Viva Launches New São Paulo – Medellín & México City – Cartagena Routes

Last week and fresh off the start of new routes connecting Colombia with Argentina, low cost carrier Viva started flying between Medellín, Colombia and São Paulo, Brazil just a day after launching service between Cartagena, Colombia and México City, México.

Viva says the new São Paulo route will also provide a low cost connection between Brazil and the North American countries of the United States and México, along with Caribbean destinations like San Andrés and Santo Domingo, while the México City route provides a low cost options for Mexicans traveling to Cartagena, a popular destination for both tourism and business meetings at venues such as the Cartagena Convention Center or the many resorts and business oriented hotels in the metropolitan area.

Paulista Connection

Francisco Lalinde, Vice President of Operations of Viva.

Viva began operations of the Medellín – São Paulo route with three weekly frequencies: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets start from $179 USD one way or $289 round trip, and thanks to what the airline calls the Viva Effect that it expects will generate a reduction in the price of tickets by 35% across competitors.

Viva now boasts a network of 45 domestic routes in Colombia and Peru and 13 international routes across the United States, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Brazil, which increasingly strengthens its expansion plan to generate higher levels of connectivity and development in the continents.

Viva expects to transport 50,000 passengers in the first year of operation of the Medellín

“Today we are an airline of global stature and proof of this are the new routes that are part of our international expansion plan. This start of operations is very important for several reasons: it strengthens our HUB Medellín as a global connection center which will connect Brazilians with the Colombian cities Cartagena, San Andrés and Santa Marta, and international destinations such as Miami, Cancun, Punta Cana and Mexico City; in addition,  it will generate greater proximity between destinations and allow more Latin Americans to travel by plane, thanks to our ‘Super Low Cost’ model, in which we are experts,” said Viva’s Vice President of Operations, Francisco Lalinde.

Tenochtitlan

The day before launching the Brazilian route, Viva began flying between Colombia’s coastal city of Cartagena and México City, also known historically as Tenochtitlan, in Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs when the Spaniards arrived in the 16^th century. Viva says Cartagena is the fourth most popular travel route within Colombia to and from México, and the airline expects to fly 33,000 passengers the first year of the route’s operation.

With tickets ranging from Cartagena starting at $139 USD and $109 USD from México to Cartagena, the route will have two weekly frequencies on Tuesdays and Saturdays in both directions,

“Mexico is a key country in our international expansion plan. Today we are excited to start operations of this new direct route, which will allow us to continue connecting Colombian and Mexican travelers with the rest of Latin America under our ‘Super Low Cost’ model. This is a big step for Viva and its purpose to continue promoting air inclusion with greater international options,” said Alexander Cipagauta, director of airports and Viva operations control center.