- United Airlines will fly daily from Chicago to San José during January and February of next year.
- Alaska Airlines confirms daily operations between Los Angeles and San José during the peak seon.
- “Approximately 15,000 additional seats will be available in the first three months of 2019 from the United States”, said María Amalia Revelo, Minister of Tourism.
Complementing the efforts and negotiations held by ICT to increase the frequency of flights originating in the United States, Alaska Airlines announced this Tuesday that it would increase the frequency from three weekly flights to one daily flight on the Los Angeles-San José route during the peak season.
This itinerary will run from November 15-26, 2018 and December 16-January 6, 2019 to both of Costa Rica's international airports: Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia and Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela.
In addition, United Airlines announced an increase in the frequency of its Chicago-San José flight, which will be run daily during January and February of next year.
The airline will maintain its flights from Daniel Oduber International Airport to the United States, with the Houston-Liberia route leaving twice per week during January and February 2019, on Saturdays and Sundays.
President Carlos Alvarado highlighted the strategy and effort implemented by the ICT to increase the presence of airlines and increase the frequency of flights, which will be sure to have a positive impact on the national economy.
María Amalia Revelo, Minister of Tourism, noted that “we emphasize working in areas where there is greater potential for growth, in this case California with Alaska Airlines and Houston and Chicago with United Airlines”.
The increase in the frequency of Alaska Airlines’ flights represents another 2,067 seats, which, when combined with the 12,771 seats that are projected with the increase on United Airlines’ Houston and Chicago routes, will create an increase of 14,838 seats coming from the United States.
“This is part and parcel of the promotion and marketing efforts that ICT carries out in key cities in the United States, which has an impact on the decisions airlines make to fly to the country. Among other cities, we have worked with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Washington D.C. and Dallas”, concluded Revelo.
The United States is the main tourist-sending market for Costa Rica, with 1.2 million visitors in 2017, a figure that represents 40% of the international arrivals over this period.
