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Making the switch from land to air travel 
In the next three years, 20 million Mexican passengers are expected to make the switch from bus to air travel
Houston Airport System 
February 2, 2006

If forecasts by Mexico’s civil aviation department are correct, Mexican air travel will double in the next three years. Government estimates indicate that discount carriers and new direct and non-stop services will drive more than 20 million passengers off the bus in as few as 36 months.

Gilberto Lopez Meyer, director of Mexico’s civil aviation department, recently made this announcement after the entry of Interjet, the first low-cost carrier to begin service from the Mexico City area. According to Lopez-Meyer, annually, almost 40 million people travel 240 miles or more on buses to get from one Mexican city with an airport to another.

Only a small number of Mexican cities currently have airport facilities. Of those that don’t, the majority rely on neighboring airports to satisfy their travel needs.

The 40 million passenger estimate, nonetheless, does not include international travel to and from Mexico. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, an estimated 3.8 million passengers travel into the United States by bus on a yearly basis. Travelers by air into the country are estimated at 8.7 million, annually. The federal agency does not track statistics for out-of-the-country travel.

Carriers and airports around the world, however, realize the immense potential of Mexico’s aviation market and have consequently begun targeting this region of the world with new partnerships and air service developments. This is especially true of U.S. based carriers and airports.

The Houston Airport System (HAS) is the sixth-largest airport system in the world and currently offers the most number of destinations and weekly non-stop flights to Mexico from the United States.

“Our central location to the rest of the United States and the world, coupled with our city’s all-encompassing land, air and sea transportation network makes us the obvious choice for access into and out of Mexico,” said Rick Vacar, director of the Houston Airport System. “Travelers can literally connect to any part of the world from our airports.”

Vacar considers the forecasts of the Mexican government a validation of the airport system’s strong focus on generating new air service to that country. Currently, the Houston Airport System’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport serves 29 destinations in Mexico.

Mexico is the second-largest aviation market in Latin America, behind Brazil, and is also the city of Houston’s second-largest trade partner in the America’s, with a total air cargo trade value of $232 million.

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