New flights make Costa Rica travel easy for holiday season

[Danny Solano Alvarez]

Four U.S.-based international airlines have confirmed new routes and increased flights to Costa Rica, making travel to Central America now easier than ever.

The flight increases coincide with the approaching 2014-15 high tourist season (December to April) and holiday season in Costa Rica.

Nonstop flights on United Airlines to Costa Rica will increase from the airline’s U.S. hubs at George Bush International Airport in Houston and Newark Liberty in New York, arriving to the Juan Santamaría International Airport by San José. In response to the high demand for travel to Costa Rica from U.S., European and Asian tourists during the Christmas holidays, United will add flights from Dec. 19 to Jan. 4 – four more flights from Houston to San José on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, and two additional flights from Newark to San José on Saturdays and Sundays.

Delta Air Lines also will increase its flights between the U.S. and Costa Rica, starting Nov. 7. To be added are three flights between Los Angeles, California, and the Liberia International Airport in Guanacaste; and one more seasonal flight between Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Juan Santamaría International Airport by San José. Presently, Delta is the only airline to operate a completely nonstop flight between Los Angeles and San José, Costa Rica.

JetBlue Airways is adding a new route from Boston, Massachusetts, to Liberia in Guanacaste, Costa Rica starting Nov. 1. Earlier in 2014, JetBlue opened new nonstop flights from New York’s JFK International Airport to Liberia International Airport; from Orlando to San José International Airport; and from Ft. Lauderdale to San José, Costa Rica.

U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines is jumping into the Costa Rica market for the first time with plans to open a new route from Baltimore, Maryland, to San José beginning on Mar. 7, 2015. The airline entered the international market earlier in 2014 with flights to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Aruba, Bahamas and Jamaica.

Visit Costa Rica and Central America with IC Travel Group, a Costa Rica-based travel agency specializing in family trips, honeymoons, luxury adventures, kosher clients, golfers, and tailor-made packages. Book your vacation package by calling toll free in the USA to 1-877-683 3724, or emailing [e-mail].

Article by Shannon Farley