SJOtoLIR From Costa Rica, joined Jul 2007, 4075 posts, RR: 5 Posted (2 months 3 weeks 10 hours ago) and read 7827 times:
THE CENTRAL AMERICAN AVIATION THREAD
PART LII
"Tribute to Air Florida in Central America"
Welcome to the 52th consecutive edition in this series !
Perhaps few people on this board remembered Air Florida touching our regional airports during the early 80s.
I found references about Air Florida flying from Miami to Belize City, Guatemala City, San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and San Jose. Equipments: 727, 737 and DC-10, sometimes.
viaggiare From Costa Rica, joined Jan 2007, 2042 posts, RR: 9 Reply 1, posted (2 months 3 weeks 8 hours ago) and read 7774 times:
According to a story in today's La Nación, IB has named "Costa Rica" the second (EC–LUK) of its five A333s entering service this year.. earlier this month her predecessor (EC–LUB) was named "Tikal" after the magnificent archaeological site in northern Guatemala.
Quoting SJOtoLIR (Thread starter): Perhaps few people on this board remember Air Florida touching our regional airports
Late 80's wasn't really an attractive time for a U.S. airlines to open routes to PTY (and MGA). Pretty sure that was why Air Florida never made to PTY.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 3, posted (2 months 2 weeks 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 7650 times:
Quoting viaggiare (Reply 1): I sure do.. also Eastern and the original PanAm.
I do too....flew them a few times....including one time BZE-MIA-LGW
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
SJOtoLIR From Costa Rica, joined Jul 2007, 4075 posts, RR: 5 Reply 4, posted (2 months 2 weeks 5 days 15 hours ago) and read 7488 times:
Recovered from the 51th edition: the possible service of LH in Panama makes sense in the mid-term considering the vast network offered by CM and Star Alliance at Tocumen International Airport.
CM currently code-shares with IB [OneWorld] and KL [SkyTeam], in order to feed their inter-contentinental flights. Things may dramatically change in the forthcoming year trying to open a new niche for the German airline.
.
Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 2): Late 80's wasn't really an attractive time for a U.S. airlines to open routes to PTY (and MGA).
According to some sources on the web, Air Florida operated in Central America from 1981 till 1984.
I don't think any US airline flew to Nicaragua in such filter period.
AeroNica didn't fly to Miami as LaNica did it prior to 1979.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 5, posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7298 times:
From the OAG thread....
Quoting enilria (Thread starter): *DL LAX-SJO JUL 0>1.0 AUG 0>1.0 SEP 0>1.0 OCT 0>1.0 NOV 0>1.0
DL moved up the start date? Were advance bookings that good? or did they find a free aircraft sooner?
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
I did a quick research at amadeus.net and DL LAX-SJO 7x weekly is due to start on July 01st.
Thus, DL has moved forward their intended plans in such route. The first flight was previously dated on December 19th.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 7217 times:
Quoting SJOtoLIR (Reply 6): I did a quick research at amadeus.net and DL LAX-SJO 7x weekly is due to start on July 01st.
Thus, DL has moved forward their intended plans in such route. The first flight was previously dated on December 19th.
DL is going to be aggressive this time round.....with better sales teams in place, we are going to see a big push in C America from DL. They want to try to nail down some market before WN enters.
We already see them moving up LAX SJO start date, adding more service to GUA.
within the next 18 months I predict we will see DL from LAX to PTY/BZE/SAL/SAP and additional frequencies on most of the major routes from ATL...even RTB might see some new ATL frequencies. The only wild card is TGU...it has struggled badly, but they might stick it out there in order to keep a full complement of flights to the region.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
2travel2know2 From Panama, joined Apr 2010, 1999 posts, RR: 1 Reply 8, posted (2 months 2 weeks 22 hours ago) and read 7152 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 7): within the next 18 months I predict we will see DL from LAX to PTY/BZE/SAL/SAP and additional frequencies on most of the major routes from ATL.
DL LAX-PTY when CM is flying PTY-LAX thrice daily?
