German low-cost air carrier DBA bought out rival company Gexx in an operation that has now made it the third largest domestic airline –only trailing behind Lufthansa and Air Berlin- and put it one step away from snatching the top spot of Germany´s low-cost aviation market. DBA, that has not revealed the volume of the purchase yet, will suck in Gexx and its fleet of a dozen Fokker 100 jetliners that are scheduled to canvass German skies as early as March 28 in fifteen different routes, as well as to start flying to European destinations that Gexx used to cover before.

Fabio Villegas took over in early March as president of Avianca, Colombia´s number-one airline that´s controlled by German Efromovich, a Brazilian impresario born in Bolivia. Mr. Villegas, 50, who had chaired the National Association of Financial Institutions, is replacing Juan Emilio Posada, who from now on will be at the helm of the Efromovich aeronautical business.

For a third year in a row, LAN has won top honors as the best air carrier in Latin America, an election that´s mostly based on the company´s superb cuisine and other onboard services as compiled by a recent poll conducted by Latin Trade magazine among 110,000 execs that travel frequently to the region. And for a second time running, LAM´s Neruda VIP Hall at the Santiago de Chile International Airport was chosen the best of its kind, the poll concluded. The survey, carried out in Spanish, English and Portuguese languages, also combed passenger programs, airports, hotels, restaurants, cities, cruises, beaches and tourist resorts.

Over 250 unlicensed travel agencies that operate in Peru, especially in the cities of Lima, Cusco and Puno, are pulling a fast one on foreign tourists through illegal sales, Carlos Canales, chairman of the country´s National Chamber of Tourism, warned this week.

Partagas, one of Cuba´s oldest cigar factory and brands, is celebrating Thursday its 160th anniversary at the height of the 7th International Habano Festival, that has gathered 1,300 businessmen and cigar lovers from 56 countries in Havana. As part of the event schedule, Festival participants have toured the Partagas factory, where the famous cigars are rolled.

Sonesta International Hotels will be responsible for managing the new parahotel Discovery, scheduled to open late this year at Marigot Bay on the West Coast of St. Lucia, miles south of Castries, the capital. The 124-room property will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment-style accommodations; three restaurants and lounges; a spa and fitness center; a 60-berth marina; and a Marina Village with shops, water sports activities, cafes and yachting facilities.