Copyright qcostarica
Q COSTARICA — American Airlines inaugurated a direct flight between Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on Monday, November 3. The seasonal service between SJO and ORD will operate daily until April 6, 2026. A Boeing 737 with a capacity of 172 passengers, including 16 in business class, will be used. The flight departs Chicago at 5:13 p.m. and arrives in Costa Rica at 10:13 p.m. The return flight departs SJO at 6:00 a.m. and arrives in the United States at 11:29 a.m. “At American Airlines, we are proud and excited to launch this daily service between San José and Chicago, as we continue to expand our operations in the nation’s capital,” said Rafael Sánchez, Regional Operations Manager for Central America and the Western Caribbean. With this new route, customers will be able to connect to the hub in Chicago, which has more than 465 daily flights to over 160 destinations. “Chicago is a key market for both tourism and business travel, and having this direct connection will allow us to continue boosting visitor arrivals and strengthening the exchange between our two nations,” said Ricardo Hernández, manager of Juan Santamaría International Airport. During the current tourist season, American Airlines will operate up to 43 weekly flights from Liberia and up to 56 per week from San José. This allows it to increase its seat capacity in Costa Rica by 17%. Airline Changes Likewise, the Mexican airline Viva began operating the route between Costa Rica and Monterrey on October 30. This is the first time that the airline has offered a route to Costa Rica. Starting December 12, WestJet will fly from the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Winnipeg. These flights are not permanent; they will operate until April 25, 2026, coinciding with the peak season. The aircraft has a capacity of 189 passengers. Another Canadian airline joining the Costa Rican route is Porter Airlines. The Canadian carrier will begin flying to Costa Rica on December 4 from Toronto and Ottawa. This route also operates during the peak season. It will be available between December and March 5, 2026, with departures on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Furthermore, starting in December 2025, Air France will increase the frequency of its flights to Costa Rica and from Paris. The additional flights will operate during two specific periods: from December 15, 2025, to January 11, 2026, and from February 9 to March 15, 2026. During those months, Air France will fly twice daily on Mondays and Saturdays. While some routes are arriving, others are departing Information has also emerged about routes being closed or airlines ceasing service to Costa Rica. Such is the case with GOL, which will no longer fly between Costa Rica and Brazil. Wingo announced the suspension of its route between San José and Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. Likewise, the last flight on the route between Costa Rica and San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean, took place on October 24. This route had been operated by Avianca since last year. Likewise, Volaris stopped operating the Costa Rica – Tulum route that was inaugurated on July 2nd, and Avianca closed the San Jose-Managua route in October.
