Guadalajara, Mexico - Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. ("GAP") has announced preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for the month of December 2016, compared to traffic figures for December 2015.
During December 2016, total terminal passengers increased 16.8% in the Company’s 13 airports, compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic passenger traffic increased by 19.0%, while international passenger traffic increased by 13.7%.
Events for the Period:
Seats and Load Factor: In December 2016, GAP registered a 14.3% increase in the number of seats available compared to December 2015. Load factor for the month rose by 1.7 percentage points, from 77.7% in December 2015 to 79.4%.
New Routes:
• Puerto Vallarta to Los Angeles: American Airlines and Southwest
• Los Cabos to Los Angeles: Delta and Southwest
• Tijuana to Monterrey: VivaAerobus
• Tijuana to Toluca: Volaris
• Manzanillo to Regina: Sunwing
• Montego Bay to Boston: Delta
Domestic Market: The Tijuana airport reported GAP's highest absolute growth in terms of domestic passengers during the month of December. The increase of 124 thousand passengers was mainly derived from the routes to Guadalajara, Mexico City and Culiacan. Meanwhile, the Guadalajara airport benefited from the new frequencies operated by Volaris and VivaAerobus during the month; as these airlines increased their seat offerings by 19% and 42%, respectively. Finally, Los Cabos reported a 24% increase due to the entry into operation of large capacity aircrafts in operation, such as the A321 by Volaris and the A320 by VivaAerobus.
International Market: In December, the Guadalajara airport maintained its double-digit growth trend in terms of international traffic. The main contributors to this growth were the Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco routes, and were the result of the year-end holiday season. The Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta airports benefited from the Mexico-U.S. bilateral aviation agreement, as both airports had two additional airlines operating on their routes from Los Angeles (previously limited to only 3 operators).
Interjet: The inspection process for the Superjet100 aircrafts during December 2016 had a minimal impact on the Company's passenger flow. It is important to highlight that all routes currently operated by Interjet using this type aircraft have additional operators.