Mexico’s state-owned airline Mexicana de Aviación welcomed the first of 20 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a major expansion phase. 

President Claudia Sheinbaum officially received the aircraft at Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in Mexico City, alongside other officials, including the Defense Minister, the Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) Minister and the governor of México state.

“Mexicana de Aviación is not about nostalgia for the past, it is a bet on the future,” Sheinbaum said during the event. “It is a company that is being created with new principles, transparency, inclusion, efficiency, social responsibility and a sense of nationhood … it is a message to the people: ‘You have the right to fly.’”  

The delivery of 20 planes over two years comes after the Mexican government signed a 20 billion-peso (US $1 billion) purchase agreement with the Brazilian company Embraer. Five aircraft will be delivered in 2025, followed by seven in 2026 and the final eight in 2027. 

Mexicana is currently training 56 pilots and 84 flight attendants in preparation for the company’s expansion. 

Having a state-owned airline is crucial for mobilizing the population, resources and security forces in emergency situations, natural disasters and logistical operations, said Mexicana’s CEO Leobardo Ávila Bojórquez.

The Embraer E195-E2 has a capacity for 132 passengers and can reach speeds of up to 963 kilometers per hour. Its aerodynamic design, consisting of lightweight, composite materials, helps to reduce operating costs, and its latest-generation engines have a fuel-saving capacity of 30%, according to the company. 

The aircraft has a range of 4,615 km, which will allow it to reach parts of North, Central and South America from AIFA. 

Mexicana’s first Embraer 195-E2 is expected to make its inaugural commercial flight by August 25, followed by a second aircraft on September 12. 

The airline, which began operations in late 2023, currently has six main routes. 

In June 2024, Bojórquez announced plans to expand Mexicana’s routes in the next three years to include 11 international destinations in the United States, Canada and Latin America, with bases in Tijuana, Baja California and Tulum, as well as AIFA.

With reports from El Financiero and Infobae