Mexicana de Aviacion, one of Mexico’s two major airlines, will cease operations by midday Saturday while unions and new owners attempt one more time to find fresh cash to keep the ailing company alive.
“At midnight, a gradual shutdown will begin,” Transport Minister Juan Molinar said at a news conference Friday. “By Saturday at noon, operations will definitively cease.”
Two budget carriers affiliated with Mexicana, Link and Click, will also stop flying, he said, but added that the measure was only temporary.
Last week, Tenedora K purchased a 95 percent stake in Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico, which controls Mexicana, Click and Link. But the new owners declined to inject capital into the holding after concluding that its financial situation was too precarious.
Fernando Perfecto, head of the pilots union, said at the same conference that workers and management will keep looking for investors but gave no indication as to when the airlines could resume operations.
Mexicana had already halted dozens of domestic and international routes and stopped selling tickets after requesting creditor protection earlier this month under Mexico’s insolvency law, which is called concurso mercantil.
The 89-year-old airline has also requested creditor protection in the United States, but has yet to be declared bankrupt in Mexico.
It has struggled to find a buyer willing to help restructure its $800 million debt load.
Plans for getting rid of some 1,366 of its flight attendants to facilitate a takeover by Tenedora K were blocked earlier this week by the government.
Mexicana controls many routes into the United States which would be among its most valuable assets. But restrictions slapped by U.S. aviation authorities on Mexico due to safety lapses mean Mexican airlines are not able to take over these routes for now.
Mexicana is part of the Oneworld alliance, whose members include American Airlines , British Airways and Lan among its members.
Will probably come back as Cartel Airlines.
Hey, ICE needs some planes. I’ll bet they could keep the fleet busy if they tried a little.
It would be smart for an American airline to purchase the airline because once amnesty is granted in the near future, most immigrants will be purchasing flights to visit family back home, VOTE YES FOR AMNESTY!!
Hey mike Billy bob go back to Europe
There’s nothing you can do to save an airline whose often surly staff asked, ”What you want, chicken or meat?”
I fail to see what is funny about an 89 year old company going down. Not only does this put thousands out of work in Mexico, but also many Americans, who work at US cities Mexicana served.
Re: Anthony RO
It’s not funny that the airline is going down.
I flew Mexicana in the 80’s and 90’s and it was decent.
The fact that Mexico is so messed up, makes me wonder why anyone would want to go there, even with cheap vacationing deals. I know not all of Mexico is in disarray, but why even take a chance unless you have family
or business there.
Mexicanna Airlines always provides gracious service and on time arrival and departures. The hospitality of the culture certainly showed. Hope the shut down is temporary.
does anything work efficiently in Mexico? Maybe taking bribes will help……..