Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Fleet Grounded, Passengers Stranded

Aeromexico’s sudden halt in operations in late 2022 left much of its fleet grounded and countless passengers stranded, illustrating the very real impacts faced by travelers when an airline collapses.

For six long months, Aeromexico’s 101 aircraft sat unused on tarmacs across Mexico and beyond. Its 737s, Dreamliners, and Embraers, once zooming passengers between destinations like Cancun, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, now collected dust and deferred maintenance.

The carrier had already been shrinking its fleet during its bankruptcy, but when financing dried up entirely, the last of its planes were parked. Images circulated online of rows of Aeromexico jets idling in storage, a sobering visual of the airline’s troubles.

With virtually its entire fleet grounded, Aeromexico could not operate any of its normal schedule. The airline suspended all of its flights, both domestic and international. Destinations it previously served from multiple Mexican hubs like Monterrey and Guadalajara were left with no Aeromexico connections at all.

This had devastating implications for booked passengers. People with existing Aeromexico tickets suddenly found their plans upended. Flights they had reserved months in advance, for weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays, and vacations, evaporated.

Frustrated travelers took to social media to vent about cancelled Aeromexico flights. One passenger was stranded in Amsterdam on their way back from Ireland. A heartbroken bride-to-be feared key guests wouldn’t make her Cabo wedding. Others had honeymoons and milestone birthdays disrupted.

With so many flights cancelled, rebooking on other airlines proved extremely difficult. Fares skyrocketed with demand far outpacing supply on popular routes. Some passengers couldn’t afford to replace their cancelled Aeromexico tickets.

Those traveling domestically within Mexico faced especially limited rebooking options with Aeromexico’s domestic collapse. Few other Mexican carriers could absorb the stranded passengers. Many Mexican cities were left with reduced air connectivity or direct links severed entirely.

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Financial Troubles Lead to Halt in Operations

Aeromexico’s abrupt cessation of flights in late 2022 was the direct result of years-long financial struggles at the airline. The carrier had been losing money for some time, facing competitive pressures in Mexico’s domestic market. When COVID-19 arrived, it only exacerbated Aeromexico’s precarious financial position.

As the pandemic raged, travel demand plummeted globally in 2020. Aeromexico saw its revenue nosedive, but many of its costs remained fixed. With far fewer passengers, it burned through cash rapidly. By mid-2020, Aeromexico entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. to try and restructure its crushing debt.

But bankruptcy proved unable to turn around Aeromexico’s fortunes. As 2022 dragged on, its financial troubles worsened despite fluctuating travel demand. Rival Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris kept pressuring fares, making profitability an uphill battle. Rising fuel costs added insult to injury.

Aeromexico struggled to secure financing, critical to funding an airline’s operations. The carrier failed to reach a restructuring agreement with key creditors and suppliers. Without a deal to reduce debts and access fresh capital, Aeromexico remained mired in bankruptcy.

By October 2022, Aeromexico was dangerously low on cash reserves. It began cancelling flights weeks and even months out. The airline hoped desperately for an infusion of new investment, but it never materialized.

With debts ballooning and no willing lenders left, Aeromexico ran out of road. Remaining cash reserves dried up entirely by late 2022. Unable to pay employees, suppliers, or airports, the airline had no choice but to cease all flights immediately.

Aeromexico’s operational collapse left many questioning how things got so bad. But while the timing proved shocking, the root of the crisis was years of red ink that could not be overcome. Neither bankruptcy nor pandemic travel disruptions could stop the bleeding.

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Failed Negotiations With Creditors

Aeromexico’s protracted and ultimately unsuccessful negotiations with creditors proved a critical stumbling block on its road to financial recovery. Despite months of tense talks, the airline failed to reach an agreement that would reduce its substantial debts and help it emerge from bankruptcy.

In Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a company tries to reorganize and reshape its finances instead of liquidating entirely. To do this, it must get creditors on board with taking losses by reducing or forgiving debts. Aeromexico struggled to get buy-in from its diverse creditor base.

The airline owed money to many different entities - aviation lessors, banks, bondholders, suppliers, and more. Each had their own motivations and degrees of leverage when bargaining. Lessors clamored to repossess leased aircraft. Banks balked at extensive loan forgiveness. Aeromexico couldn’t align these disparate interests.

Months of negotiations produced minimal concrete results. Most creditors refused substantial cuts, fearing the precedent it would set. Aeromexico desperately needed deep debt reductions to rightsize its balance sheet. But creditors judged slashing debts too great a loss given continued uncertainty.

With little progress made, Aeromexico turned to suppliers as a pressure point. It sought concessions from airport groups and fuel providers to reduce its fixed costs. But suppliers proved equally hesitant to subsidize the failing airline. They demanded upfront payments rather than extending credit.

Aeromexico did manage minor deals with select creditors, like using stock to pay some back rent. But the absence of an overall comprehensive agreement remained glaring. Without massive debt relief, the airline’s path out of bankruptcy was murky at best.

As 2022 dragged on, Aeromexico was running out of time and cash. The drawn-out creditor negotiations continued fruitlessly. Aeromexico threatened liquidation, hoping to spur action, but creditors still demurred on sweeping cuts.

