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.
Starting in February, Canada's Air Transat will add two direct flights from the City of Toronto, one to Liberia and the other to San Jose.
The North American airline adds a new destination, since it already had two flights a week between Montreal and Liberia, and also another two from San Jose to the Canadian city.
Nacion.com reports that Annick Guérard, director of operations at Air Transat, said in a statement that "...
Avianca, United Airlines and Copa Airlines, signed a trade agreement that will allow them to agree flight routes in the American continent.
To ensure the commercial agreement reached on November 30th becomes effective, the three airlines plan to apply for regulatory approval and a complementary antitrust immunity (ATI) subsidy in the coming weeks from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and authorities in 19 Latin American countries.
The Mexican Volaris announced that next year will turn Costa Rica into its hub, from where it will open flights to South America and will put two or three more aircraft based in the Central American country.
The representatives of the low-cost airline reported that their plan for 2019 is to start direct flights to South America from Juan Santamaria International Airport and expand from four to seven the number of aircraft departing from Costa Rica.
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).
The region has 20 international airports, of which 11 are located in Panama and Costa Rica, and the remaining nine are located in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
According to the report "Transportation in Central America: importance in the regional economy", prepared by the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration, Panama is the country in the region that has the broadest airport infrastructure, since it has seven international airports, followed by Costa Rica and Honduras with four air terminals each, El Salvador and Guatemala with two each, and finally Nicaragua with an international terminal.
The airlines Emirates Airlines and Jetblue Airways were approved to operate flights under a codeshare agreement between both cities, with connections in the United States.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica:
The Technical Council of Civil Aviation has approved a request by Emirates Airlines and Jetblue Airways, for the operation of flights under the codeshare concept between San José and Dubai, via points in the United States.Emirates is one of the most sophisticated airlines in the world, flying with its fleet of 244 aircraft, all Airbus 380 or Boeing 777-300, to more than 160 countries directly or via shared flights.The company uses the Dubai International Airport as a base of operations.
The union of Nicaraguan businessmen has stated that starting from September, Copa Airlines will stop operating frequencies to Managua from San Jose, Costa Rica and Panama City.
According to the Superior Council of Private Enterprise in Nicaragua (Cosep), "...The affected flights are Managua - Panama, San José-Managua, Managua-San José and Panama-Managua, while the only route that the airline is keeping active is Managua-Guatemala, however, only Monday, Wednesday and Friday."
Sun Country Airlines has announced that between December and March 2019 it will increase the number of frequencies it operates between the US city and the Guanacaste airport in Costa Rica from 38 to 53.
The 53 flights that the US airline will operate during the peak tourist season will be distributed as follows: 6 in December of this year, 14 in January, 15 in February and 18 in March 2019.
Terminal 2, whose opening is scheduled for next year, promises to improve conditions at the Panamanian airport, making it competitive with other hubs in Latin America.
The new Terminal 2, which is 92% complete, will have capacity to serve aircraft in 20 contact doors and 8 remote locations, taxiways, parking platform and aircraft circulation, adding up to pavement surface measuring more than 250,000 square meters.
Greater air connectivity is one of the factors that explains the increase in income generated from tourism activities in the first quarter in Costa Rica, when $1.182 billion was reported.
The travel category, in the exports section of the Balance of Payments, is composed mostly of the expense of foreigners who arrive for holiday trips, and the increase reported in the first quarter, which is the high season, is attributed to good promotion of the country and better air connectivity.
As of December, Air Canada will fly daily from Toronto to Liberia, Costa Rica, and from Montreal it will do so three times a week, during the entire high season.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute reported that the airline will increase its frequencies to Liberia, in the province of Guanacaste, changing the "...
During the months of January and February 2019 United Airlines will fly daily from Chicago to San Jose, and Alaska Airlines will fly from Los Angeles, during the entire peak season.
A statement from the ICT details that "...There will be approximately 15,000 additional seats in the first quarter of 2019 for the United States."
The Mexican airline Volaris will be suspending its services as of July 1, and the luxury resort hotel Mukul, in Guacalito, has announced the indefinite closure of its operations.
The crisis that has been going on in the country for the last month continues to harm the tourism business sector.The airline Volaris reported that it will temporarily suspend services to Managua from next week, and the luxury hotel Mukul Auberge Resorts Collection, in the South Pacific, announced on Friday that it will close its operations indefinitely.
From January to April 2019 the company Apple Vacations will be running a weekly charter flight between the airport of Liberia, Guanacaste, and Rockford in Illinois, United States.
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) reported that the route which will bring 2,340 tourists to the country will have a weekly frequency.