Air Canada and Mexican regional carrier Aeromar are launching an interline partnership to jointly market routes through Mexico.

The move is expected to be the first step of a deeper cooperation between the carriers that is likely to include a codeshare relationship, which would see Aeromar become a partner of Air Canada’s Aeroplan program.

“Mexico is an extremely popular market for Canadian leisure travelers as well as a significant business market due to our countries’ trading relationship,” said Mark Galardo, SVP of network planning and revenue management at Air Canada.

Air Canada serves seven destinations in Mexico, flying to Cancun (CUN), Cozumel (CZM), Huatulco (HUX), Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (ZIH), Los Cabos (SJD), Mexico City (MEX) and Puerto Vallarta (PVR).

The interline agreement will allow passengers to connect via Mexico City, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta to destinations in Mexico served by Aeromar. They include Guadalajara, Ixtepec, Piedras Negras, Puerto Escondido and Villahermosa, which Aeromar serves with its all-ATR fleet.

Galardo said: “We are very pleased to partner with Aeromar because it allows us to offer our customers convenient access to a wider range of destinations throughout Mexico. Moreover, this agreement will advance our strategy to strengthen our major Canadian hubs with connecting traffic.”

Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that Air Canada plans to offer 20 nonstop routes between destinations in Canada and Mexico during the northern summer 2022 season. This compares with 23 during summer 2019.

However, total capacity this summer is scheduled to be about 574,000 two-way seats, up from the 514,000 offered in summer 2019.

Fabricio Cojuc, Aeromar’s chief network officer, said: “Canada and Mexico share very intense commercial and tourism ties, with air travel a key enabler for growth. We expect our collaboration to develop rapidly.”