This week in Guadalajara, we look at the four new international routes being added at Miguel Hidalgo International Airport, the charitable activities of BRED and a great opportunity to visit the Michin Aquarium at a reduced cost.

While foreign airlines pull back, Volaris keeps expanding service in Guadalajara

We recently reported on Canadian carrier WestJet’s elimination of the new Guadalajara-Calgary nonstop route for the coming winter. Fortunately for Tapatíos, new routes will be arriving in its place starting in December.

The ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC in industry jargon) will expand its service at Miguel Hidalgo International Airport this winter to the U.S. East Coast, along with two new international routes in Latin America.

Volaris’ new U.S. nonstop routes are from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). The carrier’s new southbound routes are to José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) in Medellín, Colombia, and La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City.

Three of those four flights are new nonstop routes for Guadalajara, the exception being the Atlanta route, already served by Delta Air Lines. The move cements Guadalajara as a strategic domestic hub for the airline. Volaris now services 60 destinations with more than 110 daily departures from Jalisco’s capital.

A growing network of connections

The new services reflect the Mexican carrier’s broader push to grow its U.S. network and increase its market share. Over the past year, Volaris has increased its U.S. network capacity by 12%, even as the overall market has contracted. From Guadalajara, Volaris offered 17.4% more seats in summer 2026 compared with summer 2025. Its rapid growth over this period drove its share of total capacity at GDL from 53% to nearly 60%.

Volaris’ new routes to Medellín and Guatemala City will provide meaningful improvement for southbound travel from Guadalajara, as the new routes eliminate the obligatory stop in Mexico City and should cut travel time in half. They are a welcome complement to Volaris’ existing nonstop service to Bogotá, Colombia, and San José, Costa Rica, from La Perla Tapatía.

BRED gives new life to the fashion industry’s mounds of unsold clothing

At the recently concluded Intermoda trade show for the fashion industry here in Guadalajara, local businessman Sergio López de la Cerda had more than the latest trends on his mind.

López de la Cerda was intent on making contacts and finding companies with excess goods to donate to the charitable organization he runs, The Clothing and Household Goods Bank of Guadalajara. Better known to locals as simply BRED, the organization’s mission is to distribute apparel, furniture and housewares to economically disadvantaged local families.

“What we are looking for is to link companies that manufacture clothing, that manufacture furniture or the marketers of these products, so that they can donate products to us, and we will take them directly to the families (who need it),” he told El Economista in a recent interview.

Leveraging a network of local textile, clothing, footwear and furniture producers, BRED is helping to reduce product waste while addressing a pressing social need.

Not the latest fashions, but fashions nonetheless

At Intermoda, López de la Cerda pointed out that many of the donated garments have no commercial value but are still perfectly usable. “Companies donate … clothing from a season that has already passed,” he explained.

If not for the involvement of social welfare groups, these unwanted goods would most likely end up in landfills. The silver lining for manufacturers and retailers is an opportunity to burnish their public image while reducing waste in their supply chains.

Clothing and household items collected by BRED are distributed through the logistics network of the Guadalajara Food Bank, which already had the infrastructure in place.

According to López de la Cerda, the organization now provides support to 338 communities in 81 municipalities in Jalisco, with regular donations of food, clothing, footwear, furniture and other basic items. It makes a meaningful contribution to helping improve the daily lives of an estimated 1.2 million Jalisco residents experiencing food insecurity.

BRED donation centers encourage public participation

To complement the goods donated by the business sector, BRED’s leadership seeks to boost citizen participation in its efforts. To this end, it operates more than 25 donation centers across the Guadalajara metropolitan area, where people can drop off clothing in good condition to help local families in need.

“We want families to bring in clothes they no longer use, as long as they are in good condition, so we can process them and send them directly to those who need them most,” López de la Cerda said.

Take the family on an underwater adventure without leaving the city

The Michin Aquarium is offering a deal to wrap up the summer season. From Aug. 14-30, 2026, entrance fees start at just 99 pesos per person, making a sea adventure accessible to those looking for affordable family fun right here in town.

Since 2017, the Michin Aquarium has been operating in Guadalajara’s historic center next to Alcalde Park. It houses approximately 10,000 marine organisms and serves as an important rescue, education and conservation center in western Mexico. The facility drew acclaim from conservationists back in 2018 as the first in Mexico to successfully breed neotropical river otters.

Popular exhibits include a vast oceanarium featuring bull sharks, nurse sharks and stingrays, which visitors experience up close by strolling through a glass tunnel. Additional exhibits showcase the variety of Mexican water habitats that are home to exotic jellyfish, technicolor reef fish, pink flamingos, crocodiles and more.

If that isn’t enough, a recently added petting zoo with capybaras and miniature pigs is sure to please the little ones.

Dates: The summer promotion runs Aug. 14-30, 2026.

Location: Calle Mariano Bárcena 990, Zona Centro, 44260 Guadalajara.

Cost: Tickets are available on the aquarium’s website, starting at 99 pesos.

MND Writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.