After the unexpected bankruptcy of Air Madrid which left thousands of passengers stranded over the holiday period, Delta Air Lines announced on Wednesday it would be increasing its operations by almost four times here within the first trimester of 2007.The U.S. carrier, which currently flies to six destinations in Mexico, plans to increase that figure to 22 cities by next year, the announcement said.
Ana María Favela, Delta´s general manager for sales in Mexico and Central America, agreed that while the airline remained under Chapter 11, the U.S. law for bankruptcy, many passengers may worry the airline will suffer the same fate as Air Madrid, which shortly after halting operations had its licensed suspended by the Spanish government.
"We´ve been under Chapter 11 status for more than a year and a half," Favela explained. "It´s basically a way to protect us while we re-structure the airline financially and organize our debt."
According to Favela, Mexico is the principal market the airline wants to target outside of its domestic market in the future.
"When it comes to the Mexican market we´re not worried. On the contrary, in Mexico Delta Airlines is growing at an excellent rate. That is why we´re looking to increase our operations early next year so we can capitalize on the gains we´ve already made here," Favela said.
Delta also continues to maintain a partnership with Aeroméxico which in case of cancellations allows the airline to transfer passengers and avoid delays.
Meanwhile, Air Madrid, whose bankruptcy hit hard many Mexican passengers, was asked by Spain´s audit office on Wednesday to clear itself of fraud charges over its tickets sales.
