Ontario International Airport (ONT) bustled even more than usual Wednesday evening (April 10) as international airline Volaris marked its 10-year anniversary of service between the Southern California gateway and Guadalajara, Mexico.
Music could be heard at the Terminal 2 security checkpoint as Volaris passengers made their way to their departing flight to Guadalajara International Airport (GDL). At Gate 207, they were greeted with complimentary birria tacos, entertainment and festive décor to mark the milestone occasion. A brief ceremony with airport and airline officials included Volaris ticket raffles for lucky travelers prior to boarding.
Mexico City-based Volaris offers daily roundtrip service between ONT and GDL with flight #1860 arriving at Ontario at 10:57 p.m. every evening and flight #1861 departing two hours later at 12:58 a.m. Scheduled flying time is approximately three hours.
In 2023, Volaris had 153,012 Clients, which meant a growth of 31% compared to 2022, with a frequency of 7 flights per week, an average of 30 monthly operations.
Having nearly 60% of its population of Latin origin, this non-stop flight has become a fundamental pillar to strengthen family ties between both sides of the border, since the main segment of clients who fly are VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives.)
«Volaris has been a valued ONT partner for a decade and we are thrilled to join our dear friends in celebrating their success,» said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority Board of Airport Commissioners.
Added OIAA CEO Atif Elkadi, «Our growing international gateway is an ideal fit for Mexico-based Volaris and we look forward to many more years of successful service for air travelers in the Inland Empire and Guadalajara.»
«We are very excited and pleased about these first 10 years of operations in Ontario, California, we have proudly been the only direct air connection between the communities of this region of the southern United States and Guadalajara, one of the most important touristic and economic destinations in Mexico. The connectivity that Volaris offers with this route has allowed us to transport more than 900,000 clients in these 10 years and has been crucial to strengthening fraternal and commercial ties between both regions, providing high quality air services at the most competitive prices, for the benefit of our customers on both sides of the border,» said Enrique Beltranena, President and CEO of Volaris.
The Inland Empire is now the twelfth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S., ahead of San Francisco, and the Guadalajara metropolitan area is the third largest in Mexico.
Volaris first offered one flight, two days a week between ONT and GDL before expanding to year-round daily service in 2018.
