Mexicana de Aviación

If you leaf through old spotter photos from Los Angeles, Chicago or Mexico City, sooner or later you come across Airbus jets with loudly colorful tails and the “Mexicana” title. The airline was part of the skies over North and Central America for 89 years – until it was grounded overnight in August 2010. Since the end of 2023, the name flies again, this time as a state-owned domestic airline with Embraer E2s. Here you learn how the old Mexicana grew big, why it failed, how to recognize its aircraft in photos and what is behind the relaunch.

Mexicana at a glance

Mexicana de Aviación was one of the oldest airlines in the world. It was founded in July 1921, and at the end of August of the same year it took off for the first time. For decades, alongside Aeroméxico, it was the country’s second major airline – with a domestic network, many routes to the US and Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America and, in the end, even Europe.

The network ran through three hubs: Mexico City Benito Juárez Airport (MEX), Cancún and Guadalajara. Important stations outside Mexico were Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles, where Mexicana was among the best-known foreign airlines.

The story ends twice: once in August 2010 with the shutdown of flight operations, and then in April 2014, when a court declared the company definitively bankrupt. That the name is nevertheless on aircraft again today is due to the Mexican state, which bought the brand in 2023 and launched a new airline under it.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code MX: appeared in every Mexicana flight number until 2010. Today the US airline Breeze Airways uses this code – if you read “MX” on old boarding passes, don’t confuse it with current flights.
• ICAO code MXA: the old Mexicana already had it, and the new state airline flies under MXA again too.
• Callsign MEXICANA: was also retained – on the radio, the new company sounds exactly like the old one.
• IATA code XN: belongs to the new Mexicana. In the flight number, you recognize it by this right away.

From the pioneer era to Pan Am subsidiary

The beginnings lie with the Compañía Mexicana de Transportación Aérea. Its assets were taken over in 1924 by the competing Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, and a year later the US entrepreneur Sherman Fairchild came in with a fifth of the shares. The decisive step came in February 1929 from Juan Trippe: his Pan American World Airways took the majority. That made Mexicana a building block in Pan Am’s Latin American network.

In the same year, Mexicana opened its first international route, from Mexico City via Tuxpan and Tampico to Brownsville, Texas. At the controls of the first flight sat none other than Charles Lindbergh. In January 1936, Mexicana became the first foreign airline ever to land in Los Angeles – the beginning of a long connection to the US West Coast.

In this period, the typical types of the era flew: the Ford Trimotor from 1928, later the Douglas DC-3 and, after the Second World War, the Douglas DC-6. If you are interested in this generation, you will find the key features in the guide Recognizing vintage aircraft in the sky.

Comet, 727 and DC-10: the jet age

On July 4, 1960, the jet age began for Mexicana. With the De Havilland Comet 4C it flew from Mexico City to Los Angeles – making it one of the few airlines in the Americas to operate the British jet pioneer. The Comet stayed in the fleet until 1971. How the world’s first jet airliner came about and why it failed so early is covered in the article De Havilland Comet.

From 1966 came the Boeing 727, first as the -100, from 1970 as the 727-200. The three-engine jets became the backbone of the fleet for decades and flew until 2003. In 1981 came the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in the rare -15 version. The DC-10-15 was a variant with more powerful engines for hot and high-altitude airports – just right for Mexico City at an elevation of about 2,200 meters.

In 1982, the Mexican state took over 58 percent of the shares. In August 1989, Mexicana was privatized again.

The Airbus years and the colorful tails

In 1991, the switch to Airbus began. The A320 joined the fleet, from 2001 the shorter A319 and from 2004 even the smallest version, the A318. That made Mexicana one of the few airlines to operate all three small members of the A320 family at the same time. How to tell them apart is explained in the guide Telling the A318, A319, A320 and A321 apart.

In parallel, from 1992 the Fokker 100 from the Dutch manufacturer Fokker flew. For longer routes, Mexicana at times leased Boeing 757-200s from 1996, and from late 2003 the Boeing 767-300ER took over long haul, later supplemented by the 767-200ER. For Madrid, two Airbus A330-200s were added in 2008. How to tell the 757 and 767 apart is shown in the comparison Telling the Boeing 757 and 767 apart.

Visually, this era was a feast: from 1991, the A320, Fokker 100 and 727-200 in particular received colored tails in the style of traditional Mexican weaving patterns. Almost every aircraft looked a little different – a dream for anyone who collects liveries. How tail, cheatline and titles work together is explained in Livery design explained.

Type	Period at Mexicana	Spotter note
Comet 4C	1960–1971	The airline’s first jet, now only seen in old photos
Boeing 727-200	1970–2003	Three engines at the tail, the backbone for decades
DC-10	1981–1996	Rare -15 version for high-altitude airports
Airbus A320	1991–2010	Best-known carrier of the colorful tails
Fokker 100	1992–2006	Afterward with the subsidiary Click Mexicana
Airbus A319	2001–2010	Flew the airline’s last scheduled flight
Airbus A318	2004–2010	Smallest A320 variant, not often seen
Boeing 767-300ER	2003–2010	Long haul, for example to South America
Airbus A330-200	2008–2010	Only two examples, later with Air Transat

Holdings, alliances and subsidiaries

In the mid-1990s, the industry in Mexico fell into crisis. Mexicana and Aeroméxico ended up under the roof of the holding company CINTRA, which the state took over – the former competitors thus belonged together for a time. Under CEO Fernando Flores, Mexicana cut unprofitable routes, gave up the DC-10 and built up new destinations such as Lima, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires and Montreal.