Extra ATL-PTY frequencies may be possible and profitable, but DL LAX-PTY is a disaster about to happen.
If DL wants to be creative, DL should try SLC-PTY instead of LAX-PTY. SLC being a DL hub may consolidate enough passengers from the western U.S. to support a 3-4 per week service to PTY.
If SLC too far west, MSP may be interesting as an alternate for DL Western U.S.-Panama.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 9, posted (2 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 7141 times:
Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 8): DL LAX-PTY when CM is flying PTY-LAX thrice daily?
So? That means the market may now be big enough to support a non Star carrier.
Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 8): SLC being a DL hub may consolidate enough passengers from the western U.S. to support a 3-4 per week service to PTY.
LAX is almost a hub now, have you seen all the additions recently. And LAX has much more O&D to PTY than SLC. If LAX can't work, there is no way in hell SLC will work.
Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 8): MSP may be interesting as an alternate for DL Western U.S.-Panama.
Not going to happen. It is too far north and PTY is much less leisure than say SJO.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
2travel2know2 From Panama, joined Apr 2010, 1999 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (2 months 2 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 7126 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 9): So? That means the market may now be big enough to support a non Star carrier.
Good luck to DL in the LAX-PTY route.
There are no LAX-PTY arrivals early morning and no PTY-LAX red-eyes departures.. So the same DL aircraft flying ATL-PTY could take-off to LAX a couple of hours later; depart early evening LAX-PTY and continue to ATL early next morning.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 11, posted (2 months 2 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 7099 times:
Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 10): There are no LAX-PTY arrivals early morning and no PTY-LAX red-eyes departures.. So the same DL aircraft flying ATL-PTY could take-off to LAX a couple of hours later; depart early evening LAX-PTY and continue to ATL early next morning.
Ahhh ..now you are beginning to think like an airline person. Its about asset allocation and utilisation.
Instead of the aircraft RONing at PTY....it gets a fresh crew and turns to LAX...essentially passing another DL aircraft (LAX-PTY) in the air. That south bound aircraft is on the ground in PTY in time for the morning ATL flight.
As long as they can break even on the route itself it is an overall win for the company.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
SJOtoLIR From Costa Rica, joined Jul 2007, 4075 posts, RR: 5 Reply 12, posted (2 months 1 week 6 days 8 hours ago) and read 6972 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 7): DL is going to be aggressive this time round.....with better sales teams in place, we are going to see a big push in C America from DL.
I'm still a little bit skeptical concerning to a huge expansion of Delta Air Lines in Central America.
The Atlanta - Central America sector has suffered few changes during the last five years, in terms of weekly frequencies as well as new equipment. On the other hand, their competitors have been more aggressive in our region: UA [IAH - Central America] and AA [MIA - Central America].
I don't want to talk again about the catastrophic [JFK - Latin America] experiment in 2008, where DL JFK-BOG is the sole survivor. Needless to say that all their Central American routes were rapidly retired.
We'll follow carefully the progress on DL LAX-SJO 7x weekly from July 01st. Everything seems to be all right now !
viaggiare From Costa Rica, joined Jan 2007, 2042 posts, RR: 9 Reply 13, posted (2 months 1 week 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 6846 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 11): Its about asset allocation and utilisation
Speaking of asset optimization, Air Panamá (7P) has found a niche doing vip charters on the side.. here is HP–1764PST upon arrival last week in CCS.
2travel2know2 From Panama, joined Apr 2010, 1999 posts, RR: 1 Reply 14, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 6772 times:
Quoting viaggiare (Reply 13): Speaking of asset optimization, Air Panamá (7P) has found a niche doing vip charters on the side.. here is HP–1764PST upon arrival last week in CCS.
Last year I saw it on CUR.
7P also flew the Panamanian national football team to Dominica for a match there.
Don't really know what those 7P people have on their minds.. The airline could be more creative with its use of its fleet, 7P still have some room to grow.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 6736 times:
Quoting viaggiare (Reply 13): Speaking of asset optimization, Air Panamá (7P) has found a niche doing vip charters on the side.. here is HP–1764PST upon arrival last week in CCS.
