Cuba & Costa Rica Blog
About this blog
Written by Cuba and Costa Rica expert Christopher P. Baker, this blog will update readers on life in these two diverse and exciting countries.
Recent Posts
- Last blog post on Costa Rica and Cuba
- First-ever group motorcycle tours of Cuba successful
- Cuba’s Mariel port readying for Panama Canal expansion
- Musings on wildlife encounters on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
- Cuba’s Steam Trains puffing their last gasp
- My top five thrilling activities in Costa Rica
- Cuba’s fun February festivals include Harleys, Books, Cigars
- Five top volcano viewing experiences in Costa Rica
- New road along Costa Rica / Nicaraguan border mired
- Cuba’s Hotel Campoamor at Cojímar to be restored?
- Cuban revolutionary Celia Sánchez honored in new book
- Christmas challenge for Costa Rica’s sexually abused girls
- Costa Rica opens Chinatown in downtown San José
- David Soul films Hemingway’s car restoration in Cuba
- National Geographic Expeditions receives license for Cuba tours
JetBlue begins daily service to Costa Rica
Print
Email
Save to Favorites
I've always been a fan of JetBlue. Even more so now that the budget airline has announced that it will begin operating daily service between Orlando International Airport and San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport, beginning March 26. This will be the airline's first destination in Central America.
The flight will leave Orlando at 10:40 a.m. and arrive San Jose at 11:53 a.m., with plenty of time to settle into a nearby hotel, such as Hotel Grano de Oro (my favorite hotel in San Jose) with time for afternoon sightseeing.
Now you can fly direct to Costa Rica (or with stopover service in other Central America nations) with virtually every North American carrier.
No doubt JetBlue was prompted by rival budget carrier Spirit Airlines' Orlando-San Jose service, introduced in 2007 (Spirit also flies to Costa Rica from Fort Lauderdale). JetBlue will compete against Spirit's Airbus 319s (which have 31 inches of seat pitch) with E-190s (with 32 inches of pitch). However, JetBlue promises "unlimited" snack and beverage service, whereas barebones Spirit doesn't even provide water, which you have to buy! The latter's checked bagged charges are excessive too, so pack light folks. Carry on only is the way to go.
At a time when the Costa Rica Tourism Institute is fighting hard against sex tourism and sexual abuse of minors, Spirit's controversial sexually-themed advertising is a real turn-off. "Barely legal fares - from only 18¢"... "Red light specials"... "We're having a threesome"... "We're proud of our DDs"... and the "M.I.L.F" sale. Sure, Spirit promotes "MILF" as "Many islands, low fares" but, seriously folks, imagine a kid asking "Mommy, what is a M.I.L.F.?" (for those not in the know, it refers to "Mothers I'd like to ****").
Seems to me that JetBlue is the way to go.
Buy Moon Travel Guides
Search
Moon Travel Guides make independent travel and outdoor exploration fun and accessible. With expert and adventurous travel writers delivering a mix of honest insight, first-rate strategic travel advice, insider travel tips and an essential dose of humor, Moon Travel Guides ensure that travelers have an uncommon and entirely satisfying experience. Each travel book is filled with unique trip ideas, easy-to-use maps, and detailed information on sights, restaurants, and accommodations. Moon Travel Guides not only point you in the right direction, they inspire new ideas and adventure. Whether you are seeking a relaxing beach trip to Hawaii, or an adventure travel trip to the rainforests of Costa Rica, Moon guidebooks—and Moon.com—are with you every step of the way. Founded in 1973, the Moon Travel Guides series includes Moon Handbooks, Moon Outdoors, Moon Metro, Moon Living Abroad and Moon Spotlight travel books. Moon is based in Berkeley, California and is a proud member of the Perseus Books Group.
Great news!
Posted by Al Argueta on March 6, 2009 at 11:03 am
This is great news. Guatemala City, Belize City and Managua are rumored to be next. Let's hope so.
Yay, JetBlue!
Posted by Jen Rios on March 2, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for letting readers know of this new service. I've long been a fan of JetBlue, and it's nice to know they're giving Spirit a run for their money. I can't believe some of the Spirit ad slogans you mentioned. Truly unbelieveable, and extremely tacky.
Oh, my
Posted by Wayward on March 1, 2009 at 2:03 pm
We're big JetBlue fans and it's nice to see some airlines adding routes to flight rosters, while a lot of the big name carriers are shutting down routes and frequency.
Hard to believe Spirit hasn't discontinued that ad strategy; I can't imagine they're getting positive feedback from customers. I guess they're of the "any publicity is good publicity" stripe.