International Airlines Flying to Puerto Vallarta Report Best Winter Season in a Decade

When it´s still a month and a half away from the wintertime travel season to be officially over, for international air carriers flying to Mexico´s Puerto Vallarta from the United States the results can´t be any warmer, probably the hottest outcomes of the past ten to twelve years.

For Antonio Alvarado Rubio, general manager of Alaska Airlines in the Mexican travel destination of Puerto Vallarta, the amount of passengers flown from December 2004 to March 15 this year has outdone the carrier´s wildest expectations.

Mr. Rubio believes most of the successful winter travel season is owed to low airfares and discounts –especially online bookings- as well as to top-quality service delivered by the company.

The online discount applies to new bookings only and cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions including Web Specials, coupons, senior discounts and all unpublished fares. For online, the purchase itinerary can include no more than four flight numbers, and a credit card is necessary. Discount applies to fare level prior to all applicable taxes, fees and surcharges.

These fares require southbound travel on Sunday through Wednesday and northbound travel Tuesday through Friday. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or all days. Airport fees, federal segment tax, international departure taxes and Mexico visitors taxes are not included. Other restrictions apply.

Other air carriers are reporting similar upshots in their Mexican operations, especially in Puerto Vallarta and Cancun. America West Airlines, the nation´s second largest low-fare airline, initiated one daily, roundtrip, nonstop flight today between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Edmonton, Alberta, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

With the addition of this new service, America West now offers 30 daily departures from LAX to seven destinations including Boston; Edmonton, Alberta; Las Vegas; New York/JFK; Phoenix; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Washington, D.C.

"America West has been offering low fares to exciting Mexico beach destinations and metropolitan Canadian cities for years and now we´re pleased to be providing even more accessibility and convenience to these two popular international destinations," said Dion Flannery, vice president, scheduling, route planning and Internet distribution. "Low fares, nonstop flights and award-winning service amenities describe the value that Los Angeles passengers desire and that America West can deliver."

Since America West´s introduction of point-to-point service at LAX in October 2003, customers have been responding favorably to the carrier´s low fares and full range of services.

America West offers advance seat assignments, flexible ticketing policies and an award-winning frequent flyer program called FlightFund, which offers elite members a wide range of benefits such as priority check-in, early boarding, mileage bonuses and the opportunity for award travel to more than 300 destinations on five continents.