Don't they have sort of relationship with CM now too?
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
2travel2know2 From Panama, joined Apr 2010, 1999 posts, RR: 1 Reply 16, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 6721 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 15): Don't they have sort of relationship with CM now too?
Yes flying domestic passengers between PTY and BOC.
Not sure if 7P would operate flights on behalf of CM when CM hasn't gotten equipment available due to maintenance or other reasons.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 17, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 6663 times:
Quoting SJOtoLIR (Reply 12): We'll follow carefully the progress on DL LAX-SJO 7x weekly from July 01st. Everything seems to be all right now !
Lots of us will and we might have more than just LAX SJO to follow. I would be really surprised if DL did not put in SAL-LAX for a Dec start.
Quoting SJOtoLIR (Reply 12): The Atlanta - Central America sector has suffered few changes during the last five years, in terms of weekly frequencies as well as new equipment.
Well they have moved around aircraft in the region 75s, 73s, 319s Md88s. All the CR9 seem to be gone permanently. GUA has seen frequency upgrades as recently as the last OAG update. BZE keeps growing and growing for them. RTB seems to be growing slowly as well. LIR is supposedly the stellar performer in the region for them. So it is not stagnant. The only weak place seems to be TGU, but then again UA is hardly minting it there as well.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
SJOtoLIR From Costa Rica, joined Jul 2007, 4075 posts, RR: 5 Reply 18, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 6626 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 17): I would be really surprised if DL did not put in SAL-LAX for a Dec start.
Agreed, the market is indeed there. The SAL-LAX sector is operated by TA up to 21x weekly sometimes; it is 18x weekly for the time being. AA LAX-SAL and the former CO also flew that segment before.
I'm not worried about the predominance of TA in such route. Let's take a look about the commented situation on TA GUA-MEX which is no longer in service.
.
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 17): Well they have moved around aircraft in the region 75s, 73s, 319s Md88s. All the CR9 seem to be gone permanently. GUA has seen frequency upgrades as recently as the last OAG update. BZE keeps growing and growing for them. RTB seems to be growing slowly as well. LIR is supposedly the stellar performer in the region for them. So it is not stagnant. The only weak place seems to be TGU, but then again UA is hardly minting it there as well.
If we make an analysis about the progress of DL in Central America in the past ten years, it cannot be fairly compared with UA:
United Airlines in Central America. 2013
UA EWR-BZE: 2x weekly
UA IAH-BZE: 16x weekly
UA EWR-GUA: 1x weekly
UA IAH-GUA: 19x weekly
UA IAH-RTB: 8x weekly
UA EWR-SAP: 1x weekly
UA IAH-SAP: 9x weekly
UA IAH-TGU: 7x weekly
UA EWR-SAL: 1x weekly
UA IAH-SAL: 22x weekly
UA IAH-MGA: 14x weekly
UA ORD-LIR: 3x weekly
UA EWR-LIR: 7x weekly
UA IAH-LIR: 17x weekly
UA EWR-SJO: 14x weekly
UA IAH-SJO: 28x weekly
UA EWR-PTY: 9x weekly
UA IAH-PTY: 14x weekly
viaggiare From Costa Rica, joined Jan 2007, 2042 posts, RR: 9 Reply 19, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 6607 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 17): LIR is supposedly the stellar performer in the region for them
I'm happy for Delta.. Liberia remained largely stagnant for over a quarter century until it took off with their arrival in 2002.. gotta thank Alan Kelso (Four Seasons) and Hoover Gordon–Patillo (Hacienda Pinilla) for persuading Leo Mullin (former DL CEO) with the help of US$3M in revenue guarantees.. although CO and AA soon followed, it was DL along with the Four Seasons (which gave Guanacaste the credibility to attract other luxury developers) that drove the construction boom which soon followed.