The close cooperation with United led Mexicana into the Star Alliance in 2000. In March 2004, it left the alliance again. In November 2005, CINTRA sold the airline, together with the young subsidiary Click Mexicana, to the hotel group Grupo Posadas for 165.5 million US dollars.

Under Posadas, the network grew once more. In 2009, Mexicana joined the oneworld alliance, with Iberia as its sponsor. What distinguishes the alliances and how to recognize their special liveries is covered in Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam and Alliance liveries.

• Click Mexicana (MexicanaClick from 2008): Lower-cost subsidiary, which emerged from the regional airline Aerocaribe in 2005, with Fokker 100s.
• MexicanaLink: Feeder out of Guadalajara with Bombardier CRJ200s, 2009 to 2010.

The short excursion to Europe

Only in the final years did Mexicana dare the leap across the Atlantic. On January 9, 2009, the route to London Gatwick started, flown with leased Boeing 767-200ERs. For Madrid, the airline acquired the two A330-200s. At the end of 2008, São Paulo in South America was added.

For European spotters, Mexicana thus remained a rare visitor with a very short lifespan. Anyone who stood at Gatwick between 2009 and 2010 and caught the aircraft now owns a real collector’s item. The guide Plane spotting at Gatwick reveals the best places to stand at Gatwick.

The end in August 2010

Despite joining an alliance and new routes, the situation was tense. Labor disputes and high costs weighed on the airline. On August 3, 2010, Mexicana filed for insolvency proceedings in Mexico, the concurso mercantil, and for Chapter 15 protection in the US. The subsidiaries Click and Link were hit as well.

On August 27, the airline announced it would suspend flight operations indefinitely the next day at midday. The last scheduled flight is considered to be MX 866 from Mexico City to Toronto, flown with the A319 XA-MXI. After that, there were years of plans and talks with potential investors – none of them led to a restart. In April 2014, a court declared the bankruptcy and ordered the sale of the assets.

The end of Mexicana changed the Mexican market lastingly. The gap was filled mainly by low-cost carriers such as Volaris, Viva Aerobus and Interjet, which itself collapsed in 2020. Similar stories from Europe are told in the overview Major airline bankruptcies in Europe.

How to recognize the old Mexicana

In historic photos, Mexicana is usually easy to identify – provided you know the liveries of the respective period.

Between the two best-known looks there were other variants, such as green tails on a white fuselage from 1996 and, around 2005, a dark blue tail with blue lettering. Many Mexicana aircraft kept flying with other airlines after 2010. How to recognize such transitional liveries is explained in Recognizing hybrid liveries. And if you are looking for airlines that deliberately revive old colors today, retro liveries are worth a look.

The 2023 relaunch: Mexicana as a state airline

In January 2023, the Mexican government agreed with the unions of the old Mexicana on the purchase of the brand and other assets. For about 816 million pesos, the brand name, a training center, simulators and buildings, among other things, went to the state. Many former employees were only partly satisfied with this because they had expected full severance.

The new airline is legally called Aerolínea del Estado Mexicano and is run by the Ministry of Defense, SEDENA. Its base is Felipe Ángeles Airport (NLU) on the grounds of the former Santa Lucía military airfield, north of Mexico City. On December 26, 2023, the first scheduled flight took off from there to Tulum – initially with a detour via Mérida because of the weather.

The start was bumpy. At first, Mexicana flew with three Boeing 737-800s and with Embraer ERJ 145s from partner TAR Aerolíneas. In January 2025, this partnership ended, several routes were dropped and the network was reshuffled. Some destinations came back by the end of 2025, with more following in 2026.

The new fleet: Embraer E2

In June 2024, Mexicana ordered 20 aircraft of the second E-Jet generation from Embraer: ten E190-E2s and ten E195-E2s. The first E195-E2s arrived at Felipe Ángeles in 2025, and the E190-E2s have followed since 2026. According to media reports, the last deliveries are announced for 2027.

You recognize the E2 by the large geared turbofan engines and the long, slender wings without classic winglets. The differences from the first E-Jet generation and between the lengths are explained in the guide Telling Embraer E-Jets apart.

Where to see the new Mexicana

The new Mexicana flies only within Mexico. As of 2026, the network includes about 20 destinations, among them Tulum, Mérida, Campeche, Chetumal, Palenque, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Tijuana, Monterrey, Guadalajara and San José del Cabo. Almost all routes begin or end at Felipe Ángeles. Because the network has changed often in recent years, check the current schedule before you plan a spotting day.

On the Planetrack spot map, you find spots with directions, best light, ratings and community photos, and for every airport you see weather, wind and active runways. Photograph only from publicly accessible areas – at an airport on military grounds in particular, take barriers and signs especially seriously. What applies legally is covered in the article Is plane spotting allowed?.

Common mix-ups

• Equating the old and new Mexicana – the new one is a separate state company with its own IATA code XN and a purely domestic fleet.
• Assigning MX flight numbers to Mexicana today – the code MX is now used by Breeze Airways.
• Treating Mexicana as part of Aeroméxico – the two only shared a roof during the CINTRA era but were separate airlines.
• Confusing the A318 and A319 in old photos – the A318 is even shorter and has a conspicuously tall vertical stabilizer.
• Mistaking colorful tails for special liveries – in the 1990s, that was the fleet’s standard paint scheme.

Conclusion

Mexicana is one of the great stories of Latin American aviation: from Lindbergh through the Comet and the colorful Airbus tails to the abrupt standstill in 2010. For spotters, the old airline lives on today mainly in photo archives – and in aircraft that kept flying with other companies after 2010. The new Mexicana has little more in common with the original than the name and the ICAO code, but with its fresh Embraer E2 fleet it is an exciting target for anyone traveling in Mexico.