Four new airlines announced their intention to include, among their connections, the Juan Santamaría International Airport, located in the province of Alajuela.     The first company to arrive will be Frontier Airlines, which announced its entry into the country in November. This airline, registered in the United States, will be flying from Denver, Colorado.

    Another company which officially communicated its willing to fly to Costa Rica is a French airline, Air Caraibes, which announced that its first flight would be on December 11th, 2007.

     Air Caraibes will be flying out of the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, (the French Antilles), which are the connecting centers to Paris and the rest of Europe.

     The Canadian airline, Air Sunwing, is the third company requesting their flight operations certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority. This North American airline is willing to offer charters, cargo and mail services.

     In Sunwing’s case, the exact date for the start-up of operations to the country has not been defined yet, but it has been confirmed that the airline will be using Boeing 737-800 airplanes to fly to Costa Rica.

     Another company that has expressed interest in flying here is the Asian airline, Air China, belonging to mainland China’s government. Its interest in flying to Costa Rica came up in virtue of the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between both countries.

     The arrival of these competitors will offer Costa Rican travelers new alternatives to fly to Europe, North America and possibly even to China.

     Additionally, Delta Air Lines will establish two new routes from New York to the province of San José and to the city of Liberia, Guanacaste, beginning in February next year.