BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Air Jamaica’s new schedule to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean routes is exceeding expectations, reports the airline’s Vice President of Sales, George deMercado.
DeMercado reports that the carrier’s new non-stop daily service between New York and Barbados, with continuing service to St. Lucia (four days a week) and Grenada (three days) is delivering good returns, following the decision by Caribbean Airlines (formerly BWIA West Indies Airways) to pull out from the Barbados-New York route.
From left: Senator Rudy Grant, US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Mary M. Ourisman, Air Jamaica’s Michael Conway and George deMercado
“The loyalty demonstrated by West Indians and visitors alike has been extremely encouraging, and our business throughout the Spring break and Easter holiday season has been rock solid,” said deMercado.
Air Jamaica is the national carrier of Jamaica and also is the designated flag carrier of Barbados. During a recent visit to Barbados to mark 10 years of service to the island, the airline’s president and CEO, Michael Conway, reiterated Air Jamaica’s commitment to the island and the Eastern Caribbean region. “I know there was a great deal of concern in this market with recent changes that have taken place. Working with a lot of very sincere people who did a vast amount of research, we were able to move quickly and fill a void that came about rather abruptly – that’s how serious we take the designation you have given our carrier,” Conway told local travel agents.
Barbadian Senator Rudy Grant (left) and Air Jamaica’s President Michael Conway shake hands on partnership
Conway added that now that the Government of Jamaica has approved restructuring plans, “we will be doing some re-fleeting, route rationalisation … and have identified the Eastern Caribbean and particularly Barbados as a major point of emphasis for the airline,” hinting that additional flights were in the works in the months ahead.
Senator Rudy Grant, parliamentary secretary in Barbados’ Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, said Air Jamaica provides a very valued service to Barbados and the country looks forward to strengthening the partnership to fully exploit the opportunities for continued growth and development of the tourism sector. “When it was very clear that we were losing service from New York, Air Jamaica came to the table with us and agreed that they would partner with us … (and) I want to emphasise that we are very grateful for the partnership that Air Jamaica has given us.”
Air Jamaica operates daily Airbus A-320 service between John F. Kennedy International (JFK) Airport in New York and Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados with 138 seats in Economy and 12 in Executive Business Class.
This service continues to St. Lucia four (4) days a week and to Grenada three (3) days a week. This new schedule also offers daily direct service to Montego Bay, Jamaica via St. Lucia or Grenada, offering further connections to and from Air Jamaica’s US gateways in Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington DC, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (JFK) and Philadelphia.
Air Jamaica’s Regional Director for the Northeast USA, Barbadian Campbell Rudder (left), chats with LIAT Chairman Dr. Jean Holder during a recent reception marking 10 years of Air Jamaica service to Barbados
