31 March 2011
Mexican airline group Aeromexico plans to invest about $1.3 billion to buy 20 new planes, part of an expansion to include more service to Miami, the airline said May 31.
Funding will come partly from an initial public offering on Mexico’s stock market. Current Mexican investors will keep stock control, as well as administrative and operational control, Aeromexico said in a statement.
The airline also will seek international financing and already has secured a $300 million line of credit from Brazil’s foreign trade bank. That’s on top of the $500 million-plus that shareholders invested to buy and capitalize the airline group, the company said.
Aeromexico will use new capital to build a cargo terminal at Mexico City’s international airport, add hangars and platforms at the airport, upgrade its technology and buy 10 Embraer 190 jets and 10 next-generation Boeing 737 jets, among other improvements.
The move comes as AeroMexico group increases its market share, up 10 points to reach 43 percent of the Mexican domestic market. The group now flies 21 percent of Mexico’s international flights together with its SkyTeam partners, the statement said.
To keep business growing, the group plans new routes within Mexico to Huatulco, Colima and Tepic. It will increase flights from Mexico to Miami and to San Antonio, Texas. Plus, it will start Mexico service to Guatemala and Panama, to Venezuela’s Caracas and to California’s Fresno and Sacramento, the statement said.
The AeroMexico group now operates more than 500 flights a day to cities in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Europe and Asia.
For more information on the Aeromexico group, visit www.aeromexico.com.