Jaunted - Tag: mexicana

Mexico's Air Safety Rating is Once Again Top Notch

kjb — 2010-12-06T12:35:49-05:00

Not too long ago the Federal Aviation Administration wasn’t totally cool with Mexico’s less than stringent stance on the country’s air travel safety. Spring Break was in jeopardy, as nervous parents might warn against flights aboard Mexicana or AeroMexico, but it appears that college kids are now ready to hit the beach without a care in the world...like usual.

US Aviation officials last week gave the all-clear to raise Mexico’s aviation safety rating back up to the top level, as things have improved south of the border. It sounds like whatever they weren’t doing before they’re doing now as the FAA feels Mexico is following all of the international air safety rules.

Mexicana Flight Attendants Strip Down for Calendar to Raise...Errr...Awareness

Omri — 2010-11-29T16:35:46-05:00

When Mexicana suspended all flights a few months ago, we gave you the heads up that they'd try to look for new funding sources so they could start back up. So they did some restructuring, but apparently ended up slightly short of their goal and massively short of exposure. So the airline got the idea to have 10 of their unemployed flight attendants get in really tight shirts and/or really skimpy bikinis and pose for a 2011 calendar. Done and done. If they had applied that kind of business sense to the airline itself, there'd be Mexicana planes in the air right now.

In fairness, this isn't exactly a patentable innovation. Russia's Aeroflot put out a fairly hardcore flight attendant calendar for their VIP's over the summer, while Air Comet stewardesses took off their clothes and got photographed as part of a wage dispute with their own airline. Nonjudgmental as we are, we dutifully posted links to both calendars, because who are we to scrutinize the motives of busty flight attendants who want to take off their clothes? For their airline, against their airline, or even if they don't have any strong feelings about they airline at all—t's hardly our place to judge.

Bankrupt Mexicana Stops All Flights, but They Could Still Come Back

kjb — 2010-08-30T08:56:29-05:00

Apparently that last minute infusion of cash was not enough, as Mexicana and its planes might be going to that big terminal in the sky. Over the weekend, the troubled airline shut down all flights until further notice, as they continued to blame all of their money issues.

Things were struggling on Friday like the past few weeks, but by Saturday afternoon, the planes stayed parked at their gates. Mexicana wants passengers stuck with tickets to visit their website to request a refund. There’s a pretty straightforward refund form that can be filled out online, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be saving your cash anytime soon. For those stuck away from home, Aeromexico is promising to help out, but you’ll still have to spend a little money, as they’re only offering discounts on standby flights.

Mexicana May Be Saved, but Only Time Will Tell

kjb — 2010-08-24T09:09:20-05:00

Mexicana has not been having a good August, but it looks like a group of fairly wealthy folks want to help the airline end 2010 with a smile.

A group of Mexican investors under the name of "Tenedora K" have put together enough money to buy 95 percent of the troubled airline. They left just enough for the pilots’ union to keep control of the remaining five percent. At this point, Mexicana has not released any information about their sale, but we’d expect to get some news any day now.

Canceled Flights and Unpaid Pilots Aren't Good Signs for Mexicana

kjb — 2010-08-11T10:46:20-05:00

Things are not going well for Mexicana. You already knew that they just became the latest airline to file for bankruptcy, and there’s that whole FAA downgrade thing that has to be a blow to their airline ego. It seems that the bad news is compounding quickly, and we might not be hearing much from them in a few months if their bad luck continues.

Last week the airline suspended ticket sales just days after filing for bankruptcy protection, but the airline promised that they would continue flying for those passengers that already held tickets. The airline hoped that this would give them some time to continue labor talks with some employees, but we just think that this reveals how bad things really are.

Another One Bites the Dust: Mexicana Files for Bankruptcy

Omri — 2010-08-04T17:04:29-05:00

The string of great news for the oneworld airline alliance had to stop some time, and apparently that time was yesterday. That's when ailing Mexican national airline Mexicana officially filed for bankruptcy in the US and Mexico. The move will allow them to keep operating, though it obviously casts doubt on the company's long-term viability. It's also not a particularly positive sign for the airline industry as a whole, which really just can't catch a break.

Still, it's hard to say that this filing was totally unexpected. Between getting their air safety rating downgraded by the FAA and having their planes randomly confiscated by Canadian lessors, the airline wasn't exactly convening an overwhelming ethos of stability.

The FAA Downgrades Mexico's Air Safety Rating: What It Means for Travelers

kjb — 2010-08-02T12:01:16-05:00

It’s a little too early to start planning spring break just yet, as college coeds haven’t even reported back to the dorms for the fall. However, there’s something that will concern them a little more than this year’s textbook bill. The FAA isn’t cool with Mexico’s airline safety ability, and the agency has downgraded their air safety rating to the level usually enjoyed by third-world countries.

This doesn’t mean that your dreams of delicious tacos in the streets of Mexico City and beer funnels in Cancun are ruined forever, but it does mean that Uncle Sam is slightly concerned about your safety while flying aboard Mexican airlines. Flights will continue, but AeroMexico and Mexicana won’t be getting any new routes to the United States anytime soon. Also, US airlines will stop allowing codeshares on flights operated by Mexican airlines. That means Delta can’t sell AeroMexico flights as their own, and the same goes with American Airlines partnering up with Mexicana.