Avianca announced a daily nonstop flight between the San José area and Miami, Florida, scheduled to start July 1. The route will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft and is in response to passenger demand for direct connectivity. “We are seeing an important opportunity to strengthen connectivity options for passengers traveling between Costa Rica and Miami, United States, making us start a direct operation between the two markets in July,” said David Alemán, regional director for Avianca. “In addition, this decision responds to requests that travelers have been making to us.”<br/>
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Turkish Airlines is to reinstate two of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft next week after Turkey’s civil aviation authority gave its approval, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded globally in March 2019 after two deadly crashes. The source said Turkish Airline’s first flight is planned between Istanbul and the capital Ankara on April 12. The airline declined to comment.<br/>
A total of 4,000 THAI employees have failed a screening programme to keep their jobs and will have little option but to accept early retirement, according to a source at the airline. The number was calculated from the 13,554 employees who applied to continue working for the company. They were screened and 9,304 passed, the source said. That leaves about 4,000 employees who failed. However, they can either join the early retirement scheme of the airline or register for a second round of screening. The results of the first screening round were announced on Thursday. The process divided the employees into three groups; those sailing through who will sign a new employment contract in the middle of this month; those who passed but wish to enter the early retirement programme; and those who failed. <br/>
Air New Zealand has announced its schedule for direct flights between Auckland and Hobart, which will begin on April 22. The twice weekly service will connect Tasmania with Aotearoa by air for the first time since 1996. The airline will operate its A320 fleet between the two cities on Thursdays and Sundays, hoping to make the most of domestic connectivity and provide more long weekend options for travellers. Air NZ's CEO Greg Foran says adding a tenth Australian destination to its network was a "terrific" achievement. "It's really exciting to be launching a new route alongside reopening our other Australian ports after a year of being predominantly a domestic airline," he says. Flights will depart Auckland at 9am and arrive in Hobart at 11am (local time). Story has details.<br/>