MEXICO: 13 Feared Dead After Aircrash

Pieces of a private jet that disappeared while flying from Las Vegas to Monterrey, in northern Mexico, was found Monday, with no sign that any of the 13 people on board survived, officials said.

Air-traffic controllers said they lost contact with the Bombardier Challenger 601 jet Sunday evening, after it abruptly lost altitude over the state of Coahuila, in northern Mexico.

On an overflight of the area officials sighted the remains of the aircraft in a mountainous, difficult-to-access area in the municipality of Ocampo, Coahuila, the state public security ministry said in a statement.

No survivors were observed.

Images of the wreckage on Mexican TV showed the badly charred and shattered remains of the fuselage, with only the wings and tail left intact.

A state aviation official had initially said there were 11 passengers on board the plane, but the ministry corrected the figure to 10, plus three crew: the pilot, the copilot and a flight attendant.

According to Mexican media reports, authorities believe the charter jet was flying a group of passengers back from Saturday night's middleweight title fight in Las Vegas, in which Mexican boxer Saul "Canelo" Alvarez defeated Daniel Jacobs of the United States.

Its destination was the wealthy industrial city of Monterrey, in Nuevo Leon state, which borders Coahuila.

It is a three-hour flight from Las Vegas, in the US state of Nevada, to Monterrey.

Authorities said bad weather could have played a part in the crash.

There has been a lot of atmospheric activity and instability recently. Over the past four days, we've had rain storms, hail and winds with gusts of more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour, Francisco Martinez, Coahuila's deputy public safety minister, said.


Tourism Observer

MEXICO: 13 Killed In Private Jet Crash In Mexico

Mexican authorities found Tuesday human remains that confirm the death of the 13 people on board a luxury jet that crashed over the weekend in the north of the country.

The private plane took off Sunday from Las Vegas and was traveling to the Mexican city of Monterrey but crashed in a mountainous area difficult to access, where forensic experts had to arrive by helicopter.

The experts recovered all the bodies, there are 13 of them Coahuila state attorney general Gerardo Marquez said.

He explained that seven of the bodies were practically intact but burned, while the other six were reduced to very small fragments due to the impact.

The remains were identified thanks to the positions in which the bodies were found among the debris of the aircraft. Further identification will take place by analyzing teeth and bone fragments.

Air-traffic controllers said they lost contact with the Bombardier Challenger 601 jet late Sunday, after it abruptly lost altitude over Coahuila.

Only the wings and the tail were left intact while the fuselage was badly charred and shattered.

Aboard the plane were two executives of the Mexican oil services company Typhoon Offshore, along with eight relatives, according to a company statement.

The group had come to Las Vegas to attend a fight in which Mexican boxer Saul "El Canelo" Alvarez defeated Daniel Jacobs of the United States.

On Twitter, the athlete expressed sorrow over the incident, saying "my prayers are with their relatives."

The other three people who died were the crew of the plane, a twin-engine Bombardier Challenger 600 series.

Coahuila Undersecretary of Civil Protection Francisco Martinez pointed to changing weather, with storms, hailstorms and strong winds as a possible cause of the crash.


Tourism Observer

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.


Tourism Observer

MEXICO: Aeromexico Announces New Route For 2016, Amsterdam

Aeromexico, Mexico's global airline, announced three weekly nonstop flights between Mexico City and Amsterdam starting on May 29, 2016, making the city its fourth destination in Europe.

This new route will be operated using Boeing 787 aircraft with 243 seat capacity, including 32 seats in Clase Premier, Aeromexico's Business Class Cabin. The Dreamliner is considered one of the most advanced commercial aircraft in the skies, offering benefits that include extra legroom, more storage space for carry-on bags, bigger windows that can be dimmed at the touch of a button, personal entertainment system, Sky Interiors LED lighting, and new in-flight menu services.

Anko van der Werff, Aeromexico's Chief Revenue Officer, said, "Aeromexico is extremely proud to add Amsterdam to its European route network. The Netherlands is the fourth largest Mexico's trading partner in the European Union, and nowadays, an average of 200,000 annual passengers travel between both capital cities".

"With this flight, Aeromexico will be able to offer a quality service to all of its customers traveling from the Netherlands on board our Boeing 787 aircraft with greater connectivity options to the main cities in Mexico, such as Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Puerto Vallarta, and in Central and South America, including San Jose, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama.", he added.

One of the key factors in establishing this new route is Amsterdam's status as a major SkyTeam hub where KLM offers a significant number of flights within Europe. Aeromexico is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance.

Aeromexico is proud to crown the year 2015 by announcing the addition of a new route, just as it did at the beginning of this year, thus allowing the airline to increase the economic, commercial and tourist exchange between the two nations, as well as the number of passengers carried between Mexico and Europe.

About Grupo Aeromexico

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

The Group's fleet of about 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 B737 jet airliners and 10 B787-9 Dreamliners.

As a founding member of SkyTeam, the airline alliance which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary, Aeromexico offers customers more than 1,000 destinations in 179 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 on its codeshare partner flights with Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines and Westjet with extensive connectivity in countries like the United States, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Peru

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.

MEXICO: Aeromexico Launches New Santo Domingo Services

The expanding world class carrier and Skyteam member, Aeromexico, has announced the launch of a new service between its home base in the nation's capital, Mexico City and the first city of the Domincan Republic, Santo Domingo.

Starting in mid March 2016 and flying four times a week on Sunday,Tuesday,Thursday and Saturday from Mexico using a Boeing 737-300 aircraft., the new service is part of AeroMexico's continuing development into a leading airline in a region of continuing passenger growth.

Currently with a fleet of 62 all Boeing aircraft and three major hub cities at Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, Aeromexico continues to be a favourite of passengers visiting Latin Amerca.

Santo Domingo is the capital of the tourist country of the Domincan Republic which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with its neighbour, Haiti. Alternative airlines provides an easy and transaprent way to book flights on Aeromexico for those passengers who enjoy flying with a carrier that embodies the spirit of Latin America.