The Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba has continued a year of expansion out of the Latin American market with new service on LATAM, Caribbean Journal has learned. The new service connects Aruba with Lima, Peru.
It’s the first time Aruba has had a flight from Lima in more than a decade. Now Aruba has three hubs in Latin America: Bogota, Colombia, with Avianca; and Panama, on Copa Airlines.
Lima-Aruba flights are operating thrice weekly, with service on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The company is running service on Airbus A320 aircraft with capacity for 174 travelers.
“We have been actively pursuing a diversification strategy. This moment is a testament to the hard work on the island and by our team in Latin America,” said Ronella Croes, CEO of the Aruba Tourism Authority. “This inaugural flight represents a fantastic opportunity to expand our market share of visitors from Latin America and further strengthen our bonds with LATAM Airlines.”
Crose said 2024 was expected to have a “strong start for Aruba, especially from the Southern Cone.”
That will allow for potential growth of close to 8 percent vs. 2023, she said, “allowing us to capture more economically attractive markets, including Chile and Brazil, with high spending patterns, Peru with 25% of repeaters, and Argentina with an average length of stay of 9 nights.”
Aruba has already welcomed new flights from several source markets in South America so far this year.
That includes new flights from Cali, Colombia on Wingo and expanded service on Avianca out of Medellin, among others.