Air Travel: New Economy Class Service, New Flights and More

New economy class service updates and a number of new flights lead this week’s air travel news. 

Brussels Airlines has added a new Economy Light fare class on its routes between Europe and North America. The cheapest service class available, Economy Light tickets offer restricted booking flexibility and do not include checked luggage or the ability to reserve a seat without paying an additional fee. Meals and drinks, however, are still complimentary. The new class of service was first introduced on European routes in 2014, and is now available out of New York, Washington DC and Toronto. 

KLM, meanwhile, as announced a new international Economy Class service starting July 1 that will include amenities such as a bottle of water, a towel and earphones, as well as a new meal service with a choice of warm dishes, a salad and a desert. The new meal service will also incorporate lighter trays and cutlery aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. The new service will be available from nine destinations, including Houston

In other budget travel news, this week low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus announced it will launch a new daily flight between Mexico City and New York - JFK starting October 18. Prices on the new route will start from $99. 

Also this week popular Latin American leisure travel company Sunwing Airlines signed an agreement with Hahn Air to join its network of travel partners. As a result of the deal, travel agents can now issue Sunwing tickets using Hahn Air’s computer reservations system. 

In other flight news, this week long-haul low-cost carrier Norwegian announced its intention to enter the Canada with three new routes, including seasonal service from Montreal to Guadeloupe and Martinique in October, as well as the only transatlantic flight out of Hamilton International Airport near Toronto. That new daily service, to Dublin, Ireland, begins in March 2019. 

Norwegian also said it will launch new four times weekly service from both Guadeloupe and Martinique to Cayenne in French Guiana, as well as increase service from Fort Lauderdale to both islands to four times per week, and from JFK to six. 

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, St. Martin and St. Maarten reported a number of new air travel updates as part of the two destinations’ continued recovery from last year’s hurricanes. As of May 2018, the airport had resumed regular service with two-thirds of its carriers, and American Airlines has announced that it will increase capacity on its daily flight from Miami

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