Ryan family backs new Mexican airline
A new low-cost airline with the backing of Tony Ryan and his family will begin operations in Mexico later this year.
The Ryans have established RyanMex along with Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to facilitate their investment in the airline, and RyanMex will have a 49% shareholding in the venture.
The majority shareholding will be held by IAMSA, the largest bus transportation company in Mexico.
Together, they have formed a joint-venture company to facilitate the establishment of the new airline, called AeroBus.
At a press conference in Mexico City today it was announced that the new airline, whose routes will not be announced until closer to launch date, expects to carry 1.5 million passengers in its first year of operation.
The airline is expected to begin operation in September this year with two Boeing 737-300s, with the aircraft fleet increasing to 10 within two years of operation.
The airline will cover Mexico City and other major Mexican cities as well as some cities in the United States.
Another Irish company, PlaneConsult, whose CEO is ex-Ryanair operations director Conor McCarthy, will provide planning and implementation for the start-up phase of the new airline.
PlaneConsult has been involved in other successful low-cost carriers such as Air Asia. Mr McCarthy will also be a shareholder in AeroBus.
Tony Ryan, Declan Ryan and Maurice Mason will represent RyanMex on the board of the new airline.
The new airline expects to employ up to 500 staff within its first year.
IAMSA transports 260 million passengers a year and has a fleet of 8,000 buses. It employs 20,500 people and operates 389 bus stations.
Kite Investments is an Irish private-equity business established by Mr Mason in 2003 and is primarily invested in aviation-related businesses.
