The Mexican government has purchased the assets of Mexicana airlines
Mexicana was one of the oldest airlines in the world when it went out of business in August 2010. The carrier had been flying to the U.S. since 1920, when it began operating Mexico City to Tuxpan to Tampico to Brownsville, Texas with a Ford Trimotor.
The carrier, partially-owned by the Mexican government, went into bankruptcy, and a great deal was revealed about how key executives used the business for tax fraud and money laundering.
Today Mexico is served by airlines like Aeroméxico and Volaris. However the country’s President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has decided he wants a new national airline to be run by the government itself.
The government of Mexico has now acquired the assets of Mexicana, which has been defunct for 13 years for $42.6 million, including:
- $21 million for the airline’s brand
- $11 million for its training center
- $6 million for “a couple of buildings and offices that the company owns.”
The airline will be run by retired members of the military. And by re-starting Mexicana, rather launching a new airline, they’re bringing back union leaders who haven’t had membership to lead in over a dozen years. Mexicana’s old unions will get a payout. And the airline is in talks with Boeing to acquire aircraft.
New Mexicana Can’t Even Fly To The U.S.
The FAA downgraded Mexico’s air safety oversight from category 1 to category 2. No Mexican airline can add a new flight or route. So Mexicana cannot fly to the U.S. at all.
Mexico’s President says there’s nothing wrong with his country’s aviation safety and that the move is just protectionism, to let U.S. airlines expand into Mexico while preventing Mexican airlines from doing the reverse. However, plenty of incidents at least provide anecdotal support for a problem. viewfromthewing.com