AIRPORT REPORT: TOLUCA
“ I believe the Toluca vision could be different. At this moment we need to be as aggressive as possible. We need to be more like Gatwick Airport, which continues to compete against Heathrow and positions itself as a reliever gateway for the UK’ s saturated hub airport.
“ But in the future, I can see Toluca and Mexico City International Airport as LaGuardia is to New York’ s JFK. We need to have complementary services.”
A second Mexico City airport While Toluca busies itself with plans to become the alternative airport of choice for Mexico City, it seems the government has other plans.
In March, Secretary of the Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, announced the government was investigating ways to reduce the congestion at MEX. All options were on the table he said, including the option of building a second international airport, a proposal long mooted in the capital.
So if a new airport does go ahead, will this leave Toluca’ s dreams in tatters? Not at all says Bejos.
“ This is one of the most important decisions to be made in Mexico’ s aviation market for the last 20 years and I strongly believe the new government needs to solve this issue. Of course, we need a new airport, but this will not change Toluca’ s plans – we aim to work together as complementary airports.
“ Geographically speaking we are a very easy airport for business travellers. You also have to remember that the new Mexico City airport will not ready for many years,” explains Bejos.
“ Until then, we can attend the market and then we will be part of a big system for the whole of Mexico State.”
Route development While it remains to be seen whether Toluca can attract and retain carriers for the long-term, recent airline arrivals look encouraging.
Interjet is once again cranking up its services; Aeroméxico returned earlier this year, and VivaAerobus operates to Tampico and Villahermosa. But, perhaps the most significant thing, is that Toluca’ s resurgent traffic is
now international as well as domestic, and that’ s a trend Bejos expects will continue as US carriers seek more market share of Mexico’ s capital.
“ The market is changing a lot and many LCCs are no longer as low-cost as they once were. These include Allegiant, JetBlue and WestJet, which are growing aggressively south from Canada and the US and want to go to central Mexico. Ideally, they want to serve Mexico City, but if they cannot due to the lack of available slots, they will fly to Toluca if they want to serve this market.
“ Because of profitability requirements and [ their status as ] new players in the Mexico market, bringing in those airlines is a challenge.
“ Today, we are aggressively growing our domestic market. In April this year four of the five carriers in Mexico will fly from Toluca; Aeroméxico is starting a sky bridge between Monterrey and Guadalajara; Interjet is encouraging routes from Toluca to leisure destinations, and VivaAerobus are doing a tremendous job connecting small towns and cities in regional Mexico.
“ What we foresee in the short run is that our network in the domestic market will expand with greater frequencies, and now the priority is to attract those international airlines,” predicts Bejos.
Other advantages he outlines include: no bilateral restrictions on US carriers wishing to open up new routes; a seven minute aircraft turnaround guarantee; and last but not least, an incentive scheme that effectively slashes airport fees for new routes and offers landing fees that are lower than Mexico City’ s Benito Juárez International Airport.
While the debate over the need for a second international airport for Mexico City looks set to rumble on, Toluca’ s management clearly feel confident that their facility can thrive on its own merits.
Not only is it likely to be many years before a new airport is built, but Toluca is positioning itself to be a viable alternative to MEX based on ease of use, modern uncongested facilities, transport links, and a strong belief in accommodating the needs of both passengers and airlines.“ Perhaps we will never be a complicated hub with fancy big terminals to connect people with trains, but we will have an easy to use airport,” concludes Bejos.
AW
18
AIRPORT WORLD / APRIL-MAY 2013