Southwest Airlines has ended its once daily flight to Mexico City. It comes as San Antonio tries to build it’s aviation image by claiming to be a gateway to Latin America.
Southwest replaced it’s San Antonio to Mexico City flight with a twice daily flight out of Houston-Hobby Airport. In a statement, a southwest spokesperson said a limited number of slots in Mexico City was the reason. The news came as a surprise to San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor.
“It’s a little bit disappointing but we’ll keep focusing on our goal which is to increase the number of direct flights,” Taylor said.
San Antonio still has two airlines that fly direct to Mexico city - Volaris and Aeromexico.
Southwest said in its statement, the San Antonio flight was in the middle of the day which was difficult for some business travelers. The Houston flights will allow for morning and evening departures. Mayor Taylor says the decision should not reflect poorly on San Antonio. The City of San Antonio is still targeting cities like Boston, and Washington DC's Reagan International for direct flights.
“Sometimes the business case is beyond just the information that we provide but has to do with other moving parts in different markets with the airlines,” She said. But I would say we have had some positive interactions thus far.”
The Mayor says there may be another option for travel to Mexico. A new Mexican based start-up is interested in providing a new direct flight from San Antonio to Querétaro.
