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To help ensure the flight there goes as planned, Denova has several tips he routinely advises other pilots. Overall, he said a friendly demeanor and willingness to take things as they come are essential traits to adopt before your trip south.
“Always have a friendly attitude, and don’t be demanding. Don’t be in a rush. Things in Mexico will happen slower than here; that’s how it is. Another tip is to prepare as much as possible beforehand, whether with information from several companies focusing specifically on Mexico or with AOPA, which has great information. Prepare all of your documents in order, and I find it useful to prefill as many of them as I can ahead of time, which usually makes the officials happy – because it saves them some time. By being ready, it helps make the process a lot smoother. Finally, if a pilot wants to fly to Mexico and isn’t sure about doing it solo, reach out to others with experience to see if they could join and provide their assistance.”
Mexico has opportunities to improve its perception among the North American flying public. How can it attract more tourists and those who fly their personal aircraft? Pouille and Denova suggested how perceptions can be changed for the country and described how they can attract more American aviators.
“If we do a parallel with The Bahamas [there is a lot to learn]. The Bahamas Aviation Authority came online for general aviation, not the airlines, and created the
Flying Ambassador program. We now have people in the f lying community talking about f lying there and bringing groups of pilots to The Bahamas, with help from the gov- ernment and tourist office. It’s a commitment from those groups to bring pilots to the country and show them how beautiful the islands are,” Pouille said. He hypothesized that a similar program in Mexico could be value-added in helping to improve perceptions about flying to Mexico.
Denova added, “There are certain people you will not change their mind, period. They are convinced that you can’t leave the United States because flying anywhere outside the borders is risky. But what I am doing with the annual fly-outs, at least here in the Texas area, has really changed the perspective of pilots wanting to fly south. Every time someone sees me at a fly-in or pilot gathering, they always come and talk with me about my experiences and what the process is. And often, they come along the next time we fly down there! I love the fact that people are taking an interest in flying to Mexico.”
Grant Boyd is a private pilot with eight years of experience in the aviation business, including marketing, writing, customer service, and sales. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Wichita State University and a Doctor of Education degree from Oklahoma State University. He was chosen as an NBAA Business Aviation “Top 40 Under 40” award recipient in 2020.
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