A bill proposing to charge $5 for each passenger in transit was presented, whose funds, which would reach $65 million, would be given to airlines as incentives to attract more tourists to the country.
Bill 150, called "Airline Incentive Law", was presented to the National Assembly on August 26. See full initiative.
Beginning October 29 of this year, KLM will operate four flights per week between the Dutch city and Liberia, Guanacaste, with a stopover at Juan Santamaría Airport.
The flights will be made in a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with 30 seats in World Business Class, 45 seats in Economy Comfort and 219 seats in Economy Class, the airline said in a statement.
The airline Aliana announced the cancellation of flight routes from Guatemala to the United States and Tegucigalpa, and from the capital of El Salvador to destinations in North and South America.
Some routes from Bogota, Guatemala and San Salvador will be canceled consisting of fleet changes and focus on routes with higher demand, the airline said in a statement.
Volaris Costa Rica announced that in 2019 it plans to launch five new routes and by 2023 it plans to increase its fleet in the country to 22 aircraft.
Regarding the new routes that the airline will begin to operate this year, representatives of the company did not detail the destinations, as they do not yet have the permissions of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation to make them public.
Investments in air terminals together with the increase in demand for local flights, are the reason for the increase in passenger traffic in Honduras reported in recent years.
According to figures from the country's airport authorities, in the 2000 the flow of travelers in the country's airports totaled 1.1 million, however, in 2018 the figure ranged between 2.2 million and 2.4 million.
Charges, taxes, high fuel prices and other costs at airport terminals can represent close to 30% of the value of air tickets in countries in the region.
Airlines that operate in the Latin American region face an uncompetitive market, since in 2018 these companies are projected to earn $2.95 per passenger, a figure much lower than the $15.67 estimated in North America or $7.58 in Europe, according to representatives of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In Panama, a tender is being launched for the supply of international and national air tickets for State entities for a period of two years.
Panama Government Purchase 2018-1-27-0-99-LM-001916:
"The lines to be offered correspond to regions or geographic zones.The proponents in the Economic Proposal Form must indicate in which lines they wish to participate.
The Salvadoran Tourism Corporation is putting out to tender a supply of air and ground tickets for travel abroad, for the year 2018.
El Salvador Government Purchase DR-CAFTA-05/2018:
"The bidder must be affiliated with the Association of Travel Agents and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and must provide evidence to prove this. If this document is not presented, the bidder can be notified.
The Mexican company Volaris has announced that from June it will start operating two new frequencies, from El Salvador to Nicaragua and Guatemala, and another one between Mexico and Guatemala.
Volaris reported that the first route will connect Guatemala and El Salvador, and the second Nicaragua and El Salvador, and a third will go between Guatemala and Mexico.
As of March 14, flights between the two countries will be considered domestic, simplifying and expediting migration and freight procedures.
With the entry into force of the Regulation for the Development of Air and Airport Operations, flight frequencies between airports in Honduras and Guatemala will have the characteristics of domestic flights.
The Panamanian airline has presented a financial offer in cash and stock to acquire the second largest airline in the region after Latam Airlines.
The New York Times reported that the offer made by Copa Airlines consists of "... a merger that would value Avianca at more than $2 billion, or a 150 percent premium to its share price last week. [November 29]".
In five years the airline market in Central America has transformed from being a market dominated by two major airlines, to one with new entrants, lower prices and greater connectivity.
The arrival of so called "low cost" airlines to the region has resulted in a progressive reduction in the prices of tickets to fly between Central American countries. Between 2011 and 2014 the average cost without taxes for travelling between Costa Rica and El Salvador ranged from between $400 and $500, while in 2015 it costs $391.
The country has strengthened a key factor in the tourism industry, which had suffered a blow when Avianca / Taca stopped operating its regional hub at the Juan Santamaria Airport.
The available seats going to the airport terminal in the main tourist area of Costa Rica, Daniel Oduber International Airport, increased by 57%.
Visitor spending went from $3.728 billion in 2014 to $4.2 billion in 2015, double the growth rate for the category in a year.
The entry of travelers into Panama grew by 6.9% at the end of last year, going from 6,668 in 2014 to 7,128 in 2015. This greater volume of passengers spent 12.7% more than they did in 2014, reaching a record high of $4,199.7 million, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census.