Interjet has announced it will phase out four Mexico-United States routes and four within Mexico, while at the same time opening five new routes between Mexico and South America as part of a restructuring plan.

The airline said that route changes will begin on May 11 with the discontinuation of the company’s Mexico City-Aguascalientes flight.

Service between Los Angeles, California, and Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo and El Bajío will end on June 5, as will the Mexico City-Ciudad Obregón route. Cancún-New York flights will be discontinued on June 17.

At the same time, the airline is turning toward South America for further growth. The first of the new routes, from Mexico City to Medellín, Colombia, will begin operating on June 5, followed by Cancún-Medellín on June 6, Cancún-Lima, Peru, and Mexico City-Guayaquil, Ecuador, on June 17 and Cancún-Guayaquil on June 21.

Interjet also said it will increase the number of seats available on eight domestic routes as of June 1. They are Mexico City flights to El Bajío, Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mazatlán, Palenque, Puerto Escondido, Torreón and Varadero.

The changes come just three days after Interjet and American Airlines signed a bilateral alliance that will allow the two airlines to jointly offer all of their routes and connecting flights as partners.

Interjet said that sales for both airlines have tripled in the last two years. In the first quarter of this year Interjet’s sales were up 52% over last year.

The airline described the American Airlines pact as mutually beneficial, saying it will allow both companies to increase and profit from increased travel between Mexico and the United States.

The airline also expected the agreement to “strengthen competitivity in the various markets it competes in, offer better connections and flight options to customers as well as . . . attract leisure and business travelers to domestic destinations.”

Source: Líder Empresarial (sp), 24 Horas (sp)