Viva Aerobus to grow 10% annually due to engine problems

MEXICO - Since the beginning of the year until October 30, the low cost airline, Viva, has grounded 25 aircraft due to the overhaul of Pratt & Whitney engines and estimates that for next year, the figure will be very similar, said Juan Carlos Zuazua, CEO of this airline.

In an interview with the media, after the presentation of the airline's new image, the executive said that the engine situation will continue throughout this year, next year and 2026 globally.

“It is an average, the planes that are on the ground because more or less a plane is on the ground for about 300 days while the turbine or turbines are overhauled. For next year there will be more or less the same number of aircraft on the ground as this year 2024,” he said.

In spite of this, he estimated that for this year, Viva will have a growth of close to 10%, year over year; in addition to transporting almost 27 million passengers, since they foresee “a strong demand of passengers by the end of the year”.

He explained that the airline he heads will continue to be affected by the revision of the P&W engines, which is why they opted for “another path different from that of other operators”, referring to the wet lease scheme.

In this sense, he clarified, the European aircraft that were leased, on a temporary basis, and that at the beginning were operated with foreign crews, are now operated 90% with Mexican crews that obtained a special permit from the European aeronautical authority.

Zuazua explained that the leased aircrafts have varied throughout the year, since it is a mix of “taking aircrafts that come from the factory -like the one they presented with the new image- with the ones they take in long term leases and, to a lesser extent, with the short term leased aircrafts (wet)”.

The executive clarified that the aviation industry has many challenges, so they must be agile when making decisions to meet the needs of their passengers.