The Mexican flag carrier has filed for bankruptcy protection in Mexico and the US.
Mexicana said it will continue to operate normally, while it attempted a "reorganization process" with its pilots and flight attendants.
Under Mexican law, after filing a "concurso mercantil" or insolvency petition, the company can "reorganize its liabilities and costs while protecting its operations".
Similarly, the Chapter 15 petition filed in the US means Mexicana can "protect and guarantee the continuity" of operations.
The Oneworld member has registered losses of US$350 million from 2007 to date.
The carrier announced yesterday it had reached an impasse with staff over pay, resulting in the airline being "financially non-viable" - the "non-competitive crew labour costs" being the main reason the company has continued to suffer losses.
Mexicana called for pilots and flight attendants to accept a pay cuts of 41% and 39% respectively in wages and fringe benefits. The number of pilots and flight attendants would also be cut by 40%.
As an alternative, the airline's stockholders offered to sell the airline to its unions for the "token sum of $1 peso".
Mexicana's subsidiaries, domestic airlines Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link, operate independently so remain unaffected.
www.mexicana.com