MEXICO: TAR Airlines To Open New Routes

Queretaro Airline, TAR Airlines will close a successful fourth year of operations by opening three new routes, said CEO Rodrigo Vazquez Colmenares.

The airline has grown by 68% over the last 12 months, and expects growth of at least 30% over the next 12.

With its business routes already consolidated, TAR is now looking at leisure destinations, specifically the cities of Veracruz, in the state of Veracruz; Merida, Yucatan; and Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.

Flights from Queretaro will begin on June 18.

TAR also plans to increase capacity on its routes to Monterrey and Guadalajara, bringing the total number of daily flights to five for the Nuevo Leon capital and three for the capital of Jalisco.

We’re also going to have two daily flights to Chihuahua, a daily flight to Ciudad Juarez and a daily flight to Torreon, improving connectivity for the aeronautics and automotive industries, Vazquez said.

TAR will take delivery next month of its 11th airplane, a 50-seat Embraer that will be used for charter flights and tourism packages.

With these packages created in partnership with the most important hotel chains in the country we’ll have a product that is within reach of the consumers of Queretaro, Vazquez insisted.

Opening a new route to Texas was postponed following the change of government in that country, but discussions are under way with authorities in San Antonio and flights could begin before the end of the year, he said.


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MEXICAN: El Chapo Moved To Mexico’s Lowest-Rated Federal Prison

Officials said the drug lord was moved so security can be reinforced at Altiplano prison.

Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been moved to Mexico’s lowest-rated federal prison. But a local governor insists the country’s most notorious criminal and two-time escapee is not about to stage yet another escape.

El Chapo was suddenly moved on Saturday morning from Altiplano—Mexico’s highest-security prison and the jail he escaped from via an underground tunnel in July last year. He was sent to Cefereso No. 9, which was rated the worst among Mexico’s federal prisons in a 2015 quality report from the country’s National Human Rights Commission.

Cefereso No. 9 is located in Ciudad Juarez, a city near El Paso, and it sits in a region that is a stronghold of El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel, the country’s most infamous drug cartel.

El Chapo, who was put back in prison after his capture in January, was moved so work could be done to “reinforce security” at Altiplano prison, located west of Mexico City, according to reports. Mexico’s interior ministry also said it regularly moves prisoners between facilities as part of a policy introduced last year after El Chapo’s escape from Altiplano.

“The decision of having him brought here is because there will not be any escape,” said Gov. Cesar Duarte of Chihuahua state, where Cefereso No. 9 is located. A Mexican security official sayed El Chapo is being held in a maximum-security wing at the prison and is monitored via camera 24-hours a day.

But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said the prison is less secure than the Altiplano facility.

Cefereso No. 9 received a score of 6.63 out of 10 in a report last year by the Mexican government’s National Human Rights Commission, making it the lowest-rated prison out of 21 federal facilities. The prison received low marks on the issue of guaranteeing prisoners a “dignified” stay, and average marks for ensuring prisoners’ well-being and safety. Like many Mexican prisons, it also suffers from overcrowding.

Altiplano prison, by comparison, came in as the 10th best in the report, scoring 7.32.

El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, made his high-profile escape from Altiplano prison last July via a tunnel that led from the shower of his cell to a construction site almost a mile away. The tunnel was equipped with lighting and a motorcycle on rails that was likely used to move dirt out of the passage. He had earlier escaped from another facility in 2001.

MEXICO: Mexico Papal Visit, Aeromexico Will Fly His Holiness Pope Francis

At an internal event held to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe, Aeromexico announced that it will fly His Holiness Pope Francis during his first apostolic journey to Mexico.

Aeromexico will use two different types of aircraft for the papal flights, including a Boeing 737-800 Sky Interior with 160 passenger seats to fly His Holiness and his entourage to the cities of Morelia and Tuxtla Gutierrez, and a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 243 passenger seats for the trip to Ciudad Juarez, and from there to Ciampino Airport in Rome.

This is the first time a pontiff will travel on board a Boeing 787, an aircraft widely regarded as the most advanced commercial airplane, on his way back to Rome that will last approximately 13 hours.

Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa spoke at the event and said, "We thank the Holy See and the relevant authorities for trusting us with this special operation. I can assure you that everyone involved will work with the utmost enthusiasm and dedication to make sure that His Holiness Pope Francis enjoys the natural warmth and hospitality that characterize the Mexican people, and the excellence of our service as Mexico's global airline."

This will mark the fourth time a pope has flown with Aeromexico, as the carrier served as the official airline for Pope John Paul II on his visits to Mexico. The first and most symbolic of these visits was held in January 1979 when a DC-10 called "Mexico City" carried the Pope from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Mexico City, before taking His Holiness back to Rome.

During Pope John Paul II's second visit, Aeromexico flew the pontiff to different cities in Mexico including Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Durango, Monterrey, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Veracruz, and Zacatecas with one of its MD-88 airplanes, and took the Pope back to Rome on its DC10-30 called Chapultepec Castle.

Lastly, on August 1, 2002, a Boeing 767 christened "Mexico Siempre Fiel" (Mexico, Always Faithful) flew Pope John Paul II back to Rome after his fifth visit to Mexico.

As on previous visits, a team formed by representatives from different Divisions within Aeromexico is working together with the authorities and the pastoral visiting team to make sure that all of the flight services scheduled for the trip are provided with the highest possible level of efficiency and safety.

About Grupo Aeromexico

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. is a holding company whose subsidiaries provide commercial aviation services in Mexico and the promotion of passenger loyalty programs. Aeromexico, Mexico's global airline, operates more than 600 daily flights from its main hub in Terminal 2 at the Mexico City International Airport. Its route network spans over 80 cities on three continents including 46 destinations in Mexico, 16 in the United States, 16 in Latin America, three in Europe, three in Canada and two in Asia.

The Group's fleet around 130 aircraft is comprised of Boeing 787, 777 and 737 jet airliners and next generation Embraer 145, 170, 175 and 190 models. In 2012, the airline announced the most significant investment strategy in aviation history in Mexico, to purchase 100 Boeing aircraft including 90 MAX 737 airliners and ten 787-9 Dreamliners.

As a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, Aeromexico offers customers more than 1,000 destinations in 178 countries served by the 20 SkyTeam airline partners rewarding passengers with benefits including access to 636 premium airport lounges around the world.

Aeromexico also offers travel options through its code share partners Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Avianca, LAN, TACA and TAM with extensive connectivity in countries like Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Peru and the United States.