North & Central America

Monterrey was already benefiting from its proximity to the United States to consolidate its economic standing. It was also in the capital of Nuevo León that Elon Musk announced the project for a Gigafactory three years ago. It is now getting closer to Europe with the inauguration of a very first direct flight from Paris CDG by Aeromexico in April…

ID CARD Formalities: Valid passport. No visa required. Telephone code: +506. Currency: the Colon (CRC), in honour of Christopher Columbus. 1 E = 672 CRC (Sept. 2017). US dollars are accepted everywhere. Best season: The climate is tropical throughout the country. There are two seasons,...

a unique destination in the world, perfectly in tune with the times How is the tourism sector doing in Costa Rica? A. C. - We have a very good reputation for adventure and green tourism. But it's a niche market, so we now want to put the spotlight on everything to do with...

Report by Serge Barret, photos by Alain Parinet. When we get back from our trip, all we'll remember of Costa Rica is the great outdoors, the vast forests and the ever-present volcanoes... The animals too, and the fabulous night-time walks in the tropical jungle. The only thing we'll remember is what we expected, what we...

Latin American air transport is in fine fettle. The Association of Latin American and Caribbean Airlines (ALTA) has reported that growth in passenger traffic last year was 7.1%, or 126.44 million passengers, excluding Brazilian domestic routes. On Intra-Latin American routes, growth was even as high as 7.4%, for a rate of...

TAP's American dream is about to get a little higher. The airline has just taken delivery of two Airbus A330-200s, due to take to the skies between now and June. Their mission is clear: to expand the Portuguese carrier's activities in the United States, and "to offer American travellers a programme that...

On Tuesday, Mexico gave a ministerial welcome to Air France's superjumbo A380, which made its debut at the capital's airport and its first commercial flight to Latin America. Air France has thus assumed the status of pioneer airline, more than sixty years after its arrival...

What is the significance of the launch of this first A380 to Mexico City? Pierre Descazeaux - It is always positive for an airline to invest, whether by opening a new route - and we have opened many in recent years - or by introducing an emblematic aircraft. It's...

It is in New York, a business destination if ever there was one, that the IHG group has written a new page in its history. On 12 January, Hotel Indigo Lower East Side became the 3rd representative of the boutique hotel brand in the Big Apple. It is also - and above all - the 5,000th establishment of InterContinental Hotels...

Quebec, a country that merges with winter; a "Belle Province" set in immaculate expanses where, with the help of the imagination, we believe we can see coureurs des bois, in the manner of the first Amerindians, sinking their snowshoes into the icy silence of the boreal forests. This morning, the mercury is minus two degrees. The...

Identity card Formalities: valid passport. From 15 March 2016, visa-exempt foreign travellers flying to Canada will need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), issued online (www.cic. gc.ca/english/visiter/ave.asp). Cost: 7 Canadian dollars, or around e5. Time difference:...

The new Premium Lounge, inaugurated on Thursday in New York, embodies the 'Facets of Abu Dhabi' identity promoted by Etihad Airways, echoing the new cabin interiors, livery and uniforms inspired by traditional Emirati design elements. Located in the heart of Terminal 4 at New York airport, close to the...

Identity card Currency: the dollar (USD). 1 euro = 1.07 USD (Nov. 2015). Time difference: - 9 h. Area code: +1 (United States), 415 (San Francisco), 650 (Palo Alto). Getting there BRITISH AIRWAYS operates around ten flights a week between Paris and San Francisco, with a stopover at London Heathrow T5, which...

How is Air Canada faring in France? David Gégot - It promises to be a record year for Air Canada in France. With a change of aircraft on the Paris-Toronto route, which has been operated by B787 since the beginning of 2015, and the increase in capacity on the Paris-Montreal and Paris-Toronto routes since mid-June, we have set new records for passenger numbers. This...

Already present in New York, and soon in Miami and San Francisco, the low-cost high-tech brand inspired by Japanese capsule hotels is to set up in Boston. The 326-cabin hotel is due to open in 2017, in the up-and-coming Innovation District. But the American continent isn't the brand's only target, as a second hotel in the...

Lufthansa is about to pass a crucial test, which all players in the airline industry and the business travel sector in general are preparing to scrutinise with great interest. On 1 September, the 16 euro tax imposed by the German group on each indirect booking will come into force. The aim is to promote direct sales on the various...

From May 2016, Icelandair will operate four weekly flights between Reykjavík and Montreal, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. This 5-hour flight will offer an optimised connection via Keflavík airport, making it the airline's sixteenth destination on the North American market. The launch of this Montreal-Reykjavík route will be accompanied...

The second quarter of 2015 marked a turning point in the sharing economy: for the first time, Uber's market share surpassed that of taxis in the US - 55% compared to 43% - according to the SpendSmart report published by Certify. This quarterly analysis of business travel expenditure also shows that San Francisco,...

It was made official on 16 July: Boston will soon become the 10th American destination served year-round by Delta from Paris. From 25 October, Ar France's partner - which also operates a daily flight between Logan and CDG airports - will be continuing what has been a long-standing tradition...

Lyon airport is definitely on a roll. Following in the footsteps of easyJet, which has just unveiled four new routes departing from the Lyon hub, Air Canada is pulling out all the stops by announcing the launch of a flight to Montreal. This new route, scheduled to open on 17 June 2016, will be operated...