The airline, launched as Viva Aerobus, commenced operations on November 30, 2006, with its hub at
Monterrey International Airport, in
Monterrey, Mexico, and with an initial investment of $50 million and two
Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Ryanair joined with Alexander Maurice Mason of Kite Investments to establish "RyanMex" to facilitate the Irish family's investment in the Mexican airline. IAMSA has showed interest in developing a new stage of transportation after its successful bus market in Mexico, and Irelandia has been actively investigating the market opportunity, leading to the companies' partnership to form a Mexican low-cost carrier. Viva Aerobus fares were intended to undercut traditional Mexican carriers by up to 50%, in a change of the industry that started with the arrival of the country's second generation of low-cost airlines (
Avolar,
MexicanaClick,
Interjet,
Volaris) and the privatization of
Mexicana de Aviación, one of the two top national airlines. The airline started operations at
Monterrey International Airport in November 2006 with two aircraft and one nonstop service connecting
Monterrey to
Tijuana, under the leadership of Mike Szucs as its CEO. A year after its foundation, in October 2007, Viva Aerobus had already transported one million passengers. Later, Donald Rogers became Viva Aerobus CEO in May 2009, the month when
Guadalajara became the airline's second base. In June 2010, the airline's leadership was assigned to Juan Carlos Zuazua, current CEO. Expansion continued and the airline established
Mexico City,
Cancun,
Tijuana and
Mérida as its new bases in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2022, respectively. On November 5, 2007, the airline received approval from the
US Department of Transportation to operate to
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, initially serving the Mexican destinations of
Cancún, Monterrey,
Guadalajara and
León. Flights to the
South Terminal Austin began on May 1, 2008. On May 16, 2009, Viva Aerobus stated it would cease passenger operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on May 31, 2009. The airline blamed the pullout in part on an outbreak of
swine flu, which caused an unprecedented decrease in demand for service. The company began to fly between Monterrey and Las Vegas in the summer of 2009. In November 2009, the airline announced it had applied to commence operations between
Hermosillo and
Las Vegas beginning in March 2010. In April 2010, the airline finally began serving Mexico's capital with two flights, one from Monterrey and the other from Guadalajara. It also started serving Houston's
George Bush Intercontinental Airport. However, the airline planned to serve
Houston Hobby Airport on completion of that airport's new terminal in 2015. In 2010, the airline opened a focus city at
Mexico City International Airport on October 1 after Mexicana ceased operations. Viva Aerobus switched Mexico City from focus city into a hub on April 1, 2011, beginning more destinations from the airport. On July 26, 2011, the airline received approval to fly to
Chicago-Midway International Airport. On August 15 the same year, Viva Aerobus announced it would begin round-trip service between San Antonio (SAT) and Monterrey (MTY), Mexico starting that November. On April 13, 2012, the airline ceased flights to Chicago Midway. On December 7, 2019, the airline resumed flying from Monterrey to Chicago, but this time via
O'Hare International Airport. In addition, the airline flew to
Morelia,
Guadalajara,
Leon and
Zacatecas from Chicago-O'Hare for the 2019-2020
winter season. In October 2013, Viva Aerobus has signed an agreement to order 52
Airbus A320 aircraft, consisting of 40
A320neo and 12
A320ceo aircraft, for $5.1 billion, making it the largest order by a Latin American carrier. On May 15, 2014, Viva Aerobus received and started using Airbus A320s. It continued using Boeing 737s until the end of 2016, when it began operating an all-Airbus fleet. In October 2014, Viva Aerobus began nonstop flights from Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua State) to Mexico City, León, and Hermosillo. In 2015, the airline launched flights to
Dallas–Fort Worth from several Mexican cities. The service was terminated in October 2015. As of December 8, 2016, IAMSA has acquired a 100% stake of the company after Irelandia Aviation sold its 49% stake to the company following regulatory approval. On December 17, 2017, Viva Aerobus began non-stop service to
Los Angeles International Airport from Guadalajara International Airport. In 2018, Viva Aerobus began non-stop service to
Las Vegas and
New York City from Mexico City International Airport. Viva Aerobus announced the launch of its cargo subsidiary, Viva Cargo, in January 2020. In late October 2021, Viva Aerobus has announced an
interline agreement with
Viva Air Colombia which took effect on November 1, 2021. In December 2021, Viva Aerobus has partnered with
Allegiant Air to form an alliance and expand low-budget services between the United States and Mexico. Subject to regulatory approval, the alliance is planned to launch in 2023. In early August 2022, Viva Aerobus announced a
codeshare agreement with
Iberia to better connect passengers going between Mexico and Spain. In September 2024, Viva Aerobus and
Air Canada announced an interline agreement. In October 2024, the airline underwent a major rebranding as simply "Viva", and introduced a new "Flex-Sí-bilidad" policy for a more relaxed experience for passengers, which include improved ticket, name, and flight changes. Alongside, a new logo and livery was introduced. In December 2025, Viva and
Volaris have signed an agreement to merge and form a new airline group, effectively creating Mexico's largest domestic carrier. The deal would allow the airlines to continue operating as separate brands. ==Corporate affairs==