How does airbus name their planes?

Aeroméxico's fleet was built over decades around McDonnell Douglas: DC-9s, MD-82/88s and DC-10s first, then MD-11s and Boeing 767s and 777s. When Boeing absorbed McDonnell Douglas in 1997, the airline inherited a business relationship and crews trained in Seattle's cockpit philosophy. When renewing its single-aisle aircraft starting in 2003, the natural choice was the 737-700 and 737-800, which replaced the MD-80s without switching suppliers. Airbus, which had established itself in Mexico through Mexicana and its A320s since 1991, never managed to break into Aeroméxico.

Operating with a single manufacturer simplifies everything: 737-800 pilots move to the MAX with a short differences course, mechanics share type ratings, spare parts inventories shrink, and support contracts are negotiated as a block. For an airline with fewer than 150 aircraft, splitting the fleet between Boeing and Airbus means doubling fixed costs without gaining bargaining power. In 2012 Aeroméxico signed one of the largest orders in its history with Boeing, firming up 60 737 MAXs and 10 787-9s, and has since expanded it; on long haul, the 787 has taken the place of the 767 and 777. Delta, its partner and shareholder, is also a major 737 operator, which makes it easier to share maintenance and training.

Volaris and Viva Aerobus, Mexico's two low-cost carriers, are exclusive Airbus customers with hundreds of A320neos and A321neos on order, so the Mexican market is actually a duel between manufacturers. Aeroméxico could have switched after the MAX grounding in 2019 and its 2020 bankruptcy filing, but when it restructured it chose more leased 737 MAXs and 787s, partly because Airbus deliveries were booked out through the end of the decade. Nothing rules out adding an A321XLR or an A350 in the future, but today there's no firm order.