Despite some challenges experienced in 2023, interCaribbean Airways continues to record impressive growth as it seeks to further its expansion plans.
This was the message shared by Lyndon Gardiner, the founder and chairman of the airline after its new direct flight between Jamaica and Barbados arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport.
The new service, which can carry 70 passengers between the two islands, is being hailed as an important milestone by the company, with Gardiner noting that interCaribbean Airways continues to experience great demand for its services.
“Yes, we are seeing increased bookings on the routes, and we are actually monitoring them quite closely because we are introducing newer aircraft, greater seating capacity, and we are looking at deploying those to make sure that we are able to meet demands for the [ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup] in the Caribbean.
“We have purposely decided to expand our business in the southern Caribbean and so, being a partner, that comes with a lot of responsibility – the responsibility of being able to move people when they need to move. So we are committed to what we are doing, we do have additional resources that we will be deploying on an as-needed basis.”
Gardiner added that the company has boosted its resources to handle its increasing flights, following on the heels of logistical issues that led to several cancellations last year.
“As you have seen, earlier last year we had issues with some of our on-time performance, and we basically acknowledged the problem and dealt with it head-on. We essentially started a new arm of our business here to look after the customer aspect, we then deployed several additional aeroplanes from the north, to be able to have the redundancy to move the passengers here,” he said. “We are ready for what is coming up with the cricket, and we will match the demand very positively.”
Meanwhile, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) Craig Hinds, said the new flight should be seen as a “momentous occasion”, given the growing demand of persons seeking to fly from Jamaica to Barbados.
“Over the period January to December 2023, we witnessed impressive growth from the Jamaican market. We welcomed some 6 000-plus visitors, compared to the same timeframe in 2022 where we only saw 4 000 visitors coming from Jamaica. I think that this is testament to the potential that the northern Caribbean market holds, and this inaugural flight will undoubtedly help to propel us further in that direction that we wish to go in,” he said.
Hinds added that the new service should also serve as a wake-up call for other carriers in the region.
“Currently, the route is serviced by several carriers…. None of them has the opportunity to boast of a direct flight like you do today…. We hope that with this new competition, we see more competitive fares,” he said. (SB)
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