Italian carrier Lauda Air has just commenced nonstop flights to Guatemala this very week with a maiden takeoff from Milan all the way to La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City. These nonstop flights will leave Milan every Thursday and tourism authorities in both nations hope the outflow of visitors from the European country could reach new record highs in the near future.

The first flight of the Airbus A380 Super Jumbo is likely to take place in the second half of April, a spokeswoman for Europe´s commercial aircraft company said Monday. The Airbus official was commenting on a report in the German press Monday that the maiden flight will be delayed by a few weeks.

The Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) is planning to spend some $50 million to build a new runway for the Cancun International Airport, sources close to the deal told Caribbean News Digital. In addition to the runway, the same group will funnel cash to revamp the terminal´s infrastructure.

Aeromexico, one of the Aztec nation´s top air carriers, has just announced the creation of a hundred franchises throughout the country to sell plane tickets, cruise fares, hotel reservations and package delivery services from now until 2006. Oscar Mejias, general manager of the airline´s Office, Ticket and Franchise Network, said in a recent press conference that the first franchise will be opened on April 4.

The "raison d´etre" of the billionaire-backed Caribbean Sun Airlines and Caribbean Star Airlines is to stimulate economic development opportunities for Caribbean people living in the region, said airline President Yolanda Suarez. She addressed media and travel and tourism officials during inaugural activities for Caribbean Sun´s maiden flight from San Juan to Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week.

In the wake of Air Jamaica´s troubles, St. Lucia´s Tourism Director, Hilary Modeste has called for a merger between the Jamaican air company and the Trinidad national airline, BWIA. He believed it has become even more urgent if the Caribbean is to avoid pitfalls in the development of tourism. The Tourism official was speaking against the background of the recent announcement by Air Jamaica of its temporary withdrawal of services from the Eastern Caribbean less that a month before the start of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, for which the airline is a gold sponsor.