http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/border/65647.php
Discount 'Migrant Air' flying legal, illegal immigrants to U.S. border
MEXICALI, Mexico - Among travelers, it's jokingly known as Aeromigrante - Migrant Air.
New discount airlines in Mexico are doing a brisk business shuttling migrants to the U.S. border, turning what was once a dayslong trek into an easy hop for legions of workers, both legal and illegal.
"It's much more comfortable than the bus, and about the same price," said Leopoldo Torres, 37, of Mexico City as he stretched his legs aboard Volaris Flight 190 to the border city of Mexicali.
He and a traveling companion, Julio Menéndez, paid $118 each for the three-hour flight. They planned to cross into the United States illegally through the California desert.
Such migrants have become bread-and-butter customers for airlines Volaris, Avolar, Alma, Viva Aerobus, Interjet and Click, all of which have started up in the last two years. Older carriers such as Aero California and Aviacsa have cut their prices to compete.
"The most productive routes we have are cities where you have those passengers who are traveling with the idea of the American dream," said Luis Ceceña, a spokesman for Avolar. About 70 percent of Avolar's passengers are migrants, he said.
For some airlines such as Avolar, the emphasis on migrant travel was a conscious decision, with company officials structuring their routes and fares around migrants' needs, he said. For others, it was simply a side effect of low prices, which have opened up air travel to millions of poor Mexicans.
The airlines say they treat migrants like any other passengers. The Mexican government has promised to try to slow emigration by creating jobs in Mexico. But by law, Mexican authorities and companies cannot impede the free travel of their fellow citizens, even if they suspect that they are going to cross the U.S. border illegally.
