Aeroméxico Connect
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Founded | 1988 (as Aerolitotal) | ||||||
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Parent company | Aeroméxico | ||||||
Headquarters | Mexico City, Mexico | ||||||
Website | www |
Aerolitoral, S.A. de C.V.,
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2017) |
1988 to early 1990s
The airline was established in 1988 as Servicios Aéreos Litoral, to later become a subsidiary of Aeroméxico on December 1, 1990.
Mid-1990s
In 1991, the main base was moved to Monterrey and in 1992, Aeroponiente started operations from Guadalajara. The pilot seniority list was merged, and a common paint scheme was adopted using the Aeroméxico logo. Since 1992, Aerolitoral has been the only source of pilots for Aeroméxico with more than 400 pilots transferred until today. In 1993, a small base was opened in
The route network expanded all across the north of Mexico, and some routes to the United States were operated for a brief period, such as: Harlingen, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Austin in Texas as well as to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The main U.S. routes operated in this period were San Antonio, Tucson, El Paso, and Phoenix.
In 1996, the two airlines were merged into AeroLitoral S.A de C.V., causing some labor problems to continue during 1997, and a pilot strike in the same year. There was a high demand for a bigger airplane in the route network and the Fairchild Metro 19 seater was not enough. After a long selection,
In early 1999, AeroLitoral was operating 29
Early 2000s
In the period between the years 2000 and 2002, 13 more Saab 340Bs were added to replace Metros, with a peak fleet of 22 Saab 340Bs. On the third quarter of 2001, services to San Diego via Mexicali, to Zacatecas via Puerto Vallarta, and Monterrey were launched. Nevertheless, these services were discontinued shortly after 9/11 Attacks. On September 6, 2001, there was an accident without any fatalities, it was a Saab 340B's with registration XA-ACK which crash-landed 15 miles southeast of Tijuana. The airplane suffered fuel starvation, due to a false indication in the flight deck fuel gauges, caused by a defective element on the system, reflecting more fuel than the aircraft actually had.
After the
In early 2003, with a fleet of 3 Fairchild Metro and 22 Saab 340Bs, the load factors were recovering as with many other airlines around the globe. That same year, AeroLitoral announced the acquisition of the first 5
. The agreement lasted a year and ended in late May 2005.Mid 2000s
In 2005, the first scheduled services in and out of Mexico City on behalf of Aeroméxico were introduced to Ciudad Obregón and Los Mochis, using ERJ-145 aircraft. During this year, five more ERJ-145s were introduced to the fleet, introducing new routes to central Mexico and the southeast of the country, as well as increasing the size of the fleet to 10 aircraft.
In 2006, AeroLitoral took over services from Mexico City to Campeche and Durango, previously operated by Aeromar on behalf of Aeroméxico, and resumed operations to Reynosa, Oaxaca, and other Aeroméxico non-revenue city pairs. By the end of 2006, an ERJ crew base in Mexico City was established, 13 more ERJs were introduced to the fleet, most of them in addition, bringing the number of 23 by the end of the year.
In 2007, AeroLitoral returned to Austin on behalf of Aeroméxico from Mexico City, reopened the hub in Guadalajara with an
Destinations
Aeroméxico Connect has grown over the past few years in the Mexican domestic market. It has come from being a feeder airline to a key on Aeroméxico's strategy to remain in the industry. As new aircraft have been added since 2004, Aeroméxico has been shifting many of its domestic and short-haul international routes to Aeroméxico Connect. The intended plan of the holding consortium of the two airlines is to keep developing Aeroméxico Connect in those markets where mainline Aeroméxico would not profit, moreover after the addition of the Embraer E-190 that is capable of operating on some longer routes that were formerly served by mainline Aeroméxico with
Fleet
Current fleet
As of May 2024, Aeroméxico Connect operates the following aircraft:[7]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J | Y | Total | ||||
Embraer E190 | 37 | — | 11 | 88 | 99 | |
Total | 37 | — |
Historic fleet
Aeroméxico Connect also previously operated the following aircraft types:[8]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired |
---|---|---|---|
Embraer ERJ-145 | 40 | 2007 | 2017 |
Embraer E170 | 13 | 2012 | 2020 |
Embraer E175 | 3 | 2013 | 2017 |
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | 23 | 1991 | 1999 |
Saab 340 | 9 | 1999 | 2010 |
Accidents and Incidents
Aeroméxico Connect and its predecessor, Aerolitoral, have never had an accident with loss of life, although it has had 6 accidents, with 2 hull losses.
