Mexicana Readies For First Click 717

Mexicana has started training six crews from its Click low-cost unit in anticipation of the delivery of its first Boeing 717 on March 20.

The Mexican carrier has for several months been negotiating with Boeing Capital to lease 25 717s is an interim upgrade for its fleet of 25 aging Fokker 100s while the carrier's management decides on a permanent replacement.

These 717 leases will range from three to five years.

A spokesman for the airline told AviationWeek it is awaiting a Boeing delegation to arrive in Mexico City to formally sign the lease accord, and that Mexicana has already started a transition plan that could have the entire 25 717s in its fleet by the end of 2010.

This plan begins with the training of six full crews, which will operate the first 717 four times a day between Mexicana's Mexico City hub and Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of Chiapas state in southern Mexico.

Mexicana said the 717 will assume the Tuxtla Gutierrez service on April 1.

The capacity on Click's 717s will be slightly different from the single-class 100-seat F-100s currently in the carrier's fleet, with 20 seats in business class and 84 in economy.

"We are introducing the 717s as part of our plan for Click to assume domestic services currently served by our mainline [carrier], which in turn allows us to expand our network across Central, South and North America," said the airline's representative. "For this reason we are providing a service comparable to our mainline [fleet]."

Mexicana's narrowbody fleet includes A318s with 12 seats up front and 88 in the back, and A319s with a similarly sized "Elite" class and 108 seats in economy.

Click's 717s will be fitted with leather seats in both classes. There will be no inflight entertainment system, because "each flight will be less than one hour," explained the spokesman.

Mexicana expects a deal to be signed "very soon" although no date has been set. The airline had previously expected a deal to be formally signed in mid-February.

Despite this delay, Mexicana expects to take delivery of 12 717s this year and the remaining 13 in 2010, although it accepts that delays could be possible. The 717s will replace Click's F-100s on a one-for-one basis, with the F-100s returning to their lessors, said Mexicana's spokesman.

Although Boeing Capital will not discuss the arrangement, 16 of these 717s - which will replace Click's F-100s on a one-for-one basis with the Fokkers returning to their lessors - are aircraft once operated by Milwaukee-based Midwest Air Group.

There is widespread debate about the source of Click's final nine 717s, and Midwest, which has nine 717s still in operation, has denied it is planning to return its fleet to Boeing. A similarly sized fleet could be obtained from Spain, where Spanair still operates four 717s and AeBal a further five.