VivaAerobus looks to spread wings at Gary, Rockford

BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com

On Monday, Mexican airline VivaAerobus filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to fly daily from Monterrey, Mexico, to Gary/Chicago International Airport. It also applied to fly to Las Vegas and Austin, Texas.

The airline also must win approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to land at Gary. The airport in turn must build a customs facility that meets the federal agency's standards.

VivaAerobus is an ultra-low fare airline operating on the model of European airline RyanAir. The founders of RyanAir are 49-percent owners of VivaAerobus.

Below, VivaAerobus public relations manager JuanCarlos Zuazua Cosio answers questions asked by The Times via e-mail.*

Q: Why did you select Gary as a destination for daily flights?

A: I can confirm that we have been talking to both Rockford and Gary airports. Our interest is to fly (to) only one of (the) alternate Chicago airports. Both have different characteristics, due to distance to the Chicago metropolitan area and the Mexican populations that surround them. Our decision to which airport we fly is based on cost.

As an "ultra low cost carrier' we look for win-win relationships with airports and cities (governments), in which we can compromise to deliver volume in passengers and the airports can compromise in offering really great incentives in airport costs. The cities also play an important role, because they are directly benefited with the increase in the number of passengers and the tourism activity. So, therefore, we also look for really good proposals from the cities we fly to.

Q: What can customers expect from VivaAerobus?

A: There is a huge market. Mainly because the current services between Mexico and the US are really expensive. We would be the first "ultra low cost carrier" to offer these kind of services. Our target market would be American tourists that would like to travel to Mexico, through Monterrey at extremely low prices. There is a big potential market for all the Mexican population north and south (of) the border, as well as for the business and leisure travelers.

 Q: Do you think you can win U.S. Customs and Border Protection approval for landing at Gary as a port of entry?

A: I think that this is a job that the Gary airport needs to get done in order for us to fly. We don�t think we have a problem for getting an approval. We already got it in Austin, Texas, in a brand new "low-cost' terminal. We are starting international flights from Austin, Texas, to Monterrey, Mexico, and Cancun, Mexico, on May 1.

* Responses have been edited for grammar