Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as Viva (formerly Viva Aerobus), is a major Mexican low-cost airline headquartered at Monterrey International Airport, in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Measured by passenger numbers, it is Mexico's third-largest airline and eleventh-largest airline in North America, offering more than 160 routes in more than 50 destinations serving Mexico, the United States, Central and South America.
Viva is fully owned by the largest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA, and was co-founded by and invested in by Irelandia Aviation.
Viva operates mostly within a combination of point-to-point system with direct flights between middle-size airports and a hub system. Monterrey International Airport serves as its largest hub in terms of passengers carried and the number of departures. Cancun, Guadalajara, Mexico City-Benito Juarez, Los Cabos, Mérida, Mexico City-Felipe Angeles and Tijuana serve as operating bases.
Contents
History
The airline, launched as Viva Aerobus, commenced operations on 30 November 2006, with its hub at Monterrey International Airport, in Monterrey, Mexico, and with an initial investment of $50 million and two Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Viva Aerobus was co-owned by Ryanair's Irelandia Aviation and the Mexican bus company IAMSA. Ryanair joined with Alexander Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to establish "RyanMex" to facilitate the Irish family's investment in the Mexican airline. IAMSA has showed interest in developing a new stage of transportation after its successful bus market in Mexico, and Irelandia has been actively investigating the market opportunity, leading to the companies' partnership to form a Mexican low-cost carrier. Irelandia held a 49% of shares in the airline, while IAMSA had the remaining majority stake.
The airline initially connected Monterrey to a number of Mexican domestic locations, and in July 2007, publicly confirmed its intention to open its first base outside of Mexico and first US destination in Austin, Texas (although it ultimately pulled out of Austin in 2009).
Viva Aerobus fares were intended to undercut traditional Mexican carriers by up to 50%, in a change of the industry that started with the arrival of the country's second generation of low-cost airlines (Avolar, MexicanaClick, Interjet, Volaris) and the privatization of Mexicana de Aviación, one of the two top national airlines. The airline started operations at Monterrey International Airport in November 2006 with two aircraft and one nonstop service connecting Monterrey to Tijuana, under the leadership of Mike Szucs as its CEO. A year after its foundation, in October 2007, Viva Aerobus had already transported one million passengers. Later, Donald Rogers became Viva Aerobus CEO in May 2009, the month when Guadalajara became the airline's second base. In June 2010, the airline's leadership was assigned to Juan Carlos Zuazua, current CEO. Expansion continued and the airline established Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana and Mérida as its new bases in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2022, respectively.
On 5 November 2007, the airline received approval from the US Department of Transportation to operate to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, initially serving the Mexican destinations of Cancún, Monterrey, Guadalajara and León. Flights to the South Terminal Austin began on 1 May 2008.
On 16 May 2009, Viva Aerobus stated it would cease passenger operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on 31 May 2009. The airline blamed the pullout in part on an outbreak of swine flu, which caused an unprecedented decrease in demand for service. The company began to fly between Monterrey and Las Vegas in the summer of 2009.
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for Viva are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):
Headquarters
The corporate headquarters is in Terminal C of Monterrey International Airport in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon. It occupies space in the terminal's cargo zone.
Sponsorships
To promote physical activity and healthy recreation, Viva has been the official sponsor of the Atlas, Tigres UANL and América Liga MX soccer teams; as well as Los Tomateros de Culiacan and Los Sultanes de Monterrey Mexican baseball teams. Internationally, it is also a sponsor of the NBA team the San Antonio Spurs and the Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL.
In-flight services
As of 2009, Viva has a buy on board program offering food and drinks for purchase.
Destinations
Bus services
Viva operates a shuttle bus from downtown El Paso, Texas to Abraham González International Airport in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Viva also operated a bus shuttle between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport South Terminal and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in eastern Houston in addition to a bus shuttle between the Austin airport and the Omnibus Mexicanos Bus Terminal in downtown San Antonio for passengers on flights going to and from Cancún and Monterrey.
Codeshare and interline agreements
Viva has codeshare and interline agreements with the following airlines:
Codeshare
Aerus
Iberia
Interline
Air Canada
Avianca
Emirates
Fleet
Current fleet
As of July 2025, Viva operates an all-Airbus A320 family fleet composed of the following aircraft:
Fleet development
In its beginnings, Viva Aerobus operated with a fleet integrated by Boeing 737-300 aircraft. In October 2016, the airline took ownership of the first PW1100-JM-powered Airbus A320neo. This was part of an order placed with Airbus in October 2013 for 52 Airbus A320 family aircraft, including 12 A320ceos, at the time the largest number of aircraft ordered by a Mexican airline directly from Airbus. The first A320ceo had been delivered in May 2015. At the time of receiving the first A320ceo, the carrier operated a fleet of six leased A320s and Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
Viva Aerobus amended an existing order with Airbus in July 2018 to include the Airbus A321neo, of which 41 were included in the new orderbook. The carrier took delivery of the first of these aircraft in June 2020. In July 2023, the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for an additional 90 240-seater Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Accidents
18 March 2021: Flight 4343, operated by an Airbus A320-232, was a scheduled flight from Puerto Vallarta-Gustavo D. Ordaz Airport to Monterrey-General Mariano Escobedo International Airport. While turning 180 degrees to line up for takeoff from runway 22, the nose landing gear collapsed. All 133 people on board were evacuated via the emergency slides safely. However, the crash resulted in the aircraft being written off.
