NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – December 18, 2015) – JetBlue Airways (JBLU) today applauded the United States Department of Transportation on its announcement of a liberalized aviation treaty with the government of Mexico.
The agreement, signed today in Washington, lifts longstanding restrictions on the number of carriers allowed to operate on any given route between the U.S. and Mexico, opening the door for carriers to add unlimited new transborder air service effective January 1, 2016.
“On behalf of JetBlue’s 18,000 Crewmembers, I applaud the U.S. Government for its diligence in securing a forward-thinking aviation treaty with Mexico,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue president and CEO. “Across the globe the U.S.-led liberalization of the skies has proven to increase travel options for consumers, grow jobs and strengthen economies. JetBlue is delighted with this development which will put our airline a step closer to being able to increase service to Mexico. We look forward to working with DOT to remove the remaining barriers to entry that smaller carriers like JetBlue continue to face when expanding.”
JetBlue, which operates an extensive network across Latin America and the Caribbean, has served Mexico since 2006. Today the airline operates low-fare service to Cancún and Mexico City from several U.S. gateways including Boston; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Fla.; New York-JFK; and Orlando, Fla.
Yahoo Finance
Mexico City Airport cast member caught with 258kg of Cocaine
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican prosecutors said Friday that police detained an employee of the Mexico City airport who allegedly tried to smuggle 569 pounds (258 kilograms) of cocaine out of the terminal.
Federal prosecutors say ground-operations employee was driving an official pickup truck on the apron of the airport’s baggage area.
The man tried to drive out of an area where baggage was offloaded from flights originating in Central and South America.
Video monitoring alerted airport officials, and federal police stopped the man Wednesday with five suitcases containing cocaine.
Prosecutors said the bags had no identifying tags.
The man was arrested and taken to a federal prison, pending possible charges. Federal security commissioner Renato Sales said he was apparently part of a gang operating at the airport.
“This is not an isolated case, it is indeed an organization that we are investigating, one airline in particular,” Sales told local media.
In September, police at the airport seized a ton of so-called “black cocaine” in a freight area.
Federal police made the bust after learning the drug shipment was arriving from Bogota, Colombia.
Police found 40 sacks, each weighing 55 pounds (25 kilograms). The sacks were labeled zinc oxide, but tests showed it was cocaine and cocaine base mixed with another, unidentified substance.
Authorities in Colombia said the technique is used to disguise cocaine as printer ink.
Yahoo News
Aéromexico launches Mexico City -> Amsterdam
AeroMexico (Mexico City) has announced three weekly nonstop flights between Mexico City (MEX) and Amsterdam (AMS) starting on May 29, 2016, making the city its fourth destination in Europe.
This new route will be operated using Boeing 787 aircraft with 243 seat capacity, including 32 seats in Clase Premier, Aeromexico’s Business Class Cabin.
Flight AM 025 will depart on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sunday from MEX at 11:58 pm (2358) and arrive the next day in AMS at 6 pm (1800). The return flight will depart on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from AMS at 10:35 pm (2235) and arrive the next day at 4:10 am (0410).
One of the key factors in establishing this new route is Amsterdam’s status as a major SkyTeam hub where KLM offers a significant number of flights within Europe. Aeromexico is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance.
World Airline News