Travel News
New Airline Routes and Route Changes
South America
Lufthansa will reduce service between Frankfurt, Germany and Caracas, Venezuela from five weekly flights to three as of August 1.
United Airlines will reduce service between Houston, Texas (U.S.) and Caracas, Venezuela from daily flights to four per week as of September 15.
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Avianca
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United Airlines will reduce service on its Newark, New Jersey - Lima, Peru route from September 29 through March 4 - dropping to three weekly flights from five. The exception will be December 16 - January 12, which will see six weekly flights.
Avianca will expand domestic service within Colombia as of August 17, increasing flights from Bogotá to the Colombian cities of Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Cucuta, Medellin, Pereira and Santa Marta.
Airline Alliance News
United Airlines and Germanwings plan a codeshare agreement, with Germanwings (a Lufthansa-subsidiary) using United's code on flights in Europe and select cities beyond.
US Airways and Finnair have launched a codeshare agreement allowing US Airways customers to book Finnair flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport to Helsinki, Finland and beyond - including Brussels, Belgium; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; and Zurich, Switzerland. Finnair customers will now be able to book US Airways flights to the U.S. cities of Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Phoenix, Arizona. Frequent flier programs will also be reciprocal.
British Airways has expanded codeshare operations with US Airways, adding British Airways flight numbers to 13 USAir routes, including flights to Las Vegas, Nevada; Cancun, Mexico; and Los Angeles, California.
Other Airline News
The Venezuelan government has proposed a $148 million payment plan to repay LATAM Airlines Group for funds owed to the company as a result of government requirements to sell tickets using the bolivar. Santiago de Chile-based LATAM includes LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines.
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Aeromexico's filet of beef
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Aeromexico will debut new onboard menus designed by the Colectivo Mexicano de Cocina, for both Clase Premier (First Class) and Coach. Colectivo Mexicano de Cocina is a group of world-renowned Mexican chefs, and Aeromexico's new menu offerings are led by Chef Enrique Olivar of famed restaurant Pujol. New Clase Premier offerings on flights to Europe, South America and certain U.S. cities, will include shrimp in garlic with red quinoa and filet of beef with carrot pico de gallo, couscous and snap-peas. The airline also plans a new look and design for its dinner service.
Loyalty Program News
Note: most promotions require special registration on the loyalty program's website.
Between September 2 and December 11, Delta SkyMiles members can earn up to 10,000 bonus miles on flights to the Caribbean, Latin America and Mexico.
Members of Spirit Airlines' Free Spirit program can earn 8,000 miles by Tweeting a complaint about @SpiritAirlines or any airline of their choice through July 31. Tweeters must first register on the airline's website.
Now through September 30, Virgin America will match frequent flier status on American, Delta, Southwest or United status in its own Elevate program for 90 days.
JetBlue TrueBlue members can earn 5,000 bonus points for travel to Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean from September 2 through December 11.
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JetBlue
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JetBlue passengers with Mosaic status will receive one free alcoholic beverage on any flight where such drinks are available during July and August.
Expedia has re-launched its Expedia+ Rewards program. Members now earn two points for every US$1 spent on hotels, packages and activities and one point per US$5 spent on flights. Points can be used for travel, exclusive local experiences and charity redemptions.
Starwood Preferred Guest credit card holders will receive a 20% bonus on conversions of points to American Airlines or US Airways miles through July 31.
Marriott International launched FlashPerks and LocalPerks - special offers (including exotic car rentals and food and beverage offers) sent to Marriott Rewards members via their smartphones.
Hilton Honors members can earn double base points for weekday stays and triple base points for weekend stays at participating Hilton-family hotels between August 1 and October 31.
Wyndham Rewards members can earn up to 10 times their normal bonus earnings between July 1 and September 15 by playing the "Unpack Your Bonus" game.
Best Western rewards members can earn 1,500 bonus points for every stay booked on the Best Western website at AAA/CAA rates and 1,000 bonus points for every stay booked on the site at other rates.
Hotel News
Forbes Travel Guide will begin rating properties in the Caribbean and Mexico, unveiling the first group of five-star properties in 2015. The guide will expand further into Latin America after that. Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, is one of the most well-known hotel rating guides.
The Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura opened in Santiago de Chile. The 160-room hotel is close to Santiago's three main business districts and offers guests free Wi-Fi, free hot breakfast, a 24/7 menu and market, five meeting rooms and free wireless printing.
Costa Rica's Hotel Punta Islita joined Marriott's Autograph Collection of independent hotels and resorts. The hotel is in Guanacaste, near Samara Beach.
The former Dreams Cancun hotel will reopen in 2015 as the 379-suite Hyatt Ziva Cancun. The resort lies at the tip of Punta Cancun and include six restaurants, six bars and lounges, a dolphin experience, spa, beach butlers and a romance concierge.
Travel Services
Lonely Planet has partnered with SkyScanner to launch its own flight search engine.