SJOtoLIR From Costa Rica, joined Jul 2007, 4075 posts, RR: 5 Reply 20, posted (2 months 1 week 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 6601 times:
Quoting SJOtoLIR (Reply 18): United Airlines in Central America. 2013
UA EWR-BZE: 2x weekly
UA IAH-BZE: 16x weekly
UA EWR-GUA: 1x weekly
UA IAH-GUA: 19x weekly
UA IAH-RTB: 8x weekly
UA EWR-SAP: 1x weekly
UA IAH-SAP: 9x weekly
UA IAH-TGU: 7x weekly
UA EWR-SAL: 1x weekly
UA IAH-SAL: 22x weekly
UA IAH-MGA: 14x weekly
UA ORD-LIR: 3x weekly
UA EWR-LIR: 7x weekly
UA IAH-LIR: 17x weekly
UA EWR-SJO: 14x weekly
UA IAH-SJO: 28x weekly
UA EWR-PTY: 9x weekly
UA IAH-PTY: 14x weekly
I missed UA IAD-SAL 7x weekly which is available since December 2012.
Four stations out of the USA towards Central America completing 199 weekly frequencies !
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5157 posts, RR: 2 Reply 22, posted (2 months 1 week 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 6534 times:
Also
TA LAX-SAL APR 1.6>3 MAY 1.6>3 JUN 1.5>3 JUL 2>3 AUG 2>3 SEP 1.6>3 OCT 1.6>3 NOV 1.6>3
IMHO they are trying to tell AS and DL to not even consider this market.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
2travel2know2 From Panama, joined Apr 2010, 1999 posts, RR: 1 Reply 23, posted (2 months 1 week 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 6517 times:
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 22): IMHO they are trying to tell AS and DL to not even consider this market.
IMHO, LAX-GUA/SAL traffic could well support another airline.
If DL already has a presence @ GUA and SAL and it's adding more operations @ LAX, that's the most likely candidate for those routes from U.S: side.
If AS or NK wants into the California - GUA/SAL market.. maybe it's time for them to study ONT (or SNA) -GUA/SAL and OAK (or SJC )-SAL before WN makes a move into those markets.
SAL may even be able to support some frequency of SAN-SAL, SMF-SAL and LAS-SAL.
DL's GUA upgrade is seasonal, then it's back to the terrible schedule we have.
nice and spacious airports in need of new airlines and flights... GUA or FRS anyone?... anyone at all?
25 SJOtoLIR: TA served the SAL-OAK sector in 2007 and it didn't last too much. If I remember correctly, the service called SAL-SFO was suspended in favor to SAL-O
26 viaggiare: The route was 3x weekly (sooo TACA) from the start until it was quietly dropped.. coincidentally there was a Salvadoran national sitting on the Oakla
27 troest: What German airline do you mean? Lufthansa, Condor ?
28 sfjeff: This is not correct. TACA never suspended SFO in favor of OAK. IRC, there was a reduction at SFO from 10 or so flights a week to 7 during the period
29 SJOtoLIR: We were speaking in the last Cent Am thread about the possibility of any LH FRA-PTY. Having IB from OneWorld and KL from SkyTeam, the possibility of
30 yellowtail: TA has served SFO for many many years. I once flew it on their 733 where we stopped in MZT for fuel both ways. I Was always surprised that they manag
31 SJOtoLIR: If I recall correctly, TA SAL-SFO was served even during the 80s when the former TA had the 762 equipment. Hence, some stations such as IAD, LAX, SFO
32 juanchito: If I remember correctly Aviateca served GUA-ORD with 733 Juanchito
33 B747_A340: Those flights had a tech stop in MSY
35 yellowtail: I took the SFO flight many times.....an never ever had a 762. Was always a 733 packed to the gills with a tech stop in MZT. I once asked a senior off
36 viasa: Which airline of the AviancaTaca Group will get the first ATR72-600? Is it Avianca Colombia (Fokker 50 replacement), La Costeña, Islena Airlines or A
38 SJOtoLIR: It's a good point. The 762 seems too much for SAL-SFO as non-stop and 25 years backward.
39 viasa: Afaik they had suspendet its operation about a year ago: http://www.ch-aviation.ch/portal/news/8518 So I don't think that they get ATR72-600s...
