CUENCA DIGESTNew owner plans to expand Air Cuenca service

Tourism in Cuenca and the rest of Ecuador will benefit from a new owner and an alliance of AirCuenca with DAE, the Caribbean airline, according to tourist officials.

Arnold B. Leonora, who recently acquired a majority stake in AirCuenca announced the alliance with DAE last week and said it will open routes to 10 Caribbean destinations including Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba, Panama, Caracas, Valencia, Cartagena, Bogota, Santo Domingo and St. Marten. He also announced an AirCuenca daily flight from Quito to Aruba. Leonora purchased DAE in December, 2010.

Leonora, who has been in the airline business for more than 30 years, said he decided to invest in Ecuador due to its potential for tourism growth. Specifically, he noted the growing in interest in Cuenca as a tourist destination. “This interest is especially true in Europe and we hope to bring visitors to the city through Caribbean connections."

Leonora said he plans to increase AirCuenca flights between Cuenca and Quito and planned to purchase additional aircraft.

Gladys Eljuri, director of Cuenca´s Municipal Tourism Foundation, said Leonora´s plans and the alliance with DAE will open new opportunities for travel to the Caribbean. “This is great news for Cuenca and the local tourist trade.”

PORTA CELL SERVICES CHANGES ITS NAME TO CLARO

An America Movil subsidiary, Conecel, has officially dropped the Porta brand name in Ecuador. The company announced that it is now operating under the Claro name.

America Movil currently operates under the Claro name in 14 Lain American countries. Conecel is also planning to introduce the new Claro logo at its customer service centres by the end of March and at all sales points by the end of April. Claro has over 70,000 sales outlets in Ecuador.