Cartagena Airport, Colombia

Swiss carrier Edelweiss is adding two destinations in Colombia to its network.

The agreement allows the Canadian airline’s passengers more destination options in Colombia.

The carrier will begin international flights from Bucaramanga, Pereira and Santa Marta, as well as expanding its overseas network from Cartagena.

CEO Victor Pacheco believes there is huge potential for a low-cost hub-and-spoke operator in the Caribbean—especially if governments reduce taxes and fees levied on the industry.

The Caribbean carrier plans to serve 12 countries in the Americas, including Mexico, Colombia and Peru.

The ULCC is entering a market that is exceeding pre-pandemic capacity levels, boosted by the expansion of Viva Air.

The buoyant Colombia-Mexico market continues to grow as carriers launch new routes.

Routes details the latest new route announcements, as well as the services returning to carriers’ networks.

The network additions mean Colombia’s flag-carrier is almost halfway towards reaching its goal of launching 50 new routes in three years.

The ULCC is launching 14 new domestic routes from next March as it seeks to take further market share from Avianca and LATAM Airlines Group.

The Colombian airline is pushing ahead with plans to expand its international footprint.

The Florida-based ULCC plans to be 45% larger at MCO compared to pre-COVID-19.

JetBlue’s third route between New York and Colombia is set to begin in August.

The country’s aviation authority is considering route proposals from Volaris and Viva Aerobus among others.

The carriers have launched the first phase of their Northeast-focused alliance, which includes more than 30 new routes, almost 80 codeshares and aligned schedules in key markets.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created the ideal conditions for the launch of a new ULCC in Colombia, according to the founder of start-up Ultra Air.

This week: Pegasus Airlines is adding more capacity into Israel; Viva Air Colombia is moving into a market vacated by Avianca; and Delta Air Lines is resuming service between Seattle and Dallas/Ft. Worth after a 14-year hiatus.

This week: China Southern adds direct Wuhan service to US East Coast, flynas steps into Jet Airways route, and Viva Air Peru joins Cartagena market.

In the first of a two-part feature, Routesonline takes a closer look at the airports shortlisted in two categories of the Routes Americas 2019 Marketing Awards.

It is five years since Routes Americas was held in the Colombian city of Cartagena – since then the market has experienced a significant growth in capacity.

The point-to-point business model of the start-up will be supported with a simple organisational structure to maintain low operating costs and deliver low fares and a customised offering to consumers with ancillary charges for hold baggage, seating selection and boarding as well as food and drinks.

LATAM Airlines is resurrecting the former LAN Peru link between Cartagena and Lima from January 2017, initially operating with four weekly frequencies using Airbus A320 equipment. This marks a significant growth in capacity versus when it was flown under the LAN Airlines guise between April 2009 and June 2011 when there were just two weekly rotations using a smaller A319 airliner.