Volaris Hits A Record January Despite Omicron

Volaris continues flying high, breaking monthly traffic records on a regular basis. In January, the airline carried 2.3 million people.

Published February 6, 2022

Despite record-high numbers of COVID-19 infections in Mexico, the low-cost carrier Volaris had its best January ever in 2022. According to data provided by the airline, Volaris carried 2.3 million people last month.

Low season?
Historically, January and February are Mexico’s low season. The airlines record a decrease in the number of passengers and, often, they have net losses by the end of the first quarter.

While not as big as 2021’s low-season, Volaris did post a decrease in the number of passengers this January, compared with December 2021. The low-cost carrier had 2.34 million passengers in January, compared to 2.58 million by the end of last year.

Domestically, Volaris had 1.8 million passengers while internationally, it carried 481,000. Both numbers are Volaris’ new records in January. The airline grew overall by 21.2% compared to January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

While demand remained strong in the month, Volaris reduced its capacity, measured in ASMs, as a response to the Omicron variant. In January, Mexico had the most significant spikes in COVID-19 infections in the last two years.

Solid traffic results
Commenting on January traffic figures, Volaris’ CEO Enrique Beltranena said,

“Volaris started the year with solid traffic results, stimulating demand in our core leisure and VFR markets while carefully managing capacity in response to Omicron. Equally important, we fulfilled our commitment to Volaris’ customers and maintained high schedule reliability despite industry-wide operational issues triggered by the Omicron variant.”

“Volaris started the year with solid traffic results, stimulating demand in our core leisure and VFR markets while carefully managing capacity in response to Omicron. Equally important, we fulfilled our commitment to Volaris’ customers and maintained high schedule reliability despite industry-wide operational issues triggered by the Omicron variant.”

Volaris in 2021
Last year Volaris fully rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and then grew. The airline closed the year carrying 24.4 million passengers, its historical record growing 11.1% compared to 2019. Overall, Mexico had arguably the best recovery worldwide; by December, it had reached 95% of its pre-pandemic traffic levels.

Volaris is Mexico’s leading carrier, surpassing Aeromexico and Viva Aerobus. In fact, low-cost carriers make up 70% of the Mexican domestic market. The low-cost carrier offered 185 routes with its 101 Airbus A320-family aircraft fleet. Daily, it offers over 510 flights, connecting 43 Mexican cities as well as 27 destinations in the United States, Central America, and Colombia.

In 2021, Volaris also signed a deal to increase its fleet. The airline will receive 39 new additional A321neos as part of the massive Indigo Partners deal with Airbus signed last year in Dubai. According to Airbus’ latest Order & Deliveries database, Volaris still has to receive 132 airplanes in the coming years. Notably, it still has to receive 99 A321neos.