They sued Mexicana for over $800 million in the United States

Mexico City.- Mexico's new state airline, known as Mexicana, is being sued by the company hired by the Mexican government to manage the aircraft's lease and crew, the airline's non-cooperation putting the entire company at risk. Consulting firm Bloomberg.

SAT Aero Holdings, formerly known as Petrus Aero Holdings, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in New York seeking the full amount of its contract, $838.5 million, plus $2.4 million in costs.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador launched the new Mexican airline in December after buying the name from a company that stopped flying in 2010.

The government has marketed Mexicana as a new budget airline to compete with local airlines Volaris and Viva Aerobus.

According to government data, the airline booked 160 flights in January.

López Obrador said last year that the government was initially looking to lease 10 Boeing 737s, but Mexicana now leases at least some of its planes to another regional airline, TAR Aerolíneas.

SAT is contracted by the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), which includes aircraft and insurance, pilots, personnel recruitment and training, and the aircraft maintenance system.

The company said it would buy the planes for Mexicana, and that the government would ultimately cover the cost.

But SAT says Mexicana breached its contract by failing to pay a deposit of more than $5.5 million so SAT could lease the first two of the 10 planes.

The company says it has “moved forward” and “tried to do everything possible to maintain an important long-term business relationship.”

“Unfortunately, after SAT negotiated the relevant financing and lease documents with the prospective bank and lessees, the airline refused to sign any documents with these entities,” SAT said in the complaint.

“SAT has made every effort to work with Cedena to resolve these issues. But, instead of resolving these various violations, Mexicana Airlines, in a confusing manner, has attempted to impose financial sanctions on SAT and hold it accountable for not delivering any of the flights identified in their contract,” he pointed out.

The Secretary of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.