Air Connections: The Key to Cabo’s Popularity

Early on, the Los Cabos Tourism Board realized that air connectivity was required to attract visitors. The days of deep-sea fishermen landing planes on dirt airstrips and surfers driving the length of the Baja peninsula to catch a wave were not going to sustain the destination. More than 20 years ago, a concerted effort was made to entice major air carriers to establish routes from the most prominent population centers convenient to Los Cabos. Air connectivity became the Tourism Board’s No. 1 priority. It remains the lifeblood of the destination’s success.

Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), located 20 minutes north of San Jose del Cabo, welcomes domestic, international and private or charter flights. It is the sixth busiest airport in Mexico. Recently upgraded and expanded, it is ranked among the 25 best airports in the world. By taking a new interior highway near the airport, Pueblo Bonito Resort guests can get to where they’re going within 30 minutes. (There’s also a smaller, less frequented airport, Cabo San Lucas International Airport (CSL), which welcomes mostly private aircraft).

As Latin American’s most glamorous destination, Los Cabos, with its majestic mountain-desert-ocean setting, has an allure all its own. But the key to its success has been a large network of air routes that has opened up Cabo to a wider audience beyond southern California, its largest market.

Los Cabos welcomes more than 300 weekly direct flights from the United States. A long list of airlines offer flights to Los Cabos: Aeroméxico, Air Canada, AirTran, AirTransat, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest, Delta, Frontier, Interjet, Spirit, Sun Country, Sunwing, United Airlines, US Airways, Virgin America, VivaAerobus, Volaris and WestJet.

Nonstop flights or convenient connections to Los Cabos are available from many U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Newark, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

From California, flights and connections are available from Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose.
           
From Canada, air gateways with scheduled flights to Los Cabos include Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. That is a ton of coverage.

In addition, international flights to Mexico City, the nation’s busiest hub, connect directly to sunny Los Cabos via Aeromexico, VivaAerobus, and Volaris.

Los Cabos is not resting on its laurels. It continues to boost and expand its air connectivity. The destination currently has a portfolio of 16 domestic routes within Mexico, 30 from the U.S., 10 from Canada, 41 from abroad and one from Madrid, Spain. New direct service from Frankfurt, Germany, via Condor Flugdienst, will begin in November 2024, with twice weekly flights operating through April.

According to the Los Cabos Tourism Board, the destination totaled more than four million visitors in 2023, which placed it third nationally in hotel occupancy. Among vacation destinations in Mexico, only Cancun outdraws Los Cabos.

Cabo’s growth potential is boundless, thanks to the shrewd hospitality executives in Baja California Sur who realized early on that without a steady stream of commercial jet arrivals, the tourism business would be confined to anglers, surfers and adventure travelers.

Book your next Los Cabos getaway today!