Sol Air, the Honduras-based startup, has won an eight-month battle for access to El Salvador and beyond to Miami.
Since it launched US flights last July, Sol Air has faced stiff resistance from El Salvador-based Grupo Taca. Sol Air gained approval last December for flights to neighbouring Nicaragua and beyond to the USA, but not to El Salvador.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Sol Air finally asked the Honduran government to suspend Taca's rights into Honduras. Central American nations share open skies with each other and the USA, but Sol Air argued and government officials agreed that member airlines are still entitled to reciprocity.
El Salvador relented after Ricardo Maduro, president of Honduras, raised the issue directly with El Salvador's government. El Salvador has still limited Sol Air's approval to one year.
Source: Airline Business
