Airlines Meet Demands Of Customers; Increase Flights, Frequencies To Caribbean For 2007

NEW YORK, NY (Dec. 1, 2006) – With the popularity of a Caribbean getaway increasing among consumers each year, airlines have again facilitated travelers’ demands by adding new flights and increasing the frequencies of existing schedules to the region.

By 2007, vacationers will be offered a wider variety of destinations as well as flight times to choose from when planning their Caribbean getaways. With increased service between many Caribbean countries, intra-Caribbean travel or ‘island hopping’ is easier than ever for travelers allowing them to experience multiple destinations during a single trip to the region.

“The continued rise in air service to and through the region reflects the airlines’ tremendous level of confidence in the Caribbean and its attractiveness to vacationers,” said Hugh Riley, director of marketing for the Americas of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). “New and expanded air service is making it extremely easy for travelers to experience the vast diversity of the Caribbean by island hopping their way around the region,” he added.

New Services

Air Jamaica will increase flights to St. Lucia with continuing service to Barbados effective Jan. 11, 2007. Air Jamaica will provide non-stop flights from JFK International Airport (NY) to Hewanorra International Airport (St. Lucia) four times per week (every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday). Visit www.airjamaica.com or call 800-523-5585.

Air Transat (Charter) will begin weekly Sunday charter flights out of Toronto to St. Lucia for the winter period starting on Dec 24. 2006.

Air Transat will also launch one flight per week from Quebec, Calgary, Halifax and Regina to Montego Bay, Jamaica starting Dec. 1, 2006. For more information visit www.Airtransat.com or call 866-847-1112.

American Airlines will increase service on Dec. 14, 2006 between Miami, FL and St. Kitts from three to five roundtrip, non-stop flights. The five flights will operate through April 28, 2007 on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday schedule. Visit www.aa.com or call 800-433-7300.

American Eagle will increase its service to Anguilla adding two daily flights departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico starting Dec. 14, 2006. Visit www.aa.com or call 800-433-7300.

Canjet will fly from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica two times per week starting on Dec. 25, 2006. Visit www.canjet.com or call 800-809-7777.

Continental Airlines will add a second weekly non-stop flight from Newark, NJ to Bonaire starting Dec. 16, 2006. Visit www.continental.com or call 800-231-0856.

Caribbean Airlines, as of Jan. 1, 2007, will be replacing BWIA West Indies Airways, which has served the Caribbean for 66 years. This change marks a new era in Caribbean aviation. Caribbean Airlines will offer travelers a world-class, financially strong carrier dedicated to bringing quality and efficiency. The first Caribbean Airlines flight will take off on Jan. 1, 2007 as well.

Tickets purchased on BWIA will be honored and frequent flyer miles in Club BWEE will automatically be transferred. Destinations served are New York, Miami, Florida, Toronto, London, Trinidad, Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname and St. Maarten. For more information go to www.caribbean-airlines.com or www.bwee.com or call 868-627-2942.

Caribbean Star Airlines reinstated plans to offer new service to/from Trinidad and Curacao. The new service is on sale now for travel beginning Dec. 1, 2006 and will operate daily. Visit www.flycaribbeanstar.com or call 866-864-6272.

Delta Air Lines plans to add a daily non-stop flight from Atlanta, GA to Santiago, Dominican Republic as well as a daily non-stop and one-stop flight from New York (JFK International Airport) to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (with the one-stop in Atlanta, GA) starting Dec. 9, 2006.

On Dec. 9, 2006, Delta will also launch new non-stop service from Atlanta, GA to Port of Spain, Trinidad.

On Dec. 13, 2006, Delta will add flights between its hub in Atlanta, GA and Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe.

On Dec. 15, 2006, Delta will add a daily non-stop flight from Atlanta, GA to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

On Dec. 16, 2006, Delta is scheduled to offer non-stop service from Atlanta, GA to Martinique every Saturday.

On Jan. 1, 2007, Delta will increase service from Atlanta, GA to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a total of two daily flights.

On Feb. 17, 2007, Delta Airlines will launch new non-stop service from Atlanta,GA to Tobago.

For more information visit www.delta.com or call 800-241-4141.

Northwest Airlines will add a new non-stop flight from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, effective Jan. 6, 2007. Visit www.nwa.com or call 800-345-7411.

Ryan International Airlines has increased service from St. Louis, MO to Montego Bay, Jamaica to three flights per week beginning Jan. 2, 2007. Travelers must book through Funjet Vacations or Worry-Free Vacations. Visit www.Funjet.com or call 888-558-6654 or www.worryfreevacations.com or call 800-487-0740.

Sky Service will launch one flight per week from Vancouver and one flight per week from Winnipeg to Montego Bay, Jamaica on Dec. 24, 2006. For more information visit www.skyserviceairlines.com or call 800-701-9448.

