbus.com