American Airlines is significantly decreasing its presence in New York City, and its routes to Costa Rica are among the upcoming cuts.
According to The Points Guy, American Airlines will soon terminate service from New York (JFK) to Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría (SJO) and Guanacaste (LIR) airports. Those flights are scheduled to end in April 2022, per the report.
The cuts are among 18 routes that American is making at New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia (LGA) airports.
“Five routes from New York-JFK are getting axed — two to Canada, two to Costa Rica and one to Texas — along with 13 domestic flights from LaGuardia,” the report reads. “This includes the long-standing shuttle service between LaGuardia and Boston, as well as from LGA to Philadelphia.
“Many of the other LaGuardia cuts are to leisure-focused destinations, including Orlando, Nantucket and Myrtle Beach.”
Still, travelers won’t have a lack of options when flying between New York City and Costa Rica. Other airlines offering nonstops between the two destinations include United and Avianca.
JetBlue also flies nonstop between Costa Rica (SJO) and New York (JFK); this is of particular importance because of the new partnership between JetBlue and American.
And those who wish to fly American Airlines to Costa Rica can still do so from Dallas (DFW), Chicago (ORD), Miami (MIA), Charlotte (CLT) and Austin (AUS).
According to an American Airlines spokesperson, the carrier’s current offerings represent the “largest operation we have had during our 31 years in Costa Rica” — though that will soon shrink with the New York cuts.
All major U.S. airlines fly to Costa Rica. The Central American country is welcoming tourists from across the world, with no health insurance policy required for children or vaccinated adults.
