Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) has reported July passenger traffic numbers up +9.9% across its 12 Mexican Airports and by 1.4% at Montego Bay Jamaica Airport.

 

During July 2015, international passenger traffic increased by +9.3%, while domestic numbers rose by +10.2% in the Mexican airports. Separately, Montego Bay Jamaica Airport contributed 355,000 passengers to GAP’s network during the month.

 

GAP reached a record monthly level of passenger traffic in July thanks to the +9.6% increase in the number of seats available, plus the healthy 84.9% load factor. The solid performance of this indicator was due to the increasing competitiveness of airline ticket prices, as well as higher efficiency in terms of capacity planning by the airlines.

 

New routes introduced during the month included: Guanajuato to Puerto Vallarta; Guadalajara to La Paz; Guadalajara to Mazatlan; La Paz to Mazatlan; Puerto Vallarta to Durango by TAR Aerolíneas; as well as Guadalajara to New York JFK by Volaris.

 

Looking at each main location, GAP said that the increases at both Aguascalientes and Guanajuato reflected the Bajio region’s economic expansion, with business passengers the main growth drivers travelling between industrial centres in Mexico and US hub airports. There was also higher demand for domestic leisure travel.

 

 

For its part, Guadalajara Airport continued to experience solid growth, with a +10.0% result in the domestic market +10.4% in international. With a new addition to New York, Guadalajara now has 25 direct international flights, making it one of the most important hub airports in Mexico.

 

By contrast, Puerto Vallarta reported a 17% rise in passenger numbers in July, led by the 24.6% increase in the volume of seats offered – equivalent to another 65,000. In the international market, Southwest has become a major growth generator with the opening of the Orange County daily service.

 

Additionally, all of the domestic airlines reached a higher volume of seats offered compared to 2014, highlighting VivaAerobus which tripled its number of flights to the city of Monterrey.

 

At Los Cabos Airport, the development of domestic traffic continues to reach historic levels, with accumulated growth of 6.8%. The international market is also said to be moving closer to matching 2014 levels each day.

 

Meanwhile, Tijuana Airport’s strategic location continues to position it as the most viable option for the VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) passenger market travelling to Southern California. GAP says that the depreciation of the peso versus the dollar has driven competition in airline ticket prices for domestic airlines, specifically Volaris and Interjet.