Delegates who arrived early in San Juan for Routes Americas were able to travel to the south side of San Juan Harbor, where they entered the beautifully manicured grounds of the Bacardí Rum Distillery, the world’s largest distiller of natural spirits.
Airlines and cruise companies need to work closer together if they are to defeat problems common to them both. That was the opinion of Terry Thornton, Senior Vice President of Itinerary Planning for Carnival Cruise Lines at this year’s Routes Americas Strategy Summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The UK’s Birmingham Airport has started the year on a high recording a healthy nine percent passenger growth rate year-on-year for January 2016 and the busiest January on record. Last month the Midlands airport handled a total of 666,681 passengers, 55,000 more than the same month the previous year.
To cheers from the airports included in the latest growth, David Harvey, Managing Director Business Development revealed additional daily frequencies on six domestic routes, seasonal extensions in six markets and the launch of flights on seven new routes.
The wingtip of an American Airlines Boeing 737 clipped the tail of a Southwest 737 on Feb. 17, as the latter aircraft was being deiced at Detroit Metro Airport.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2019 and extend to 2022. The first 25 aircraft on delivery will replace Air Canada's existing mainline fleet of Embraer E190 aircraft, with the incremental aircraft supporting Air Canada's hub and network growth, bringing numerous network development opportunities.
This new non-stop charter service will depart every week between March 24, 2016 and August 25, 2016 operating every Thursday. It will be operated by its partner carrier Swift Air using a 150-seat Boeing 737-400.
The US and Cuba has formally signed an agreement to reestablish scheduled air services between the two countries for the first time in more than 50 years.
Latin American airline holding company Grupo Viva is to formally launch its first Viva Airlines business next month, its Chief Executive Officer Joe Mohan revealed to Routesonline at this year’s Routes Americas forum in San Juan, Puerto Rico ahead of his keynote address to delegates. The start-up will commence operations in the third quarter of 2016 using leased Airbus A320 equipment, but will not be domiciled in Costa Rica as had been previously suggested.
There’s a new political landscape for Latin America, but their remains plenty of challenges ahead. That was the view of David Appleby, Director, Latin America & the Caribbean Routes and ASM at UBM EMEA when Routesonline spoke to him on the opening day of this year’s Routes Americas forum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Air France's two locally domiciled Airbus A320s fly between Pointe à Pitre, Fort de France, Cayenne, Port au Prince and Miami, operating more than 30 weekly flights between these regional economic centers.
The airlines that are members of ALTA are some of the biggest players in Latin America – including the flag carriers of Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. Of the ten reporting members, many have either increased capacity on existing routes or have expanded their networks within the last 12 months.
Initially developed under the working title ‘Sunline’, the long-haul operator is expected to be officially launched next month and is likely to serve a network on leisure markets from Paris Orly, including destinations in Canada, USA, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
The project, led by CAAi, will be delivered in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and over its 13-month contract period will see the UK CAA support the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism (MTCT) of Suriname in the implementation of a modernised legal and institutional framework for civil aviation.
This Routes Americas edition of our occasional ‘Flashback’ series has been produced by our Airline Route blog to highlight the transition of air services at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, the largest airport in the Caribbean region and gateway to San Juan, Puerto Rico and host of this year’s forum.
Singapore is establishing an air traffic management (ATM) research laboratory to develop technologies that can advance airspace efficiency in a region that is becoming increasingly congested.
The memorandum of understanding, signed on February 16, 2016, allows airlines of each country to operate up to 20 daily scheduled frequencies between the US and Havana and up to ten daily frequencies to any other airport in the country (Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba). It also permits unlimited charter services to and from any point in Cuba in accordance with the regulations of each country.
San Juan is unlike any other Caribbean market because it has significant outbound travel. With an estimated five million Puerto Ricans living on the US mainland, there is a thriving ‘visiting friends and family’ market. Puerto Rico has the most competitive economy in Latin America and the pharmaceutical and aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industries generate substantial outbound traffic. A strong cruise industry means that Puerto Rico benefits from a year-round aviation market with very little seasonal variation.
Should Southwest be granted permission to serve the Long Beach route, it would be the fifth airport in Greater Los Angeles on the airline’s route map. It currently flies to Los Angeles International, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, John Wayne Airport in Orange County and Ontario International Airport.
This new slot pair has been reportedly purchased from Air France-KLM and will provide an early morning scheduling option for the Middle East carrier and allow it to introduce a second daily rotation on the Muscat – London city pair.
Avionics company Honeywell is continuing to invest in China because it sees the country being a key innovator in the global air transport management (ATM) space.
US Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin will travel to Havana, Cuba, on Feb. 16 to sign a bilateral arrangement to re-establish scheduled air services between the US and Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years, according to DOT.
