Viva Aerobus and Allegiant Airlines Announce Business Alliance

A Viva Aerobus aircraft lands as part of the inauguration of the first leg of the new Zumpango de Ocampo International Airport, at the Santa Lucia Military Air Base on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico on February 10, 2021. REUTERS / Edgard Garrido

Dec. 1 (Reuters) – Mexican company Viva Aerobus and its US counterpart Allegiant Air on Wednesday announced a business alliance to offer flights between the United States and Mexico, which airlines say was the first merger of this type between low cost carriers.

Allegiant will also invest $ 50 million in Viva Aerobus, pending regulatory approval.

The agreement aims to offer inexpensive flights and “connect many new cross-border cities,” on routes that previously required connections, Viva Aerobus said in a statement.

“Allegiant and Viva Aerobus working together will be a huge victory for consumers seeking affordable, non-stop travel between the United States and Mexico, and will create tremendous economic benefits for businesses in the hospitality industry,” said said Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher.

The alliance will allow Viva Aerobus to offer new flights to Mexico from US destinations popular with Mexican tourists such as Florida and Las Vegas, the statement said.

Allegiant and Viva Aerobus currently plan to offer flights under the deal starting in the first quarter of 2023, he added.

The merger is pending clearance from the US Department of Transportation and the Mexican Federal Commission for Economic Competition, the antitrust regulators of the two countries.

Reporting by Bengaluru Newsroom and Raul Cortes Writing by Jake Kincaid; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

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