Mexico’s Mas Air rebrands, to expand to 18 freighters

Mas Air (M7, México City Int'l) has rebranded to mas as it further severs links with its LATAM Airlines Group past and plans to expand its fleet from eight freighters by the end of this year to 18 within the next five years.

Speaking at a ceremony to welcome its first A330-200(P2F) of at least four of the converted Airbus widebodies the Mexican carrier plans to add in the near future, chief executive Luis Sierra declared that the company intends to become a major international air cargo player, forging more routes between America, Europe, and Asia.

“Mas will take advantage of the bigger payload and range of the A330 to expand our global presence, increasing flights to Europe and South America and starting to fly to China,” Sierra said.

The company has already tripled its routes in the last three years with flights operated to the United States, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Germany, Japan, and now China, Sierra told the Mexican business daily El Financiero in an interview. It has also upsized its workforce from 90 to 320 employees over the same period and has seen its revenue rise from USD55 million to USD148 million.

Part of LATAM Airlines Group for two decades, until the group sold its stake in December 2018 to Mexican private equity fund Discovery Americas Capital, Mas Air is now seeking to write its own history, he said.

The fleet expansion to 18 aircraft by the end of 2024 will build on its current fleet, which consists, besides the A330, of three Boeing freighters - one B767-200(SF), one B767-300(ERBDSF), and one B767-300F, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. Mas also plans to launch an ACMI business division, through which it will offer medium-term contracts for up to five years, Sierra told the newspaper.

“That will be our biggest bet. We will offer our experience to operate the aircraft, since our pilots use the best safety and operation standards, and our planes have a good range and cargo capacity. So we will be able to help our clients complement some of their routes, which due to inexperience or entering a new market may need a local partner like us,” he said.

ch aviation