Retaliation? Volaris Adds 3rd Daily Flight Between Fresno & Guadalajara

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris made some changes to its service between Guadalajara, Mexico, and Fresno, California, last week. The airline has added another flight on the route, totaling three daily roundtrip frequencies in December.

It comes as Seattle-based Alaska Airlines recently announced that it would introduce daily flights between the two destinations during the same month. The flight time of Volaris’ third frequency returning to Guadalajara is nearly identical to Alaska’s, hinting at the carrier’s desire to remain as the route’s dominant operator.

From November to December

Aviation journalist Enilria first reported the development over the weekend. Volaris currently operates two daily flights between Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport (GDL) and Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT). The service is year-round and competes with Aeromexico which operates the route once daily.

Photo: Cirium

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According to aviation data and analytics firm Cirium, Volaris has a total of 120 flights scheduled on the route in November, while Aeromexico has 60. The former’s flights will be operated by the Airbus A320neo, while the latter will use the Boeing 737-800. The route’s operation in November appears to mirror the current operation, but changes will begin in the following month.

Responding to Alaska’s plans

Alaska plans to inaugurate its service between GDL and FAT on December 3rd. The flights will be offered daily, but will be a seasonal operation lasting just over two months. Additionally, the route is pending government approval, according to the airline. AS749 is scheduled to depart at 07:00 and arrive at GDL at 12:40 local time. The return flight, AS750, does not leave GDL until 20:50 and lands at FAT just before 23:00. Alaska will deploy its 737-800s on the route. The flight will be operated daily through February 12th.

Photo: Ronen Fefer | Shutterstock

As of last week, Volaris had 124 flights scheduled on the route in December – 62 in each direction. Now, that number has been increased to 181 frequencies, representing 91 flights to FAT and 90 to GDL. In January, the carrier has a total of 186 flights scheduled, while in February, the number will decrease to 137 frequencies. The two original daily flights bound to FAT were flight 1838 and flight 1832, which are scheduled to arrive at 21:25 and 22:00, respectively. The third frequency, loaded into its flight schedule last week, is flight 1830, with a departure time from GDL at 21:22 and an arrival time of 23:00 at FAT.

Identical flight times

It is believed the aircraft operating that flight will operate the first departure of the day on the return. Flight 1839 is scheduled to depart from FAT at 07:00 and arrive at GDL at 12:25. While it has the same departure time as AS749, Volaris believes the flight will arrive 15 minutes sooner, which could appeal to travelers looking for the most favorable flight times and duration.

Simple Flying contacted Volaris over the weekend, but a representative could not be immediately reached. The other two GDL-bound frequencies are redeyes: flight 1833 and flight 1836 depart at 00:50 and 01:50 and arrive at 06:16 and 07:16, respectively.

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