Government capitalized Satena in 2017 with 100 billion pesos

Currently, the airline Satena has 96 routes flying to 37 destinations. In 2018, the airline will receive a 100 billion pesos injection of capital from the Government with which to invest in new aircraft and new routes.

"From the founding of Satena in 1962 until 1991 we had government support. Then the government stopped supporting us and required Satena to compete commercially with other airlines. In 2015 that changed when El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) recognized Satena as an important part of the economy and since 2016 it has supported the airline with a subsidy, which today is vital for the company to stay afloat. By the end of 2017, we had made a profit of 1,255 million pesos. Also, we have improved our financial status from a negative $100,000 million pesos to a positive 56,000 million pesos,” said General Pedro Lozano, President of Satena.

The airline cannot lower its ticket prices any further, already it offers social prices according to each of the regions. "The government subsidy is something that cannot be abused. We cannot give any tickets for free hoping that the Government will increase its subsidy because it would be unsustainable. However, we do offer different prices commensurate with the incomes of each region” said General Lozano.

Satena is a low cost social airline. "We seek to operate at a low social cost. We have a revenue ceiling of $500,000 per flight because to sustain the company you cannot reduce revenues lower than that,” said General Lozano.

Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Pedraza, Commercial Director of national airline Satena, expanded on this theme, describing the performance of Satena in 2017 as exceptional and spectacular, with more than 1 million passengers carried, which is 12% more than in 2016 and the highest passenger numbers in recent years.