An Aguila Without Wings: Mexicana Airlines Grounds all Flights

Anyone who has entered Mexico City’s Benito Juarez airport is met by a security check that requires the newly landed passenger to press a button for a traffic signal, which is permanently fixed in the airport terminal. Red means you will be randomly searched, and greens means you can avoid that annoyance for the day. For Mexico’s oldest and largest airline, a permanent red light might be the last symbol of the end of an era and the beginning of traveller chaos for Mexicans and those who frequent travelling to Mexico.

Mexicana Airline filed for bankruptcy August 2nd, and yesterday gave notice that their flights after August 28th were halted for now, if not permanently. There are many factors why Mexicana, one of the better airlines in the Americas, is now grounded for the time being. Mexico and its commercial sectors were hit hard during the global economic crisis, and despite recent positive economic news the effect of the world economy was only the first issue for Mexican industry. The poor US market that absorbs most of Mexico’s exports and expats has dwindled quickly and affected all exports as well as remittances coming from Mexicans living in the United States. The effect of the H1N1 and Mexico’s ever violent drug war has also turned people away from Mexico and while the H1N1 has disappeared, Mexico’s drug violence has only been getting worse. With all the problems facing all Mexicans, Mexicana’s worries also came from a result of high wages and a lack of re-financing and financial management, and with the recent change in leadership of the airlines, the pressure of the market and structure of Mexicana finally ended their operations yesterday.

As in the case of JAL and Alitalia, the loss of a principal national airline is a blow not only to travellers and commerce in a country, but also is seen as a loss of pride as nations often established those traditional airlines at the beginning of commercial air travel as a source of national identity and progress. Many principal national airlines often carry the colours of their countries proudly, and the loss of a national airline is like taking a national symbol out of the sky and lowering their flag permanently. There is not any sign of how Mexicana’s bankruptcy protection might evolve, as airlines such as Alitalia and JAL had received government support, and even airlines such as Air Canada have visited the bankruptcy court on more than on occasion. It is surprising that Mexicana has come to the point where their planes have been grounded, but in larger nations such as Mexico, a large national airline is often needed to promote access between regions and states that would normally be ignored by the market. For now, Mexico has had to lower its wings due to a series of issues and poor company decisions, but the need for flyers to access Mexico and Mexico’s slowly improving economy will create the need for a Mexicana or a similar airline to cover the demand that exists in Mexico for air travel.