VivaAerobus plans to launch four new routes from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), according to an application filed with the US Department of Transportation (DOT). The Mexican Low Cost Carrier (LCC) applied with the DOT to add service from DFW to Cancun (4x weekly), Guadalajara (4x weekly), Monterrey (Daily), San Jose del Cabo (Daily), with services beginning in December 2014.
VivaAerobus will face competition from American Airlines on each of its new Mexican routes from DFW. Guadalajara and Monterrey are only served by American, while Cancun is served by American ultra-low cost carriers (ULCCs) Spirit Airlines and Sun Country. Spirit also serves Cabo from DFW. All four markets have a chance of succeeding for VivaAerobus however, thanks to high fares to Guadalajara and Monterrey, and strong demand to Cancun and Cabo.
DFW will become VivaAerobus’ fourth US destination after Houston, Las Vegas, and San Antonio. At present, its only US route is daily service between its largest base at Monterrey and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. However, in November and December, it will undertake a major expansion of its US network. Houston will get new service to Cancun (5x weekly), and Guadalajara (4x weekly), while San Antonio and Las Vegas will be added to the network with four weekly flights apiece to Monterrey. All told, including its proposed flights at DFW, VivaAerobus will expand its US footprint this winter with 39 new weekly flights and eight new city pairs.
For VivaAerobus, this winter’s expansion marks yet another substantial push into the United States. At various times, the LCC, which operates roughly 758 flights per week with a fleet of 17 aircraft (14 Boeing 737-300s, 3 Airbus A320s), has offered service to Miami, Orlando, Chicago Midway, Austin (prompting the construction of the South Terminal), Las Vegas, and San Antonio. Over the course of 2012 and 2013, it drew down its once expansive US network to its present size, but appears, once again, to be throwing resources into a similar expansion. As with all Mexican LCCs, its anyone’s guess, as to whether the increased service will be sustainable
