American Airlines is planning to use DR as an international hub. This conversion, which will begin next June, is part of an AA expansion in the country. Eduardo del Pozo, director for AA in the DR, announced that AA has requested permission from the Civil Aviation Department for two flights from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince, one flight from Santo Domingo to Curacao, and one flight from Santo Domingo to Caracas. AA transported more than one million passengers in 7,000 flights between the DR and USA last year. This is the second year in a row that AA reaches hits the million passengers transported on Dominican routes. Cargo traffic on AA flights has also increased. In 2005 50.2 million pounds were shipped, increasing to 57.9 million in 2006. AA manages an average of 30 flights a day from the DR and has been in service in the country for 32 years. Del Pozo was critical, nevertheless, of the US$70 tax per fare, saying that it makes the DR more expensive than Jamaica and Mexico, affecting its competitiveness.