Volaris (Y4, México City International) has confirmed its Volaris Costa Rica (Q6, San José Juan Santamaría) unit has been granted its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) by the Costa Rican civil aviation authority (Dirección General de Aviación Civil - DGAC).

The CEO of Volaris Costa Rica, Fernando Naranjo, has since said the LCC will launch on December 1 with the LCC's first flight to be San José Juan Santamaría, Costa Rica to Guatemala City.

“Our goal for the first year is to operate within Central America," he said. "With the launch of this airline, we’ll be able to offer more and better services in the country and in the whole region.”

Within the first three years, Volaris Costa Rica plans to operate between 18-22 aircraft, presumably A320 Family aircraft.

As it stands, Volaris Costa Rica will compete with another start-up - Air Costa Rica (San José Juan Santamaría) - on the Guatemala route as well as in the Central American market in general. The latter carrier recently secured its AOC and is looking to make its scheduled debut - to Guatemala - before year-end.