With the launch of its service from Guadalajara, Mexico to Houston-Intercontinental Airport on March 26, the relatively new low-cost carrier, Volaris airlines, has increased the number of destinations it reaches in the U.S. from locations in Mexico by a third in a six month period:
—Service to Portland from Guadalajara began on October 6, 2014.
—Volaris began non-stop flights between Reno/Lake Tahoe and Guadalajara on December 16, 2014.[13]
—Volaris began its second destination in Florida, Fort Lauderdale International Airport from Mexico City on December 1, 2014 and from Guadalajara on December 4, 2014.
—Volaris will launch service to Dallas-Fort Worth from Guadalajara on April 29th.
On July 15, the carrier will launch service from Guadalajara to JFK New York, which will be Volaris’ 20th U.S. destination.
Though no firm data are readily available, industry analysts credit the success of Volaris and its expanding route structure with helping to increase Mexican arrivals into the U.S. interior. Volaris, which began operations in 2006 as a domestic carrier in Mexico, expanded its entry into the USA with the 2010 shutdown of Mexicana airlines.
In addition to the shutdown and subsequent bankruptcy of Mexicana, the carrier’s expansion was also driven by its price structure, which put the cost of a flight into the U.S. at about the same cost as some bus tickets, making air travel an attractive alternative to ground transportation. For instance, the new Guadalajara-JFK flight will launch with one-way fares starting at $204 using the carrier’s pay-per-service plan, in which travelers select only those services they need for their trips.
Volaris now flies from locations in Mexico to 15 U.S. destinations—all with significant Mexican American communities—that also include San Diego, Sacramento, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Ontario (Calif.), Chicago Midway, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando, San Antonio, San Jose, and Fresno-Yosemite.
