QCOSTARICA – United Airlines added two new routes between the United States and Costa Rica, in mid-pandemic reported the administrator of the Juan Santamaría airport, Aeris, and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) on Thursday, December 17.
United’s new connections are Los Angeles (LAX) and Denver (DEN).
The first of the flights of these new routes, arrived this Thursday, December 17, at about 4 pm, at the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO).
From now on, United’s Los Angeles – San José route will fly up to five times a week for the remainder of this month. More flights expected during the 2021 high tourist season said the airline in a statement.
The second inaugural route, Denver – San Jose, will arrive on Saturday, December 19 at around 5:25 pm. This new connection will operate only on Saturdays.
With the new routes, and the established Houston and Newark, United will have about 27 weekly flights to the Juan Santamaria, Costa Rica’s main airport.
The Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura, highlighted the importance of opening new flights, especially to cities where there is more potential to attract travelers.
“ICT studies show that the west coast of the United States – particularly the state of California – is one of the most important US markets for our country. San Francisco and Los Angeles occupy the second and third place in the top 3 of the large cities or metropolitan areas of that state with the highest concentration of tourists interested in traveling to Costa Rica: tourists with the profile we are looking for, love of nature, culture and sustainability,” Segura said.
Rafael Mencía, executive director of Aeris, estimated that the new routes translate into more opportunities to promote Costa Rica as a sustainable and safe destination, but also provide more alternatives for Costa Ricans to travel to one of the main cities in the United States.
For his part, Carlos Granados Hernández, United Airlines Sales Manager for Costa Rica and Nicaragua, recalled that the company is celebrating 30 years of flying to Costa Rica.
“We are very proud to be able to contribute to the economic and tourist development of the country by uniting the world with Costa Rica,” he added.
