April 24, 2014 
In your next trip, discover the Delta digital experience.
In This Week's Issue:

7 Noteworthy Travel Apps

These apps help make Latin America travel a smoother experience  

 

By Mark Chesnut

 

It's almost impossible to imagine life before mobile devices. And a big part of many frequent flyers' mobile lives is increasingly based on apps, which can handle everything from flight check-ins to dining recommendations.

 

Here are a few of the best and newest apps for travelers in Latin America:

 

Colombia.travel: This free app, designed by the Proexport (the nation's tourism and investment promotion agency), is one of the finalists in the 2014 AppTourism Awards. It provides information about the biggest cities in Colombia, including the usual vacation-oriented listings. But its directory of some 2,000 restaurants and hotels can also be of use to business travelers looking for lodging and entertainment options.   

 

Marriott International: This hotelier recently unveiled more functions in its free app, allowing check-in via mobile device up to two hours before arrival at a wider array of properties. In Latin America, this function is available so far at Marriott properties in Panama, Bogota, Cancun and San Juan, Puerto Rico (as well as other locations in North America, Asia and Europe), but more Latin American destinations are to be added. After checking in via the app, a guest heads to the hotel's Mobile Check-In desk upon arrival, where a key will be waiting.

 

Wi-Fi Finder: This free app from JiWire uses GPS to find the closest Wi-Fi hotspot, nearly anywhere in the world. It also has an offline Wi-Fi finder, which allows users to download an offline database for finding public Wi-Fi when not online.

 

WhatsApp Messenger: This much-loved app has become indispensible for many international travelers, as well as anyone who wants to keep in close contact with people in other countries. It operates much like standard texting, but with no worrisome international roaming fees. Mobile users who find themselves in a foreign country can also use any available Wi-Fi network to connect, send and receive text messages, documents and photos.

 

City Maps 2Go: The free version of this handy app provides detailed offline maps and travel tips for up

to five destinations of your choice, which can be downloaded and used without Wi-Fi. The pro version, which costs $2.99, offers lifelong, unlimited access to maps and travel content.

 

Copa Airlines App: Latin American airlines are a bit behind carriers in the United States when it comes to developing robust apps, but Copa Airlines has gone a bit further than most, with a multilingual, easy-to-use format that includes flight status and timetables, as well as the ability to check-in and receive electronic boarding passes.

 

Fly Delta: Delta Air Lines' mobile app offers the standard mobile check-in and boarding passes, as well as the ability to pay for checked bags, book international or domestic flights and purchase upgrades and extras. Its iPad app's Glass Bottom Jet feature offers a virtual view of the ground while in-flight, and all of its apps offer rebooking of cancelled flights or missed connections. 
News from our Partners
(Click the headlines to read full stories)

 

  Delta

Second daily seasonal flight increases Delta Air Lines service between Los Angeles, California and Guadalajara, Mexico: Beginning December 20, new flights will leave Guadalajara daily at 4:15 p.m. and leave Los Angeles daily at 10:00 a.m.

 

Delta Air Lines to expand seasonal service to Cancun, Mexico from 13 U.S. cities: Expanded service begins December 20, available for booking now.
Travel News
Avianca

New Airline Routes and Route Changes

South America

Avianca will add another daily flight between Bogota, Colombia and Lima, Peru on June 14, bringing its total flights on the route to five daily. The additional flight will be operated by TACA Peru, and will take until June 30 to fully ramp up.

 

Avianca will also add another daily Bogota, Colombia - Santiago de Chile flight on June 14, for a total of two daily flights on that route.

 

Mexico

Aeromexico will begin two daily flights between Monterrey, Mexico and Aguascalientes, Mexico on May 14.

 

Aeromexico will add new routes from Monterrey, Mexico to three other Mexican cities on June 14: weekly Monterrey - San Jose/Los Cabos and Monterrey - Puerto Vallarta flights, plus daily or twice daily Monterrey - San Luis Potosi flights.

           

Caribbean

Seaborne Airlines now files daily, nonstop, between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

 

JetBlue Airways will begin daily nonstop service between Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida (U.S.) on May 1.

 

JetBlue will also begin daily nonstop service between Santiago, Dominican Republic, and Newark, New Jersey's Liberty International Airport (U.S., New York City metropolitan area) on May 1.

 

International Connections

Korean Air will begin four weekly nonstop flights between Houston, Texas and Seoul, South Korea's Incheon International Airport on May 2.

 

XL Airways will fly three weekly flights between Miami International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle airport from May 25 through August 31.

Honolulu, Hawaii

 

Airline Alliance News

Hawaiian Airlines and Air China signed a codeshare agreement for flights into and out of their respective hubs in Honolulu, Hawaii (U.S.) and Beijing, China.

 

Fiji Airways signed an interline agreement with Etihad Airways (of the United Arab Emirates), which will allow sales on each other's flights to and from certain cities around the world.

 

Other Airline News

Delta Air Lines has finished installing full flat-bed seats with direct aisle in BusinessElite access throughout its international widebody fleet (Airbus A330, Boeing 767, Boeing 747, Boeing 777).

 

United Airlines will now allow travelers to redeem MileagePlus miles for carbon offsets to cover the emissions from their air travel or cargo shipments.

 

Other Air Transport News

European corporate jet alliance AirClub introduced a new online booking engine, which offers travelers access to corporate jets around Europe. The new booking engine gives immediate information about availability and pricing, and allows users to book a jet or flight.

 

Airport News

U.S.-based carrier American Airlines will switch its Latin American hub at Miami International Airport (Florida, U.S.) from a "rolling hub" to a "banking hub." It will group flight arrivals and departures from the same geographic region together into to 10 "banks" each day. The airline says this will mean faster connections and give arriving travelers more options for convenient connections. The disadvantage of this style of hub is that it makes it more challenging to accommodate weather delays.

 

Loyalty Programs News

InterContinental Hotels Group announced that it will not make any increases to the number of Rewards Club points required to purchase free stays during 2014; more than 100 of the company's hotels will require fewer points for a free night.

 

Hilton announced that 25 of its hotels will be increasing their HHonors reward category - meaning more HHonors points will be required to purchase free stays at those properties. Fourteen of the company's hotels will decrease their reward category.            

 

Holiday Inn Queretaro Zona Krystal

Hotel News

InterContinental Hotels Group opened the Holiday Inn Queretaro Zona Krystal on the San Luis Potosi Highway in Queretaro, Mexico. The 214-room property offers ergonomic workstations with data ports in every room, complimentary Wi-Fi, a business center, a full-service restaurant, a fitness center and an outdoor pool. It has 1,000 square feet of flexible meeting space that can accommodate up to 260 people.

 

IHG also opened the 115-room Holiday Inn Express Puerto Vallarta. It offers a complimentary breakfast bar, a pool and sundeck, a business center and two meeting rooms that can hold up to 50 people.

 

Krystal Hotels & Resorts has taken over the Hyatt Regency Cancun, which will become the Krystal Grand Punta Cancun on May 1.

 

The Renaissance Santo Domingo Jaragua Hotel & Casino in the Dominican Republic will close on April 26 for approximately one year of renovations.

 

Avianca by BriYYZ; Honolulu, Hawaii by LifeSupercharger; Holiday Inn Queretaro Zona Krystal, courtesy of Holiday Inn Queretaro Zona Krystal

 
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