Mexicana boss Fernando Flores is being transferred to lead Aeromexico after the resignation of chief executive Arturo Barahona only eight months after he assumed the post.
Barahona had been groomed for the director general position long before he took over last July. Neither Barahona, Aeromexico or Cintra is offering any explanation for his resignation.
Local sources suspect Barahona clashed with senior officials at Cintra, the holding company for Aeromexico and Mexicana, in a dispute over Aeromexico's future. Recently there has been no open dissent about the competition commission's order that Aeromexico and Mexicana must split into separately owned companies, but reports say this is still an issue within Cintra.
Mexico City media reports suggest Cintra's management is opposed to splitting the airlines, and in fact wants to bring them closer together.
The resignation of several senior vice-presidents at Aeromexico at the same time as Barahona's exit, plus a growing involvement by Mexicana personnel in Aeromexico, lend support to this view.
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE
Source: Airline Business
