Calafia Airlines

Last updated
Calafia Airlines
Calafia Airlines logo.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
A7CFVCALAFIA [1]
Founded1993
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program Calafia Plus
Fleet size1
Destinations12
Headquarters Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Website calafiaairlines.com

Calafia Airlines, legally Calafia Airlines S.A. de C.V. [2] is a Mexican regional airline based in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. It operates regular flights to the Baja California Peninsula, the Mexican Pacific coast and Northern Mexico, in addition to charter flights and tours. Its main hub is Cabo San Lucas Airport and has focus city operations in La Paz and Loreto. It operates a fleet consisting of Embraer regional jet aircraft. [3] It is named after Calafia, the legendary warrior queen of the island of California.

Contents

History

Established in 1992, Aéreo Calafia started operations in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. The company offered a variety of services, encompassing air taxi, charter flights, and short-distance tourist flights. Initially, the company owned two compact Cessna C206 aircraft and a Cessna Caravan with passenger capacities of 5 and 12, respectively. [4]

By 1995, the company had expanded its operations and ventured into organizing tours for visitors in the Los Cabos region. Aéreo Calafia became the first regional airline to offer tours for observing grey whales, at the Sea of Cortez during the winter months. They also successfully introduced tours to destinations such as San Ignacio Lagoon, Copper Canyon, Loreto, Cabo Pulmo National Park, and La Paz. These distinctive offerings remained a hallmark of Aéreo Calafia, differentiating it from other airlines. [5]

Calafia Airlines Embraer E145ER Calafia airlines.png
Calafia Airlines Embraer E145ER

Over the years, the airline has transformed into a prominent regional Mexican carrier, featuring a modern fleet of Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia and Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft, with passenger seating for 36 and 50, respectively. It also added new cities to its network, including Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Tijuana, Mexicali, León, and Monterrey, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. This growth trajectory has been remarkable since its establishment in the 1990s as an air taxi service provider. [4]

Calafia Airlines was named Aéreo Calafia until mid-2016 when it rebranded itself as Calafia Airlines as part of a rebranding project and commercial expansion announcing plans for new routes within Mexico and international destinations. [6]

In 2017, it unveiled routes connecting the Pacific to the Gulf and initiated the Guadalajara-Puebla-Tuxtla-Palenque-Cancún route; as of 2023, such routes, in addition to Mexicali, Leon and Monterrey are no longer served. [7] In August 2023, Calafia Airlines suspended operations temporarily due to pending procedures with the Mexican Civil Aviation Federal Agency, leaving passengers stranded. Calafia Airlines had faced a complex recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company carried 49,698 passengers between January and June 2023, a 34.5% recovery versus the same period in 2019. [8] According to data from the Mexican government, Calafia Airlines only had one aircraft in its fleet at the end of 2023’s second quarter. This aircraft is an Embraer E145ER. [3]

Destinations

Calafia Airlines has the following destinations: [9]

International Airport, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico Aerpuerto de La Paz, BCS, 201710.jpg
International Airport, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
Loreto International Airport -- Loreto, Baja California Sur. Loreto Airport 100 0225.jpg
Loreto International Airport — Loreto, Baja California Sur.
Tijuana International Airport Alpskwcrjuanew.jpg
Tijuana International Airport

Baja California

Baja California Sur

Chihuahua

Jalisco

Sinaloa

Sonora

Former destinations

Baja California

Baja California Sur

Jalisco

Nuevo León

Sinaloa

Fleet

A Calafia Airlines Embraer ERJ 145ER at Guadalajara Airport. Calafia Airlines ERJ-145ER (XA-FVT) at GDL.jpg
A Calafia Airlines Embraer ERJ 145ER at Guadalajara Airport.

Current fleet

The Calafia Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of May 2023): [10] [11] [12]

AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
Embraer EMB 120ER Brasilia 130
Embraer ERJ 145ER 450
Total5

Historic fleet

Calafia Airlines also previously operated the following aircraft types:[ citation needed ]

Incidents and accidents

Flight Date Aircraft Location Passengers Description
1265 Nov 2007 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Culiacán, Sinaloa.13Just departing from CUL to CSL, the airplane lost altitude and crash-landed in a field near the airport. No casualties. [13]

Related Research Articles

Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. operating as Aeroméxico, is the flag carrier of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central America; the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Its main base and hub is located in Mexico City, with secondary hubs in Guadalajara and Monterrey. The headquarters is in the Torre MAPFRE on Paseo de la Reforma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navojoa</span> City in Sonora, Mexico

Navojoa is the fifth-largest city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and is situated in the southern part of the state. The city is the administrative seat of Navojoa Municipality, located in the Mayo River Valley.

Aerolitoral, S.A. de C.V., DBA Aeroméxico Connect, and formerly known as Aerolitoral, is the regional airline of Aeroméxico operating Embraer E-190 aircraft, with crew bases in Mexico City and Monterrey. It is headquartered in Monterrey. It operates feeder services to AeroMéxico's hub airports, using four-digit flight numbers. It is considered the biggest and most important regional airline in Mexico, offering more than 300 scheduled flights daily to 42 destinations in Mexico, 11 in the United States, five in Central America, and two in the Caribbean. Its main bases are Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey. Aeromexico Connect flights are marketed as Aeromexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Líneas Aéreas Azteca</span> Mexican airline (2000–2007)

Líneas Aéreas Azteca was an airline based in Mexico City, Mexico. It operated domestic scheduled services and international services to the USA. Its main base was Mexico City International Airport, with a hub at General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport, Tijuana.

