Volaris and Viva Aerobus will join forces to consolidate their presence in Mexico and the United States. With the help of a new company, called Grupo Más Flights, Mexican airlines are looking to strengthen their position in the sector and reduce operating costs. With this alliance, the group will expand its presence in Mexico and the United States, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Enrique Beltranera, president of Volaris, assured that this new holding You will be in a better position to negotiate costs and will be able to compete more effectively. “The beauty of this transaction is that we are very similar airlines, it will be a win-win for passengers,” he said at a press conference this Friday. These airlines together account for 70% of the country’s domestic passenger traffic.
The general director of Viva Aerobus, Juan Carlos Zuazua, indicated, in the same intervention, that with this alliance it will be possible to reduce the costs of aircraft ownership, which represent the most important expense, even above fuel. Zuazua stressed that these changes will not pose a risk to the low-cost promise, with which both companies have operated for more than a decade. The directors declined to make predictions about possible conditions that Mexican and U.S. regulators might impose to approve the alliance, but they expect the deal to close in 2026.
The upcoming reconfiguration of the Mexican airline sector has been well received by the financial market. Volaris shares rose more than 20 percent early in the trading day and were listed at 17.87 pesos per share. The double-digit increase comes hours after the companies announced they were merging into a new company called Grupo Más Flights. Although the affected airlines will share a parent company, they will retain their separate brands and operating certificates. Both companies operate with Airbus aircraft and offer similar routes in Mexico.
The new Grupo Más Flights will hold a 50% stake in each of the airlines and will be listed on both the Mexican Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Viva Aerobus shareholders will receive newly issued shares of the Volaris holding company and Volaris shareholders will retain their shares. The president of the new group will be Roberto Alcántara, current president of Viva Aerobus. The agreement also establishes a transition period during which aircraft maintenance and acquisition processes will be aligned. Last year, Viva Aerobus and Volaris dominated the Mexican market, carrying 44 million passengers together.
The announcement of this unprecedented alliance between Mexico’s main low-cost airlines comes at a time of turbulence between Mexico and the United States. This year, the Donald Trump administration canceled 13 Mexican routes from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) due to alleged violations by the Mexican government of the binational air treaty. In addition, the Trump administration ordered the cancellation of the alliance between Delta and Aeroméxico, currently in dispute.
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