If you are about to fly with an airline you never heard of, you might be wondering if it’s safe.
The short answer is that air travel continues to be one of the safest forms of travel. In 2022, a busy year for air travel, there were a total of 33 accidents involving commercial passenger aircraft. Six of these accidents resulted in fatalities. To put this in context, the fatal accident rate for commercial passenger aircraft is 0.24 fatal accidents per million flights, or around one fatal accident for every four and a quarter million flights; that’s pretty good odds and shows that fatal air accidents are incredibly rare.
And there’s even better news, this fatal accident rate has been going down in recent years. Of further interest is that two of the six fatal accidents in 2022 involved fatalities of people on the ground outside of the aircraft, with no fatalities involving crew or passengers inside the aircraft, although one of these accidents did result in passenger injuries.
And to what can we attribute the continued recent decline in the incidence rate of fatal air accidents? It’s hard to say, it could be improved safety oversight and regulation, or it could be better pilot training and capability. Whatever it is, it is good news, and airlines, including Viva AeroBus, are becoming safer.
Hopefully, the information contained in this article will reassure you and dispel any concerns you may have about flying with Viva AeroBus.
Briefly About Viva AeroBus
Viva AeroBus is a Mexican low-cost airline that has grown from operating just one route when it launched in November 2006 to now serving more than 50 destinations not only in Mexico but also in Colombia, Cuba, and the United States.
It’s primarily owned by IAMSA, Mexico’s largest bus operator, and it is based at Monterey International Airport.
Viva AeroBus Operates a Modern Fleet
Viva AeroBus operates a modern fleet of Airbus aircraft. According to Airfleets.net the average weighted age of the Viva AeroBus fleet is 5.2 years. The average Viva AeroBus aircraft ages by aircraft type are shown in the table below.
| Aircraft | Number of Aircraft | Average Age |
| A320 | 42 | 6.1 |
| A321 | 24 | 3.7 |
| Total | 66 | 5.2 |
With an average fleet age of just 5.2 years, Viva AeroBus is operating a very young fleet that compares very well to other well-known carriers.
For example, Emirates and Qatar Airways have average fleet ages of 8.4 and 7.5 years respectively, Lufthansa’s average fleet age is 10.5 years, United Airlines’ is 16.5 years, KLM’s is 10.9 years, Air France’s is 14.3 years, British Airways’ is 12.9 years, and Swiss’ is 9.8 years.
Viva AeroBus is continuing to invest in a modern fleet of Airbus aircraft. According to Airbus data, at the end of November 2022, Viva AeroBus had twenty-nine A321neo aircraft still on order and yet to be delivered.
An all-Airbus narrowbody fleet brings some distinct operational efficiencies to the airline. This streamlines aircraft maintenance as the aircraft in the same family share many of the same parts. Also, the aircraft’s flight controls and navigational systems are so similar that they are all covered by a common type rating which means that a pilot who is qualified to fly an A320 is also qualified to fly an A321.
This means that Viva AeroBus’ pilots have a strong understanding of, and familiarity with, the A320 family aircraft’s flight controls and characteristics, providing additional comfort for passengers that they are in the hands of competent pilots who are fully familiar with the aircraft’s systems.
All of Viva AeroBus’ aircraft are part of the Airbus A320 family. These aircraft were the first civil aircraft to utilize fly-by-wire technology. The A320 family is one of the safest, most efficient, and technologically advanced passenger aircraft families in the world. These aircraft types are utilized by many of the world’s most recognizable and trusted airlines, including Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, etc.
VivaAerobus Has a Good Safety Rating
Viva AeroBus has a six, out of seven, star safety rating on AirlineRatings.com. This rating is based on the following:
- Accidents and incidents: Viva AeroBus has not suffered any fatal accidents within the last 10 years (3 stars), and has not suffered numerous safety-related incidents (2 stars)
- COVID-19 protocols: Viva AeroBus is compliant with international COVID-19 mitigation measures, exhibiting at least four of the six criteria specified by the rating organization (1 star)
Viva Aerobus does not take part in IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) program. This audit is a benchmark for global safety management in airlines. The audit is optional and assesses whether an airline has the necessary systems and processes in place to operate safely. Airlines are evaluated every two years. The lack of an IOSA audit does not mean that an airline is unsafe.
It’s also worth noting that Viva AeroBus’ safety regulator in its home nation of Mexico scores reasonably well in ICAO Safety Audit results, with effective implementation in the range of 67-97% for the eight areas audited. This is better than the global average for seven of the eight areas audited. The IATA audit assesses a nation’s approach to airline safety oversight and regulation.
Viva AeroBus Incidents and Accidents
Viva Aerobus’ safety record is pretty good, with only a small number of reported incidents. My research has not shown any fatal accidents involving Viva AeroBus aircraft, although I found a small number of non-fatal accidents in recent years as follows:
- In March 2021 a Viva AeroBus A320 flying from Puerto Vallarta to Monterey suffered a nose landing gear collapse whilst lining up for take-off. The 127 passengers on board were immediately evacuated via slides and no injuries were reported.
- In August 2022, a Viva AeroBus A320 flying from Guadalajara to Los Angeles suffered a fire and failure of the right engine. The aircraft returned safely to Guadalajara. There were no injuries.
Summary: Is Flying with Viva AeroBus Safe?
Viva AeroBus has suffered no fatal crashes, and only a small number of non-fatal incidents in its 16-year operational history. Viva AeroBus operates hundreds of flights each day without incident.
I think it’s fair to say that Viva AeroBus is a safe airline to fly with.