40 juanchito: I think it was sarcasm. If i remember correctly the first ATR72-600 will be going to Central America so it basically going to Guatemala or Honduras.
41 yellowtail: So the most probable routes would be GUA-FRS or SAP-RTB?
42 juanchito: This flights como to mind. GUA-FRS GUA-TGU GUA-SAP SAP-RTB SAP-SJO TGU-SJO TGU-SAL Juanchito
43 viaggiare: CM has inaugurated its newest Copa Club (membership airport lounge program jointly operated with UA) in SJO.. six thousand square feet.. seating for o
44 2travel2know2: I predict CM Clubs in MGA and HAV soon. If they could find some room @ MIA for it, that'll be another good airport to open one.
46 2travel2know2: AV got rid of its TA surname from Revista Summa in Spanish. During Avianca Taca Holding S.A. (Inc,) stock holders meeting in Panama (of all places) th
47 viaggiare: LOL but isn't the holding domiciled in Panama (neutral ground) since its inception?
48 RCS763AV: No, it's because the holding company has it's domicile in Panama due to tax reasons. Legally, at least in Colombia, you can't celebrate the board mee
49 2travel2know2: That'd have been a source of lots of Costeño pride that after so many years of AV incorporation and being BOG its major base/hub the meetings were s
50 yellowtail: Does anyone hav any clue when we will see the next round of CMs route announcement...a couple were due in March....but March is about to end and with
51 2travel2know2: i've no clue when CM would make the new destination announcements, but since I could guess CM wants to cash on the FIFA world cup Brazil 2014, SSA co
52 copa330200: according to Panama Prensa British Airways will land in PTY by the end of 2013. http://www.prensa.com/impreso/economia/negocios-la-hora-del-te/165392
53 summa767: Could be. Especially is the Panamanian government offers money incentives, such as it does to other European airlines. BA is receiving new long haul
54 2travel2know2: A BA LGW-PTY is what The Panama Tourist Authority have been trying to get from BA for quite some time. They knew the chances of getting something out
55 copa330200: 100% agree I´ll love to see BA and other airlines ( LH) coming to PTY in the near future !!! that will be awason !!! but BA within this year since I
56 SJOtoLIR: Perhaps any triangular route is a valid choice for Copa Airlines in the future. For illustrative purposes, AA MIA-CWB-POA-MIA will begin on December
57 viaggiare: Saw KX bird VP-CKY sitting on the apron at SJO yesterday 3/23 at 1630Z by the main pax terminal nowhere near the COOPESA hangar. Wonder what she was u
58 2travel2know2: For CM both POA and CWB are markets which could sustain non-stop on their own. A CM PTY-CWB-POA-PTY route would only make less attractive CM in both
59 SJOtoLIR: Speaking about Copa Airlines, the 738 is the exclusive aircraft in their high density routes. No more 73Gs on the following segments lately: CM PTY-GR
60 yellowtail: Tropic Air commenced service to Cancun on Monday from BZE. This flight markes the resumption of air links between the two countries.
