Iberia launched its new daily service connecting Rio de Janeiro and Madrid. Previously, the Spanish airline had operated four weekly flights to the Brazilian coastal city. The timetable of Iberia facilitates connections in Madrid for Brazil-bound Iberia passengers from any of Spain´s 34 domestic airports and also from Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Bordeaux, Cairo, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Malabo, Marseille, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Naples, Nice, Paris, Porto, Rome, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Tel Aviv, Toulouse, Turin, Venice, Vienna and Zurich, with a single stop in Madrid.

U.S. airlines carried 5.2 percent more domestic passengers and flew 1.6 percent more domestic flights during the first eight months of 2005 than they did during the same period in 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation´s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported in a release of preliminary data. BTS, a part of DOT´s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that the airlines carried 449.3 million domestic passengers during the first eight months of 2005, up from the 427.0 million carried between January and August 2004. The passengers were carried on 6.83 million flights, up 1.6 percent from the 6.72 million flights operated in 2004.

Delta Vacations expanded its Caribbean product line with the addition of air-inclusive packages to Antigua and Barbados. Antigua programs go on sale December 31 for travel beginning January 4. Barbados programs, for their part, went on sale November 8 for travel beginning December 8.

Jamaica is poised for a solid winter tourist season with travelers having their choice of both traditional and new air carriers to fly to the island from across the globe. Spirit Airlines started service to Montego Bay and Kingston from its hub in Fort Lauderdale on November 10, and will also begin service from Orlando to Montego Bay this week.

JetBlue Airways Corp. began service last week with the EMBRAER 190 aircraft, a 100-seat jet and the newest aircraft in the aviation industry. Service began with JetBlue flight 1001, departing Boston´s Logan International Airport for New York´s John F. Kennedy International Airport, one of eight daily trips. “JetBlue is pioneering another innovation in the airline industry today with the launch of EMBRAER 190 service,” said JetBlue CEO David Neeleman. “This jet offers customers an unrivaled experience, from its roomy, all-leather seats to bigger television screens, to 100 channels of XM Satellite Radio. And because it´s the most efficient 100-seat aircraft in the skies today, JetBlue is able to keep fares low.”

Spirit Airlines will start nonstop, daily service from Fort Lauderdale to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic beginning on December 10. Punta Cana will be Spirit´s second destination in the Dominican Republic and 28th destination overall.