Reduced rate airlines are going head to head in an aggressive bid to provide nonstop service to The Bahamas which could boost this yearﾴs tourist arrival count to over five million.
Joining the ranks of Virgin Atlantic Airways, New Yorkﾴs low fare air service, JetBlue Airways, on Tuesday requested authority from the US Department of Transportation to provide international non-stop service to The Bahamas. ﾠ
After months of ongoing negotiations, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said he is ﾓvery confidentﾒ the deal would be secured as another ﾠﾓpositive move for the country.ﾒ
ﾓWe are in the advanced negotiating stages with JetBlue,ﾒ Minister Wilchcombe told the Bahama Journal. ﾓIﾴm hoping to hear some positive news about this by next week. I think this would be a tremendous inclusion to the airlift now being provided in The Bahamas.ﾒ
JetBlue CEO David Neeleman said should the Department of Transportation grant the airlineﾴs request, ﾓNew Yorkers and Bahamians would be able to experience new planes, a 34-inch seat pitch for most seats, and award winning friendly service when flying to and from The Bahamas.ﾒ
JetBlue operates a fleet of 61 new Airbus A320 aircraft and plans to add another eight A320s to its fleet later this year. The airline has 100 Embraer E190 aircraft on order with options for an additional 100 scheduled for 2005.
The airline would operate daily service to Nassau from New Yorkﾴs John F. Kennedy International Airport as of November 1, 2004. ﾠ
It would further expand its service in The Caribbean following the start of airlift to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2002 and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico in May.
In June, the carrier launched its international service in Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republican.
JetBlue is not the only airlift vying to provide international service to The Bahamas.
Tourist officials have already sealed a deal with Virgin Atlantic Airways, an arrangement that is expected to come on stream next year, as a result of business picking up by almost 14 percent in the European market.
ﾓOur job is looking really good right now,ﾒ Minister Wilchcombe boasted.
Meanwhile, talks are also underway with Song Airlines, whose parent company is Delta Airways, the nation’s third-largest airline.
Tourism figures indicate that cruise ship passenger figures for The Bahamas stand at 1.8 million for the past six months when compared to 1.5 over the same period last year, an increase of some 20 percent.
Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