Aero California was a low-cost airline with its headquarters in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, operating a network of domestic passenger flights with its hub at the city's Manuel Márquez de León International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TAESA Lineas Aéreas</span> Low cost airline

TAESA was a low cost airline with its headquarters in No. 27 of Hangar Zone C on the grounds of Mexico City International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Cabos International Airport</span> Airport in San José del Cabo, Mexico

Los Cabos International Airport is the sixth-busiest airport in Mexico and one of the Top 25 in Latin America, located at San José del Cabo in Los Cabos Municipality, Baja California Sur state, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Federal Highway 1</span> Highway in Mexico

Federal Highway 1 is a free (libre) part of the federal highway corridors of Mexico, and the highway follows the length of the Baja California Peninsula from Tijuana, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south. The road connects with Via Rapida, which merges into the American Interstate 5 (I-5) at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which crosses the international border south of San Ysidro, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avolar</span>

Avolar Aerolíneas, S.A. de C.V. was a low-cost airline based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, with corporate offices in Tijuana. The airline operated a domestic network of 17 cities as of October 2008. Avolar's main base was located at the sole large-hangar facility at the General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport in Tijuana. The airline's slogan was "La aerolinea de la gente", meaning "The airline of the people".

Grupo Aereo Monterrey S.A. de C.V., known under the commercial name Magnicharters, is an airline with its headquarters in Colonia Juárez, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, operating domestic holiday flights out of Mexico City International Airport.

Volaris, legally Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.B. de C.V., is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City with its hubs in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Tijuana, and focus cities in Cancún, Culiacan, León, Mexicali and Monterrey. It is Mexico's largest airline by transported passengers and serves domestic and international destinations within the Americas. It is the leading airline in the Mexican domestic airline market with a market share of 42%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciudad Constitución</span> City in Baja California Sur, Mexico

Ciudad Constitución is a city in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is the seat of the municipality of Comondú. As of 2020, the city had a total population of 43,805 inhabitants. Ciudad Constitución is a small city which serves as a gateway to Magdalena Bay.

Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as Viva Aerobus, is a major Mexican low-cost airline headquartered Monterrey International Airport, in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Meassured by passenger numbers, it is Mexico´s third-largest airline and eleventh-largest airline in North America, offering more than 130 routes in more than 40 destinations serving Mexico, the United States, Central and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALMA de México</span>

Aerolíneas Mesoamericanas, S.A. de C.V., operating as ALMA de Mexico, was a low-cost airline based in Guadalajara, Mexico. It suspended all service on November 7, 2008. The airline once operated flights to more than 18 domestic destinations, with plans for international service to the United States. Its main base was Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport, Guadalajara.

Aéreo Servicio Guerrero S.A. de C.V. is a Mexican regional airline founded in 1997, based in the Hermosillo International Airport. It operates air taxi services as well as scheduled flights to the Baja California Peninsula, Sonora and Sinaloa with a fleet of Cessna aircraft.

MVS Radio are a group of four international Spanish-language radio networks owned by the mass media conglomerate MVS Comunicaciones. The group of radio networks consists of Exa FM, La Mejor, FM Globo and MVS Noticias and are broadcast in a various Latin American countries including Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominic Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the United States.

Air L.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Air L.A. Inc was a U.S. commuter airline headquartered in the Westchester area of Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Wayne Schoenfeld, Ken Dickey and Bill Wolf. It ceased all operations in September 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Televisa Regional</span> Local programming unit of Televisa

Televisa Regional is a unit of Grupo Televisa which owns and operates television stations across Mexico. The stations rebroadcast programming from its subsidiary TelevisaUnivision's other networks, and they engage in the local production of newscasts and other programs. Televisa Regional stations all have their own distinct branding, except for those that are Nu9ve affiliates and brand as "Nu9ve <city/state name>".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TAR Aerolíneas</span> Mexican airline

Link Conexión Aérea, S.A. de C.V., operating as TAR Aerolíneas, is a Mexican regional airline based in the city of Querétaro, the capital city of the homonymous state. It operates scheduled flights to 34 national destinations. Its inaugural flight occurred on March 3, 2014, between Querétaro and Guadalajara. The company currently operates a fleet of 12 Embraer ERJ 145s to 19 destinations throughout Mexico. Its headquarters and main operational base is in Querétaro, with Guadalajara, Monterrey and Puerto Vallarta serving as focus cities.

References

  1. "Eurocontrol".
  2. "Calafia Airlines".
  3. 1 2 "Calafia Airlines Fleet Details and History".
  4. 1 2 "Aero Calafia Historia".
  5. "Whale Tours".
  6. "Airline Information Calafia Airlines".
  7. "Calafia Airlines Destinations".
  8. MARTÍNEZ GARBUNO, DANIEL (2023-08-16). "Has Mexico Lost Yet Another Carrier? Calafia Airlines Halts Flights". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  9. "Aereo Calafia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  10. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 21.
  11. "Fleet details of Calafia Airlines". Planespotters.net. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  12. "Aereo Calafia Fleet | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  13. Aviation Safety Network

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Calafia Airlines at Wikimedia Commons