Mexicana de Aviación
Encyclopedia : M : ME : MEX : Mexicana de Aviación
Mexicana de Aviación (commonly known by the shorter name Mexicana) is Mexico's second-largest airline - after Aeroméxico - and the world's fourth oldest airline still using its original name, after the Netherland's KLM, Colombia's Avianca, and Australia's Qantas.
History
Mexicana was founded on July 12 1921, under the name Compañía Mexicana de Transportación Aérea, (CMTA) as a money carrier to oil fields near Tampico, on the Gulf of Mexico. Mexicana's first plane was a Lincoln standard, a two-seat biplane.The 1920s were groundbreaking times for the airline, with air mail service being established and services like aerial photography being undertaken. In 1929, Pan Am took over the majority of the airline's stock, and the airline opened its first international route, with service to the United States. Mexicana used the historic Ford Ford Trimotor plane for the route flown from Mexico City to Brownsville, Texas, USA, with stops at Tuxpan and Tampico. One of the first Mexicana´s pilot was none other than the legendary Charles Lindbergh himself.
The 1930s saw route expansion and service improvement. Mexicana opened a route from Brownsville to Guatemala City, stopping over at Veracruz, Minatitlán, Iztepec and Tapachula. In addition, flights were started to El Salvador, Costa Rica and Cuba, and the association with Pan Am gave them access to Nicaragua and Panama too, through Pan Am's Miami base. (Pan Am had undertaken flights from Mexico City to Miami.) Mexicana also became then the first foreign airline ever to fly to Los Angeles.
The fleet also saw growth during that decade, eight Fairchild FC2s and 3 Fokker F10s being added.
The 1940s were more of a domestic growth period, although a service was established from Mexico City to Havana. Routes were opened for the first time to Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, and Mérida, as well as a night flight to Los Angeles. The Mérida flights were also flown at night. Mexicana initially used DC-2s for these flights but, as time went by, DC-3s were acquired and, later, DC-4s. The DC-3s became known as El Palacio Aéreo. (The Air Palace). The DC-4 allowed Mexicana to fly non-stop from Mexico City to Los Angeles for the first time. Mexicana was also able to create a certified pilots school in Mexico City.
The 1950s saw the airline's growth slow a little, but DC-6s were welcomed to the fleet, and a flight attendant school was opened. The DC-6s were put to work on the Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City to Oaxaca routes. Service to San Antonio, Texas was initiated later in the decade.
In the 1960s, four De Havilland Comets were bought and flown over from London and Mexicana entered the jet age on July 4, 1960. Since Mexicana was still part of Pan American, these Comets were intended to replace Boeing 707s should this type not fulfill the expectations of Pan American's owner, Juan Trippe. Competition grew stiff, however, and by the late 1960s Mexicana was almost forced into bankruptcy. In 1967 however, Mexicana received its first Boeing 727, and along with a new administration and strategic plans, the airline was able to recover from its economic problems soon after.
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can [Possibly unfree imagescomment] on the removal.This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can [Possibly unfree imagescomment] on the removal.
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can [Possibly unfree imagescomment] on the removal.
