Travel News
New Airline Routes and Route Changes
South America
Panama-based Copa Airlines is cutting flights to and from Venezuela, citing an overabundance of funds trapped in Venezuela because of the government's currency restrictions. As of press time, Copa hadn't announced how many or which flights would be affected.
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Sky Airline
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TAME Ecuador will no longer stop service between New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Guayaquil, Ecuador on May 28. LBT previously reported that the airline would change the route to New York JFK - Quito after that date, but that is no longer planned.
Chile-based Sky Airline will add a second daily round-trip flight between Santiago de Chile and São Paulo, offering mid-day service from Santiago beginning June 17.
TAP Portugal will begin flights from Lisbon to the northern Brazilian cities of Manaus (Amazonas state) and Belem (Para state) next month. The route will run three times a week as Lisbon - Manaus - Belem - Lisbon.
TAP Portugal will also increase flights from Lisbon to several Brazilian cities for the hemisphere's northern summer season: Lisbon - Belo Horizonte will increase to daily as of June 1; Lisbon - Porto Alegre will increase to five weekly flights as of June 2; Lisbon - Salvador da Bahia will increase to daily as of June 14; Lisbon - Natal will increase to four weekly flights as of July 14; and Lisbon - Rio de Janeiro will increase to 14 weekly flights as of July 14.
Mexico
Aeromexico will begin flights between Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro on June 29; it will fly four weekly round-trips. Aeromexico is currently the only airline flying direct between the two cities.
Caribbean
Beginning June 6, Bahamasair will once again fly between Freeport, Bahamas and Miami International Airport (Florida, U.S.), with Friday and Saturday service.
Bahamasair will begin three weekly flights between Nassau, Bahamas and Havana, Cuba on June 3.
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Zurich, Switzerland
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International Connections
Delta Air Lines will continue operating flights between New York JFK and Zurich, Switzerland year-round (it had originally said service would go through October 26).
Airline Alliance News
U.S.-based JetBlue Airways and Turkish Airlines launched a codeshare that will see Turkish Airlines' "TK" code on JetBlue flights within the U.S. to and from New York JFK and Boston Logan International Airport (Massachusetts, U.S.).
After June 5, Delta Air Lines will reduce its codeshare with Alaska Airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Washington State, U.S.), removing its code from Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle-Tacoma to various U.S. cities. The codeshare reductions from Seattle-Tacoma will continue until December 20, when that codeshare route ends.
Other Airline News
Travelers on U.S.-based carrier Southwest Airlines can now use mobile boarding passes at Chicago's Midway Airport, which is the airline's largest hub, and in Dallas, Houston, Baltimore/Washington, Orlando and Denver.
German airline Airberlin now offers full lie-flat seating in Business Class on all long-haul flights, as well as aisle access from all Business Class seats.
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Alaska Airlines
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Airport News
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Texas, U.S.) opened its Terminal B expansion, which includes 10 new gates for regional jet flights on American Airlines' American Eagle partners. The 20,000-square-foot expansion also includes charging stations and free Wi-Fi.
Loyalty Program Offers
Marriott Rewards members can earn double points for their second and subsequent stays at several of the company's hotel brands through July 31. Registration is required.
Alaska Airlines is offering a 5,000 mile discount on selected award flights between Mexico and California when booked by May 25.
Hotel News
La Quinta Inns & Suites now offers "Ready for You" alerts via email or text message, which let guests know when their room is ready. The service requires that guests book via the company's website and choose an arrival time window.
The all-inclusive Grand Palladium Bavaro Suites Resort & Spa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic added 177 new guestrooms and three new restaurants in a US$30 million expansion.
The all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya officially opened in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The beachfront resort has 1,264 rooms, nine restaurants and 88,915-square-foot of meeting and event space.
Other News
Venezuela's government reportedly is reportedly rationing water in Caracas and electricity in western parts of Zulia state. The rationing could spread to other parts of the country.
