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.
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%.
With the entry of two competitors focusing on the business of low-cost fares, the airline market in Central America is preparing for a potential price war.
Panama has become the starting point for tourists looking to travel to the rest of Central America, where new airlines want to capitalize on a market which so far has been driven Copa Airlines and Avianca.
Owners of VivaColombia and the mexican VivaAerobus have announced the opening of a holding company in Panama to start operations in Central and South America.
From a statement issued by Irelandia Aviation and Grupo IAMSA:
Irelandia Aviation and Grupo IAMSA, owners of the Mexican low-cost airline VivaAerobus and of the Colombian airline, VivaColombia, announced their intention to expand the Viva airline brand in Central and South America.
The airline announced that as of April 7 it will not fly between the cities of San Jose and Caracas.
Avianca announced that from April 7 it will temporarily stop making flights from San Jose to Caracas and vice versa. The decision was taken in order to make adjustments to the capacity of traffic volumes on this route.
Claudia Arenas, Avianca's communications director said, "passengers interested in connecting to and from the capital of Venezuela have the option of arriving or departing from Caracas through the hub of Avianca in Bogota, Colombia."
Flights from San Jose to New York, Los Angeles, Havana, Quito and Guayaquil will now stop in El Salvador or Colombia.
Avianca announced the cancellation of five direct flights from San Jose, as part of a restructuring program that the company is undertaking. Flights to Los Angeles, New York, Havana, Quito and Guayaquil, will leave the country but will now stop in El Salvador or Colombia.
The low-cost airline VivaColombia is looking at opening up routes to Central American countries.
During the inauguration of Routes Americas which was held in El Salvador, the head of tourism in the country, Jose Napoleon Duarte said they have begun talks with the low-cost airline VivaColombia, which has shown interest in opening routes to countries in Central America.
Avianca has added two new daily flights between San Jose and Guatemala City.
Last week Avianca added two new daily nonstop flights between San Jose and Guatemala City.
"... The link will be operated using two Airbus A320 aircraft for 150 passengers: 12 in business class and 138 in economy class, and has a load capacity of 18,100 kilograms."
"This increase in flights means a total of 1,050 additional seats per week for the market, which equates to a capacity increase of 100%."
Central American countries need to grant each other complete air freedom, with unrestricted frequencies and multiple designations.
A study of the conditions of competition in air transport for passengers in El Salvador, prepared by the Superintendency of Competition in the country, contains relevant definitions for optimization of air transport not only for El Salvador, but also all other Central countries.
Starting next December the airline will start flights between Tampa International Airport, Florida, and Tocumen in Panama.
The new route will link passengers from Tampa with Central American countries and those in South America, through Copa's hub in Panama.
No details have been released about the flight, to verify if Copa Airlines will use a Boeing 737 aircraft. The duration of the flight will be approximately two and a half hours.