61 copa330200: http://www.prensa.com/impreso/econom...ama-negocia-acuerdos-aereos/166737 based on the article, 1- PTY is expecting to land 2 new airline by the end o
62 2travel2know2: Add to those the bilateral agreements with Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Qatar. Not sure what'd they be good for right-now but they'd have some v
63 SJOtoLIR: As of April 15th, Avianca is implementing its AV code in selected flights operated by TA/LR nowadays. The current operations will keep the schedule, f
64 2travel2know2: It's all up to what else the Canadians are willing to allow CM. For CM, Canada-Latin America demand is so critical that the airline just can't be cry
66 avi8: I wonder when we will here about expansion at GUA. The airport had a 6% increase in passengers for 2012. GUA handled almost the same as SAL if not mor
67 2travel2know2: Right now I don't know about that, I've not seen where the future 3rd and 4th runways would go and the area around the "newest" runway is going to be
68 SJOtoLIR: I foresee PTY as one of the most successful Latin American airports by 2025. In terms of the Central American landscape, it has by far surpassed the l
69 yellowtail: I am hearing rumblings once again that both AV and CM are being solicited heavily by the Skyteam partners to leave Star. Lots of promises about new lo
70 2travel2know2: Star Alliance Far East airlines haven't been that much receptive to CM (and Panama in general) wish for a PTY-Asia direct flight. So Sky trying to wo
71 SJOtoLIR: It won't be easy for SkyTeam grouping as AV-TA are promoting its commercial relation with Star Alliance as follows: "Avianca and Taca are proud of be
72 SJOtoLIR: TA SAL-MCO 4x weekly with E90 will also experience the AV code from April 22nd as follows: AV 422 SAL-MCO AV 423 MCO-SAL This will be the first flight
73 avi8: I wonder if TA/AV will re-start GUA-MCO again for the summer season. Any rumors on prospective routes?
74 2travel2know2: Pretty sure lots of seats on those AV SAL-MCO are sold as Orlando holiday programmes from BOG or LIM and beyond.
75 yellowtail: Maybe, but from those markets would be better on CM. there is sizeable SJO/GUA/SAL family traffic to MCO during the school holiday period.....but fly
76 RCS763AV: BOG has daily flights to MCO on both AV and B6...the only reason people would take a connecting flight through SAL or PTY would be a much lower fare
77 viaggiare: At what point does pulling the plug altogether on certain routes —especially those where their weaknesses become more apparent— make more sense t
78 yellowtail: You know we are taking about AV/TA right?
80 yellowtail: Tropic Air will further increase its SAP-BZE to daily effective May 1. The added 2 days will see evening (RON) service vs the current late morning fli
81 viaggiare: First time BZE plays the role of international hub? How much time are we talking about, including layover?
82 SJOtoLIR: AV SAL-MCO is barely served as 4x weekly with the 100-seater E90 whilst CM PTY-MCO is flown as 21x weekly and it's grabbing the biggest chunk of the
83 yellowtail: No...long gone...along with the airline. 2hrs.55min from SAP to CUN Heck of a lot better than driving! The next hub of the Americas! Actually pax fro
84 aer: Considering how high fares are on GUA-FRS (yes I'm looking at you TA) I'm not surprised.
85 yellowtail: Another big announcement expected from Tropic next week.....there is a teaser on their FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tropic-Air-Belize/340653
86 avi8: I would like to comment that this is a good year for SJO. DL is adding its daily to LAX and JetBlue is adding its daily flight to FLL. TA has been kin
87 yellowtail: Big Announcements for BZE coming ...and I am not counting Tropic starting CUN and their announcement next week.
88 SJOtoLIR: Both UA IAD-SJO 1x weekly with 738 and UA ORD-SJO 1x weekly with 738 just began on April 13th. . Correct. Almost one year has passed since TA opened
89 carmenlu15: Those tickets are usually cheaper if you buy them through a tour operator... not that I disagree with you that they're too high, mind you! Speaking o
90 mabadia71: Right now the plan is for some of the ATR-72 to go to Central America, 7 IIRC, and the rest to BOG. I believe there is a big chance that AV will conv
91 yellowtail: Well if CM starts BZE, we might see TA move to a ATR on SAL-BZE because CM will take all the traffic away heading from about SJO southward. TA will be
92 carmenlu15: Hopefully some of them will go to the GUA-TGU route... those flights are always full!
93 yellowtail: Tropic Air Announces BZE-RTB Press Release San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, April 29, 2013 TROPIC AIR ANNOUNCES SERVICE TO ROATAN, HONDURAS Tropic A
94 juanchito: And they are charging and average of $500.00 USD on an ATR42 on a 1 hour flight. Juanchito[Edited 2013-04-29 18:19:20]
95 viaggiare: This would've been unthinkable five years ago.. the cartel's collapse has brought with it an unexpected surprise.
