On Monday, Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines announced a 30% increase in the transborder seat offering between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican carrier will launch 17 new routes departing from seven airports in 2024, expanding its footprint across the United States after two and a half years of growth constrained due to the country’s downgrade to Category 2 status by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Expanding the airline’s Joint Cooperation Agreement

The Delta and Aeromexico Joint Cooperation Agreement (JCA) will expand its operations beginning in January 2024. Next year, Aeromexico will gradually introduce 17 new routes from seven Mexican airports to nine destinations in the United States. All these flights will be supported by Delta’s codeshare.

The new routes will depart from Mexico City International Airport (MEX, four new destinations), Monterrey International Airport (MTY, four new destinations), Bajío International (BJX, two new routes), Guadalajara International (GDL, two new routes), Querétaro International (QRO, two new routes), Mexico City’s Felipe Ángeles International (NLU, two new routes), and Merida International (MID, one new route).

Looking at the routes 

Aeromexico will launch six new routes from Mexico City’s two main airports. MEX will have four new services, reaching Detroit (DTW), Salt Lake City (SLC), Washington DC (IAD), and Boston (BOS). Meanwhile, Aeromexico will begin servicing McAllen (MFE) and Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) from the Felipe Angeles airport. Together with the current service to Houston (IAH), the Felipe Ángeles will now have three routes to the United States.

Monterrey will also have four new routes as Aeromexico begins flying to Atlanta (ATL), Salt Lake City, New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX). Bajio, Guadalajara, and Queretaro will all have two routes a piece. Aeromexico will begin flying to Atlanta and Detroit from each of these hubs. Finally, Merida will only have one new route to Atlanta.

The itineraries and ticket sales of all these 17 new routes will be announced gradually, pending government approvals, said Aeromexico.

Strengthening the Delta-Aeromexico JCA

With the new routes and increased frequencies to current destinations, Aeromexico plans to operate nearly 60 daily frequencies to the United States by July 2024. This will represent a 35% increase in departures compared to 2023, reaching 36 US markets.

In the meantime, Delta is planning to operate 34 daily frequencies to Mexico in July 2024, serving seven different Mexican destinations. Overall, the two carrier’s JCA will deliver a 30% increase in capacity year-over-year, “widening options for passengers to travel between the US and Mexico.”

Aeromexico’s increase in routes and frequencies is possible following the airline’s renewal of its fleet, receiving over 50 new aircraft (mainly Boeing 737 MAX) in the last few years. Additionally, after the resumption of Category 1 status, Aeromexico can use these new jets in routes to the United States. While in Category 2, the airline was prohibited from registering newly received jetliners and employing them on flights to its primary international market.