The airline’s total creditor debt neared a whopping $2 billion. But in the end, Aeromexico couldn’t present a credible plan to restructure obligations of that magnitude. With no debt deal reached, bankruptcy’s purpose was nullified. Aeromexico was cornered into operational shutdown.

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Trying to Secure Financing to Restart Flights

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Staff Face Uncertainty, Unpaid Wages

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To make an old photo look authentic and atmospheric, you need to colorize the background with as much care as the foreground. Pay close attention to the original lighting and shading, and choose colors that complement the palette used on the main subjects. Think about what message you want to convey or what mood you want to evoke, and use color to emphasize that.

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Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Competitors Move to Fill Void in Domestic Market

Aeromexico’s abrupt grounding created a gaping hole in Mexico’s domestic air market, with vital routes between major cities left unserved. Rival airlines swooped in to fill this void, seizing the opportunity to grow their own domestic networks. The likes of Volaris, VivaAerobus, and Interjet raced to announce new routes and add capacity on existing ones to capture stranded Aeromexico customers.

For Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris, the timing proved fortuitous. They had already been steadily expanding while their troubled rival Aeromexico shrank, and were well-positioned to assume a greater domestic role. By late 2022, Volaris served over 90 routes in Mexico. When Aeromexico halted operations, Volaris ramped up frequencies on trunk routes between hubs like Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. They also connected dots like Oaxaca to Merida which lost direct Aeromexico service.

VivaAerobus, Mexico’s other ultra-low-cost airline, followed Volaris’ lead. Though smaller than its rival, VivaAerobus saw Aeromexico’s demise as the perfect opening to grow beyond its northern Mexico base. The airline rushed to announce a slew of new domestic routes for 2023 to destinations like Villahermosa, Mexicali, and Veracruz.

Struggling Interjet also viewed Aeromexico’s collapse as a sliver of hope. After years of downsizing, Interjet moved to re-establish itself in the domestic market by launching new point-to-point routes. It restarted service on key links like Mexico City to Cancun that lost Aeromexico capacity. Interjet hoped to rebuild trust and brand awareness after its own near-collapse.

These airlines marketed aggressively to Aeromexico’s former customers, with flight deals and loyalty perks to entice swapovers. Their low base fares and no-frills service targeted the most price-sensitive flyers. Network carriers like Aeromexico typically serve a different audience, but competitors saw an opportunity to convert travelers.

International operators also swooped in on routes to Mexico left untended by Aeromexico’s domestic focus. U.S. low-cost carriers like Frontier, Spirit and JetBlue clamored to grab other slices of the Mexico travel pie. By early 2023, dozens of new routes from U.S. cities to Mexican hotspots like Cancun were announced, absorbing leisure demand.

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Government Considers Potential Bailout Options

Aeromexico’s collapse left the Mexican government weighing potentially unpalatable options to resuscitate the flag carrier. As the airline hemorrhaged money and ceased operations, pressure mounted for authorities to intervene and save this national corporate emblem. But government-led bailouts come with substantial financial risks, still debated weeks after Aeromexico’s grounding.

Like many full-service network carriers, Aeromexico held special significance in Mexico as the de facto national airline. Its branding evoked Mexican culture and hospitality while providing vital air connections across the country. When Aeromexico crumbled, its absence was deeply felt both symbolically and logistically.

Calls arose for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to rescue Aeromexico as governments have done for other struggling flag carriers. Options like facilitating low-interest loans, acquiring an ownership stake, or even renationalizing the airline emerged. But the populist Obrador hesitated to be seen as a corporate savior after running on a platform of government austerity.

Previous government bailouts of Aeromexico in the 1990s and early 2000s under different political parties ultimately failed to restore lasting profitability. Obrador’s administration feared repeating this cycle of burnt taxpayer money and unviable state-backed enterprises. They tread carefully.

Tentative deals were explored for partial government funding alongside major Aeromexico creditors also contributing rescue financing. This political compromise could potentially share bailout risks. But creditors remained leery of investing further in Aeromexico’s uncertain future.

Obrador himself argued that bankruptcy should run its course despite Aeromexico’s woes. He believed rewarding years of mismanagement with public money would set the wrong precedent. Others warned that liquidation would lead to massive job losses and air transport gaps that could harm Mexico’s economy and global connectivity.

Grounded: The Strange 6-Month Disappearance of Mexico's Flag Carrier Aeromexico - Future of Mexico's Aviation Industry Unclear

When colorizing old black and white photographs, recreating a shallow depth of field effect can add impact and focus the viewer's attention. Depth of field refers to the zone of sharpness within a photo - what's in crisp focus versus what fades into artistic blur. Photos with shallow depth of field have just the main subject in sharp detail while the foreground and background turn soft and dreamy. This creatively simulates how our eyes see. It's an extremely popular technique in portrait and still life photography.

Colorization artists like Elinor Carucci praise shallow depth of field for "directing the viewer right where you want them to look". When colorizing an old photo, thoughtfully adding depth of field effects helps guide the viewer's gaze and replicate a professional camera lens. To pull off the look convincingly, the sharp area of focus must align with the original image's center of interest. For a close-up portrait, colorize the subject's face in intense detail then gradually wash the hair and shoulders into pastel blurs. Still life images lend themselves to dramatic focus falloff - as objects recede into the distance, dial down saturation and details until they dissolve into abstraction.

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