Mexico’s Volaris Receives Its First Two Airbus A321s

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris has taken delivery of its first two Airbus A321s, receiving the second aircraft on May 21 in a ceremony at the Airbus Delivery Centre at Finkenwerder Airfield near Hamburg.

Volaris’ aircraft will be the first Airbus A321s operated by a Mexican carrier and will be deployed on the airline’s domestic routes to and from Cancun, according to Airbus.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris took delivery of its first two Airbus A321s in May 2015, becoming the first Mexican airline to operate the A321

“This is a very important step in our growth strategy, and the A321’s increased seating capacity will undoubtedly help Volaris address the increasing passenger demand for cost-efficient and comfortable air travel,” says Enrique Beltranena, chief executive officer of Volaris.

Mexico City-headquartered Volaris, which is now Mexico’s second-largest airline, has installed 220 passenger seats in each of its A321s. Each A321 is equipped with Sharklet fuel-saving wing tip devices and is powered by IAE V2500-A5 engines.

The two A321s will join Volaris’ existing all-Airbus fleet of more than 50 A319s and A320s. By the end of May 2015, Volaris will be operating 53 A320-family jets.

It is leasing all of these aircraft except the two A321s, which it ordered.

However, Volaris has also ordered 72 more Airbus single-aisle jets which have yet to be delivered. They include 22 A320s, 30 A320neos and 20 A321neos.

Volaris’ A321 deliveries highlights the market trend for larger capacity aircraft by Latin American operators as well as Mexico’s strong traffic growth, according to Airbus.

Airbus’ most recent Global Market Forecast predicts that the passenger-aircraft fleet serving Mexico will more than double in the next 20 years.

The A321 is the largest member of the Airbus A320 family. The A321 offers a 20 per cent capacity increase and an improved operating cost per seat compared to the A320.

Airbus has booked orders for more than 11,700 Airbus A320-family jets to date (including A320neo-family aircraft) and has delivered more than 6,500 A320-family aircraft, to 400 customers and operators worldwide.