96 yellowtail: And there is probably more to come....
97 SJOtoLIR: Any CM PTY-BZE on a daily basis as non-stop sounds too much for this possible new route. San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa were small markets for Copa A
98 AA767LOVER: People wanting to fly from HK to Latin America are paying anywhere from $10000 HKD (base price) to $17000 HKD to Central and South America. It's crazy
99 yellowtail: Apples to Oranges. TGU and SAP do not have near the tourism market that BZE does. The PDEW is sizable between PTY and BZE alone. and the yields incre
100 2travel2know2: Rumour is: add IQT to those new CM under-performing destinations.
101 yellowtail: I have heard that REC, LIR and IQT are all underperforming...with LIR and REC running a close race for Stinker. Here is tropic's latest updated route
102 juanchito: I remember correctly that in June 2013 AviancaTaca will receive the first ATR72. Are those plane still on schedule to arrive in that date. Who will re
103 2travel2know2: IMHO, winner hands down: LIR. I don't know of an Star Alliance airline flying LIR-MIA, so if CM wants to try something daring, how about twice weekly
104 SJOtoLIR: The tourism market is centralized from the USA and it wouldn't magically come from South America and the Caribbean through PTY. Ask it to CM PTY-LIR
105 2travel2know2: POS is almost twice daily right-now. We won't see a frequency increase on PTY-MAR/VLN. Only chances for CM increasing frequencies to MAR/VLN would be
106 yellowtail: Doesn't need the average ...only about 100 a day need to buy a ticket. I wish I could explain. There a few lurkers around her that know exactly what
107 SJOtoLIR: The civil aviation authorities from Argentina have pursued the protectionism of its own market and I highly doubt about the opening of new stations.
108 avi8: I wonder when CM will expand in other places that is not PTY. PTY can only grow so much and they can't and shouldn't put all of their eggs in one bask
109 yellowtail: a) buy BW and open a second hub there at POS b) open a second hub at GUA
110 carmenlu15: I am totally on board with that idea!
111 2travel2know2: There's fleet commonality between BW and CM but other than that just need to remember how Jamaica reacted to the Trini take-over of Air Jamaica to se
112 yellowtail: I perceive the Trini's to be a bit more pragmatic on investments subjects than the Jamaicans. BZE already offers 5th freedoms....hell CM should just
113 SJOtoLIR: Copa Airlines has already built a focus city in San Jose: Guatemala City: 1x CM + 1x Copa Colombia San Pedro Sula: 1x Tegucigalpa: 1x Managua: 2x Pan
114 aer: I posted this question in another thread, but I also wanted to post it here. I'm wondering is how are AV gonna manage the flags on the new livery; wil
115 SJOtoLIR: It's a good question. The different national flags painted into the fuselage has been a practice followed by GRUPO TACA. One more point: GRUPO TACA h
116 aer: And the thing about the flags is that not all the countries give all the freedoms to foreign carriers, so that's where my question comes from; becaus
117 SJOtoLIR: AV didn't purchase TA. The merger AV-TA is being unified into the AV brand solely where the former Avianca is getting the 2/3 of the capital. The tra
118 aer: Thanks for the explanation, I get it now, the brand is changing, not the a/c reg or nationality.
119 carmenlu15: I guess it's much like the TG- or HR- registered ATRs both bearing the TACA Regional titles (but having their respective flags painted). Gonna miss '
120 yellowtail: Multiple Dickie birds are chirping loudly about some surprise announcements for our Central American fans in a few weeks.
121 2travel2know2: Airlines interested in MPRH Rio Hato Airport from www.prensa.com in Spanish According to Panama Civil Aviation Authority boss, 4 airlines (all Canadia
122 yellowtail: Are there even 4 Canadian charter companies....I know of Sunwing, Air Transat.....
