The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau recently welcomed 150 agents and 30 Sunwing Airlines employees to the island for two days of wining, dining and activities in conjunction with the inaugural Sunwing flight on November 6.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. announced that its subsidiaries United Airlines and Continental Airlines will launch service on several new international routes in the first half of 2012, as the company expands its route network as a result of the merger. These new routes were included in the company's previously announced capacity guidance.

Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Columbia (Copa Holdings) has expanded its sales network through Discover the World Marketing as its general sales agent in Austria, Belgium, Finland, India and Russia effective immediately.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is calling for better cooperation between airports and airlines to make aviation, safer, more secure and user friendly. “We need a common and forward-looking agenda that builds on past successes,” said Toby Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has begun flying to four new destinations in Latin America this week -- Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Havana and Punta Cana. KLM now operates 24 flights to and from destinations in Central America, and 28 flights to and from South America.

Passenger traffic was 5.6 percent in September - higher than the same month last year -and stronger than the 4.6 percent year-on-year growth recorded in August, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports. IATA Air freight on the other hand posted a 2.7 percent contraction for September compared to September 2010.