On Tuesday, Guanacaste Airport (LIR) received for the first time a flight from Austin, Texas.
The Boing 737-800, operated by American Airlines, arrived minutes before 11 a.m. and it marked the beginning of an anticipated high season for the Costa Rican tourism sector.
This is the first time that the US airline connects Austin and Guanacaste directly, and it will do so three times a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The reception of this new route was carried out with the presence of representatives of the airline, the Guanacaste Airport management company and the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT).
“We are optimistic about the results of the work carried out between the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, VINCI Airports and the airlines to reactivate connectivity and the economy. For the fourth consecutive month, the traffic figures are similar to those of 2019. It is satisfactory that American Airlines trusts us and opens two new routes, which shows that Guanacaste is a safe destination to travel,” said César Jaramillo, Manager of Guanacaste Airport.
“The arrival of the inaugural American Airlines flight from Austin, Texas, to Guanacaste strengthens the efforts made throughout this year to reactivate tourism employment in this province and in the surrounding areas,” added Gustavo Segura, Tourism Minister. “The incorporation of these three weekly flights as of today is also key a few weeks before the start of the high tourist season.”
American Airlines adds a second inaugural route this week with a flight from Chicago, Illinois, which begins Saturday, November 6 with a weekly frequency.
“At American, we are very excited to start with two new routes from Guanacaste, Costa Rica, now connecting the country with Chicago and Austin, two important North American cities that complement our service to Miami, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Charlotte and New York,” said Rafael Sánchez, American’s Regional Operations Manager in Central America. Sánchez added that “American has a commitment of more than three decades with Costa Rica and we will continue to bet on this market.”
November will be a particularly celebrated month at Guanacaste Airport for the opening of new or additional routes that include Frontier from Orlando, Florida, with a frequency of twice a week; Southwest from Denver, Colorado, once a week; and the Edelweiss Air triangle route from Zurich, also once a week.
Source: The Costa Rica Tourism Board.