123 juanchito: According to this article Avianca-Taca will discontinue the following flights from SJO SJO-LAX SJO-HAV SJO-JFK SJO-UIO SJO-GYE http://www.nacion.com/2
124 mingocr83: Well 261 people were axed from the SJO base today. Feel sorry for those folks...38 pilots, the rest was a split between cabin crew, counter and ops.
125 avi8: Sad to see so many routes being axed. What does this mean for SJO? Will AV/TA focus on having one hub at Central America rather than two?
126 summa767: Also SJO-PTY and SJO PTY-MDE Bad news indeed for the staff who have lost their jobs. As for the way that Avianca-Taca handled the cancelation of thes
127 avi8: Those routes were not mentioned in the article. Heck, SJO is now only slightly larger than GUA before these cuts were made. GUA serves SAP, TGU, ORD,
128 yellowtail: Well DL will pick up the LAX slack at SJO. That was not the announcment(s) I was referring to. A few more days before it is made.
129 yellowtail: I believe this is only the first tranche. we probably will see some more P2P dissappear in the coming months.IMHO CM will benefit from these cuts mor
130 copa330200: 100% aligned, hope CM expands it's operation so they can hire them
131 summa767: MGA gets the chop too! And next month SJO-LIM, as well as TGU-MIA Full statement here, which only came late in the day yesterday, the day that the cu
132 avi8: So is SJO still a hub or is it a focus city like GUA now? Also, what are the service increases from SAL? Where are all these extra planes going? I nev
133 juanchito: Does it have to do with Jetblue plans in FLL? Juanchito
134 aer: Wow so they are really GUA-ing SJO, but how are they gonna supplement it if AV doesn't fly to all of CentAm from BOG?
135 yellowtail: No more lechero BZE-SAL-SJO-PTY for me I guess. Dear CM, we are desperate in BZE now!
136 carmenlu15: Seriously?! What in the world is AV/TA thinking?! A little advance notice wouldn't have hurt -- I have a couple of passengers coming from PTY on Monda
137 CRFLY: This is one of the most horrendous HR move I've seen in LACSA since the pilot strike back in the 90s. Most of my friends at LR are gone now, and the s
138 mingocr83: Oficial List of Axed routes https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/268815_10200607672986562_250453604_n.jpg
139 2travel2know2: One could have expected a bit flight cancellations advance notice, but how AV/TA has behaved with SJO and those flights passengers is unprofessional a
140 aer: Seriously I would've expected this from an airline like NK but AV/TA just threw their brand down the drain. I guess the playing field may become frie
141 carmenlu15: Why am I not that surprised? They had a knack for sending cancellation notices late on a Sunday afternoon -- not an easy task to try to contact passe
142 MGASJO: It seems CM is not wasting any time. They are in big need of pilots and will go to SJO to do some recruiting. Monday and Tuesday! Great move!
143 mt99: Agreed. TA/AV needed to cut their losses with SJO - but there are proper ways to do things and this is not one of them. Shame indeed So what happenin
144 copa330200: that's great news for the people who lost their jobs now, there is clearly an opportunity for the Embraer pilots however I'm not sure how it works fo
145 mingocr83: Not only that, even Skymark has sent job offers to several pilots for A330 with several benefits.. QR sent a hiring crew for both pilots and cabin cre
146 SCL767: Indeed, LAN wants to hire all the redundant TACA pilots on contract for both the LIM and BOG bases. LAN is also offering contracts to TACA A320 pilot
147 CRFLY: What a big mess! According to my friends that were fired, and some others who stayed in AV/TA, they continue to fire people Saturday and Sunday! And t
149 carmenlu15: I feel for them. Been there, done that, not fun at all. Though in my case, the airport (and the whole city) was covered by volcanic ash and airspace
150 carmenlu15: Lovely. One of the GUA-SJO daily flights is no longer showing in Amadeus after June 16, even though it's not on the list...
151 yellowtail: As I said...more cancellations are coming.
152 SJOtoLIR: I'm still in shock due to the recent announcements. My conclusion is that SJO was not running profitable and the headquarters in Bogota decided to dro
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