Mexico's Volaris touts its differences from US ULCCs

Management at the Mexican ultra-low cost carrier Volaris recently took great effort to deliver a clear message to analysts and investors - "we are different from our US counterparts".

With Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines languishing during the past year, driven in part by changing market dynamics, Volaris believes that the elements that have propelled the ultra-low cost sector in Mexico for more than a decade remain intact.

A major driving force for Mexican ULCCs has, and continues to be, immense opportunity to switch bus passengers to air travel. And with a restoration of Mexico's safety rating by the US, capacity rationalisation has emerged in Mexico's domestic market, and has created new opportunities for Volaris in the transborder market.

Another way Volaris has distinguished itself from its peers in the US is the way it has faced headwinds created by issues stemming from the geared turbofan engines powering its Airbus A320neo fleet.

A sizeable portion of Volaris' fleet will remain grounded throughout the remainder of the year, yet Volaris posted a profit in 3Q2024, and expects its revenue for 2024 to inch close to its performance in 2023.