Transportation News

The change is a result of corporate restructuring that is part of the plan to sell off México's leading airlines, Mexicana and AeroMéxico. Mexicana de Aviación and AeroMéxico were brought under government control when they went bankrupt in the mid-1990s. Holding company Cintra, which is majority-owned by the government, decided earlier this year to sell them separately after an initial proposal to merge them was widely criticized for creating an effective monopoly. Aerocaribe is being converted into the no-frills carrier Click to be packaged with Mexicana for the sale, while AeroMéxico is to be sold together with another small regional carrier.

Click has a fleet of Fokker 100s with capacity to seat 100 passengers. As its name implies, the new air carrier hopes to make greater use of the internet for sales, reservations and marketing. And this, combined with the fact that the Fokkers are more fuel efficient than the current aircraft in use, raises hopes that fares on this route, Puerto's lifeline to the world, will be lowered.

No word yet on flight schedules, tariffs and surfboard capacity. But we'll let you know more next month.

Speaking of . . . air travel, the administration of Puerto Escondido "International" Airport has begun charging parking fees for airport users. Here's how the new program works: If you can get to the terminal, pick up an arriving visitor and get out 10 minutes, there's no charge. Otherwise, it will cost you 20 pesos. If you need to visit the Immigration office, accept the ticket they'll hand you at the entrance booth and ask an immigration official to stamp it for you and you won't be charged.

Note: if you want to leave your vehicle in the airport lot when you fly out of town, the fee is a hefty 100 pesos a day. In other transportation news: The long-awaited central bus station, a legacy of former governor of Oaxaca, José Murat, is now in operation. A string of these were built from Pinotepa to Rio Grande and beyond, all with the same Post Modern-Colonial design. The so-called Tourist Terminal is located near the Y, where Av. Oaxaca winds round and intersects with Av. Salinas de Gortari, the road that hits the Coast Highway opposite the first entrance to Bacocho.

Currently most of the "second class" buses and all those that use the Sola de Vega route to Oaxaca City are installed in the new station. These include: Estrella Roja, Solteca, Oaxaca Pacificó, Flota y Pasajes (FYPSA), Oaxaca Istmo, and Estrella del Valle. The Estrella Blanca line is expected to move there this month, once its air-conditioned waiting room is completed. There is no word yet on the Cristobal Colón / SUR busline, who have yet to confirm their intention to occupy the new station or to build one of their own.

The new depot will be open 24 hours a day. It is clean, spacious and the manager assured me a priority is to ensure that the rest rooms are kept in their present pristine condition.