Sunquest (Charter) will begin weekly Monday flights out of Toronto to St. Lucia on Dec. 25, 2006 for the winter period.

Sunquest Vacations also is sharing an aircraft operated by Skyservice for a program to St. Kitts starting on Monday, Dec. 25, 2006 until Monday, March 12, 2007. The flight will operate Toronto to St. Kitts, and then on to Antigua before returning to Toronto.

Visit www.sunquest.ca or call 800-701-9448.

Win Air starting Dec. 4, 2006 until April 2007, will have a total of six flights on their schedule from Antigua to Montserrat. Visit www.fly-winair.com or call 866-466-0410.

Recently Launched Services

Air Montserrat began service in Oct. 2006, running daily flights between Montserrat and Antigua. For more information visit www.airmontserrat.com or call 877-AIR-MRAT (247-6728).

American Airlines launched service from Dallas, TX to Montego Bay, Jamaica four times per week on May 1, 2006. Visit www.aa.com or call 800-433-7300.

Carib Aviation launched new flights on Aug. 1, 2006 serving Dominica on a daily basis from Antigua and St. Lucia with seven round-trip, non-stop flights on Dominica Air Taxi. For more information visit www.dominicaairtaxi.com or call 800-744-2323.

Caribbean Sun Airlines/Caribbean Star Airlines’ new schedule went into effect April 2, 2006 expanding the sister airlines’ services.

Caribbean Sun has a new daily non-stop flight from Antigua to Trinidad while Caribbean Star added a third daily flight in either direction along its Grenada-Barbados route.

On July 13, 2006, Caribbean Star resumed daily service between Trinidad and Georgetown, Guyana, and on July 19, 2006, Caribbean Sun launched new service between its hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This is the carrier’s first service to/from Santo Domingo. Customers are offered eight daily nonstop flights at numerous convenient times. For more information go to www.flycsa.com or www.flycaribbeanstar.com or call 866-864-6272.

Delta Air Lines increased service daily from Atlanta, GA to Kingston, Jamaica on June 1, 2006.

On Nov. 16, 2006, Delta increased its non-stop service to Nassau, Bahamas by adding nine flights, (currently 21 flights per week) from Orlando International Airport. For more information visit www.delta.com or call 800-241-4141.

JetBlue launched service to Bermuda on May 4, 2006 with daily non-stop service to New York (JFK).

On Feb. 2, 2006, JetBlue introduced daily service between Boston, MA and Nassau, The Bahamas.

On Sept. 15, 2006, JetBlue launched a daily non-stop flight from New York (JFK) to Aruba.

For more information, visit www.JetBlue.com or call 800-JET-BLUE.

Spirit Airlines began its non-stop daily flights from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands on Feb. 9, 2006. Visit www.spiritair.com or call 800-772-7117.

Tiara Air introduced scheduled flights between Aruba and the islands of Curacao and Bonaire and two cities in Venezuela in April 2006. For more information visit www.tiara-air.com or call 011-297-58TIARA.

Tradewind Aviation launched daily service between San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Barts on Nov. 1, 2006. Visit www.tradewindaviation.com or call 800-376-7922.

US Airways has continued with its nonstop service between Washington, D.C./Reagan National and Bermuda International Airport for Nov. 2006 to March 2007, a flight previously run during only summer months. Visit www.usairways.com or call 800-622-1015.

As a reminder, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will take effect Jan. 23, 2007. The WHTI requires all those traveling by air to the Caribbean to have a passport. For information about applying for a passport, visit http://usps.com/passport or call 800-ASK-USPS.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and marketing operations in New York, London and Toronto, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency and comprises membership of 32-member governments and a myriad of private sector entities.

The CTO’s mission is to provide to and through its members, the services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean people. The organization provides specialized support and technical assistance to member countries in the areas of marketing, human resource development, research and statistics, information technology and sustainable tourism development. The CTO disseminates information on behalf of its member governments to consumers and the travel trade.

CTO’s New York office is located at 80 Broad Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10004, USA; Tel: (212) 635-9530; Fax: (212) 635-9511; E-mail: ctony@caribtourism.com CTO’s London office is located at 22 The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1BP, England. Tel: 011 44 208 948 0057; Fax: 011 44 208 948 0067; E-mail: ctolondon@caribtourism.com; CTO Canada is located at 130 Bloor Street West, Suite 301, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1N5, Canada. Tel: (416) 935 0767; Fax: (416) 935 0939. E-mail ctotoronto@caribtourism.com CTO Headquarters is located at One Financial Place, Collymore Rock, St. Michael, Barbados; Tel: (246) 427-5242; Fax: (246) 429-3065; E-mail: ctobarbados@caribtourism.com For more information, please visit www.doitcaribbean.com or www.onecaribbean.org

December 4, 2006   Posted in: Airlines & Railways