Mexico’s Interjet Debuts Daily Nonstop New York-Mexico City Flights

Interjet, Mexico's second largest air carrier and a growing presence in the U.S.-Mexico market, on Aug. 2 launched its first flight from New York JFK to Mexico City. The daily service adds a third gateway city in the United States for Interjet, which already operates out of Miami and San Antonio. New York also represents Interjet’s sixth international hub. In addition to the three U.S. cities, it flies to Guatemala, Havana, and San Jose in Costa Rica.

The JFK service departs from New York at 7:25 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Return flights leave Mexico City at 4:40 p.m., arriving at JFK at 10:30 p.m.

These flight times will allow for easy connections to Interjet’s service to 26 destinations in Mexico, including such popular tourist spots as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. To celebrate the inaugural service, Interjet is offering a round-trip fare starting at $349. This promotional offer is valid for travel from Aug. 2 until Aug. 31.

Interjet, Mexico’s second largest airline after Aeromexico, is known for its high quality domestic service at competitively affordable and transparent prices as well as an excellent safety record.

Jose Luis Garza Alvarez, the airline’s president and CEO, speaking at a press conference announcing the New York service, said Interjet is a hybrid concept airline combining a low-cost carrier with one that provides quality, almost retro-type service. He said Interjet was actually inspired by JetBlue in the United States. But unlike JetBlue, it does not charge ancillary fees for such things as better seating.

Similar to JetBlue, Interjet flies a fleet of 35 new A320s, the youngest fleet in Mexico. These aircraft have one class of seating for 150 passengers, with seat pitch of 34 inches. The airline serves free snacks and premium beverages during flights between Mexico City and New York. It also focuses on Internet bookings, rather than those through the GDS, and it is working to devise an even more efficient booking system.

Interjet also offers transferable tickets at little to no cost, a frequent-flyer loyalty program based on cash purchases, an in-flight entertainment program, an unrestricted 20 percent discount year-round for seniors, and special amenities for female travelers, including women-only toilets on all airplanes.

In contrast with airlines in the U.S. and Mexico, there is no extra charge for passengers to select seats or check up to 110 pounds of baggage per ticket. Interjet does not overbook its flights and has no hidden fees in the ticket purchase prices; the price offered by the airline is what the customer pays, including all taxes. U.S. travel agents can book customers on Interjet by enrolling in its program to receive incentives, with commissions ranging from 2 percent to 8 percent.

Interjet is a 100 percent Mexican-owned airline, which in December 2011, celebrated its sixth anniversary. Its current fleet consists of 35 Airbus A320 aircraft with the latest in aeronautical technology. They are also the only aircraft of their kind in Latin America that are equipped with external cameras, which allow the passengers to see live take-off and landing from their seats. Interjet operates over 150 daily flights on 42 business and leisure routes, covering 26 destinations in Mexico and six international destinations.

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