 "Photo: Nancy Rosenthal")
VivaAerobus, a new airline servicing the Austin area, began its online ticket sales Tuesday to several destinations in Mexico.
The airline's initial fee for tickets to either Monterrey or Cancun start at $9.99, with $45 to $55 added for additional fees and taxes.
UT government senior Katie Naranjo was the first to purchase tickets on the new airline. She said she plans on celebrating her birthday in Cancun this summer with a few of her friends.
Naranjo said she was initially drawn to the company because of its competitive pricing, but after learning the company has sound labor practices and that she would not have to sacrifice quality or safety, she decided to book her flight with VivaAerobus.
In order to offer these reduced fares, VivaAerobus CEO Mike Szucs said the company had to make several sacrifices: All on-flight meals will cost extra, there are no ticket refunds, and any luggage heavier than 55 pounds per person will also cost extra.
"This is a value product that gets you from point A to point B safely and on time," he said. "What else could you want?"
Though the presence of low-cost airfare is relatively new for the U.S. and Mexico, the model for VivaAerobus is a blatant copy of what Ryanair has accomplished in Europe, Szucs said.
However, Ryanair's success has been contested. According to a 2006 poll by TripAdvisor, a Web site that provides travel recommendations, Ryanair was voted the world's least liked airline by the 4,000 travelers who participated.
The airline will offer flights twice a day beginning May 1, said Robert Althuis, senior vice president of commercial aviation services at General Electric. The airline plans to expand to seven flights a day and add other destinations by the end of the year, he said.
GE Commercial Aviation Services will construct a terminal for the airline at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Althuis said. The Barbara Jordan Terminal will also include two runways and will be accessible from State Highway 71.
The company said it has plans to allow other low-cost airlines to fly out of the terminal in the future.
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