- On 6 September 2001 at 12:35 local time, an Aerolitoral Saab 340 (registered XA-ACK) encountered a failure of its second engine, forcing the pilots to perform an emergency landing on a field in Valle de Las Palmas. The aircraft had been operating Flight 2130 from Ciudad Juárez to Tijuana with 29 passengers and three crew members on board, none of whom were seriously injured even though the airplane was damaged beyond repair.[9]
- On 21 January 2010 at 12:24 local time, Aeroméxico Connect Flight 2051 from Hermosillo to Los Angeles veered off the runway upon diverting at Embraer ERJ 145 involved (registered XA-WAC), which was repaired and returned to service.[10]
- On 10 May 2010 an Embraer ERJ 145, registered operating as Aeroméxico Connect Flight 921 reported an unsafe gear indication upon approach. Onboard the flight, with service to Mexico City from Monterrey, were 27 passengers. The crew aborted the approach and entered a holding for troubleshooting, the unsafe indication continued. After a subsequent low approach, the tower reported all gear appeared to be properly down. The airplane landed safely about 30 minutes after aborting the first approach.[11]
- On 23 June 2011, Aeroméxico Connect Flight 2471 with service to Mexico City from Nuevo Laredo, was hit by two bolts of lightning. The Embraer ERJ 145, registered XA-SLI with 43 people on board, suffered system damage. Smells of smoke in the cockpit caused the pilots to divert to Monterrey for a safe landing. No injuries were reported, and the plane sustained minor damage.[12]
- On 17 March 2012 an Embraer ERJ 145, registered XA-TAC encountered a loss of cabin pressure. Flight 2469 was en route to Monterrey from Veracruz with 48 passengers and three crew. At FL320 near Tampico, Tamaulipas, the crew initiated an emergency descent and a diversion to Tampico International Airport. The aircraft landed safely with no injuries reported.[13]
- On 31 July 2018, Aeroméxico Connect Flight 2431, operated by an Embraer 190 registered XA-GAL, crashed while attempting to take off from Durango Airport. Although no one died in the accident, the resulting fire consumed the aircraft.[14][15]
References
- ^ "Aerolitorial DBA Aeromexico Connect Air Operators Certificate". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Aeromexico". aeromexico.com. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. March 16–22, 2004. 50. "Carretera Miguel Aleman Km 22.8, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, 66600, Mexico."
- ^ Aeroméxico. "Destinations". Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ Route Map pages, "Aire" magazine, June 2019. Aeromexico. June 2019. p. 168. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 49.
- ^ "Aeromexico Connect Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ "Aeroméxico Connect Fleet Details and History".
- ^ Harro Ranter (6 September 2001). "ASN Aircraft accident Saab 340B XA-ACK Tijuana". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Harro Ranter (21 January 2010). "ASN Aircraft accident Embraer EMB-145LU (ERJ-145LU) XA-WAC Tijuana-Rodriguez Airport (TIJ)". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "The Aviation Herald". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "The Aviation Herald". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "The Aviation Herald". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "Aeroméxico plane with 101 aboard crashes in Durango; no deaths reported". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Aeroméxico Connect (5D) #2431 ✈ 31-Jul-2018 ✈ DGO / MMDO - MEX / MMMX ✈ FlightAware". FlightAware. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
External links
Media related to Aeroméxico Connect at Wikimedia Commons
- Official Aeroméxico website
- Aeroméxico Connect (Archive)
- Aerolitoral (Archive)
- Aerolitoral (Archive) (in Spanish)