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 -Published: Monday, December 23, 2019 Two
new flights from the U.S. to Guanacaste
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport, in Liberia, Guanacaste, received Saturday less than an hour apart, the inaugural American Airlines flight from New York and then the new JetBlue flight of its Premium Mint line. "These two complete a year full of successes, in which we reached a 7% growth in the number of seats compared to the previous year," said César Jaramillo, general manager of CORIPORT, a company in charge of the management of the Liberia airport. According to the Tourism Institute, the United States is the main tourist market. From January to November 2019, 1,148,488 arrivals of U.S. citizens were registered by air, which represents an additional 5.25% to the same period of the previous year. Of that total, at Liberia airport 394,306 tourists came from the U.S. In 2017, the average stay and spending of U.S. citizens tourists were estimated at 10 nights and $171.6 per day, said the Tourism Institute. The America Airlines flight will be every Saturday, taking off from JFK Airport in New York at 7 a.m. local time, to arrive in Liberia at 11.30 a.m. local time. Then it will take off from Liberia at 12:53 p.m., to arrive in New York at 7 p.m. The American Airlines B737-800 aircraft for this flight has 16 seats in First Class, 30 seats in main cabin extra with additional space, and 114 seats in the main cabin. The other airline, JetBlue Mint also flew for the first time from Boston to Liberia. This is the second year that Mint mode of the JetBlue airline returns to Liberia airport. Last year, Liberia was the first Latin American city to receive this type of aircraft from New York. The airline operates more than 80 daily Mint flights in 15 JetBlue cities. On almost all of these routes, JetBlue is the only airline that offers regularly scheduled flights with fully reclining seats. The flight is Airbus A321 with Mint of JetBlue, they include 10-inch television screens, seats with the largest space between chairs in economy class. The flight takes off from Boston International Airport at 7:19 a.m. local time, arriving at Liberia at 12.15 p.m. local time. Then it takes off from Liberia at 1:40 p.m. to arrive at Boston at 8 p.m. These are not the first new flights at Liberia airport this month. Last week a TS796 Air Transat flight from Vancouver, Canada, landed at the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela. After a one-hour stopover, the flight took off to the Liberia airport.  The flight connects for the first time Vancouver, located on the Pacific coast of Canada with two international airports in Costa Rica. This is known as a triangular flight. The flight is offered twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The special schedule will continue during the peak tourist season, until April 25. The airline offers this direct service with an Airbus A321 Neo LR model aircraft. According to the airline, it is a completely new aircraft with a capacity for 199 passengers that stands out for its low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions in aircraft of this class. The flight departs Vancouver at 6:30 a.m. local time and arrives at Alajuela at 4:25 p.m. local time. Then it leaves Alajuela at 5:25 p.m. to arrive at Liberia at 6 p.m. The return flight to Vancouver leaves from Guanacaste at 6:40 p.m., makes a brief stop in Alajuela and arrives in Canada at 12:20 a.m. local time. Passengers from Vancouver can leave the plane either in Alajuela or Guanacaste. Similarly, the passenger can return to Vancouver from either the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport or board the craft at Juan Santamaría. Air Transat also operates weekly flights to Juan Santamaría from the cities of Montreal on Mondays and Fridays and from Toronto on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. At Daniel Oduber in Liberia, flights are three times a week to Toronto on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, There also is a flight to Montreal on Wednesdays and Fridays. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism, between January and November of this year, 187,941 Canadian tourists entered the country at an international airport. Canada continues to be the second country with the highest number of tourists to Costa Rica, said the ministry. In addition, there was a 9.9% increase in tourists compared to the same period last year. The largest number of arrivals of Canadians to Costa Rica occurs in the months of December to March. According to studies by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, 42% of Canadians visiting Costa Rica travel as a couple, 24% as a family, 22% alone and 9% with friends. The average stay of visitors from Canada is 14 nights and the average cost per person is $110 per day, according to ministry statistics. ------------------------ Which other airlines should include direct flights to Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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