American Airlines as agreed to restore flights this Winter San Juan and St. Thomas!

You recall from a past article  about the “Hurricane” that was coming to the Caribbean the first week of September.  That pending disaster was having American Airlines cancel almost 40% of their Winter flight schedules to St. Thomas  and San Juan, Puerto Rico.  It would be have been devastating to the tourist industry of the Caribbean, since the “high” tourist season is about to begin the end of next month.  Well, the disaster has been averted because of the hard work of the V.I. Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty  and Gov. deJongh’s Public/Private Sector Airline Committee.,

Last month, Ms. Nicholson-Doty and the Airline Committee from the USVI flew to Miami to personally explain to American Airlines  senior vice president for the Caribbean and Latin America regions to reconsider.  They met with Peter Dolora with the intention of not leaving the meeting until American Airlines renewed their commitment to reinstate the Winter flights to the Caribbean.

 American’s once-a-day flight between Miami and St. Croix will begin again on November 2^nd.  The daily flight between New York’s JFK Airport and St. Thomas will resume November 20^th, and a second flight will be added on Fridays starting December 18^th.  American’s flight between Boston and St. Thomas will run on a twice-weekly schedule starting November 2^nd, and on December 18^th, it will be back flying five days a week. 

There is a piece of the transportation puzzle to the Caribbean that has yet to be solved with American Airlines that is troublesome.  American Airlines’ inter-island connecting flights served by American Eagle, WILL NOT continue it’s flights from San Juan to the USVI!  “We are looking at various options,” Nicholson-Doty said, declining to be specific because of ongoing negotiations. So, three weeks ago American Eagle cut its eight daily flights between St. Thomas and San Juan to only three, and there is no agreement if the American Eagle flight schedule will ever re-instate the five flights they are abandoning.  American Eagle is also eliminating five of its eight daily flights between San Juan and St. Croix.  Again, it is a very difficult situation for the USVI and the Caribbean, because there was an increase in tourist visits to the Caribbean the past twelve months, and now American Airlines is faced with the realities that their business model still cannot make a profit, even with the increased numbers of passengers from last year!  Oil prices  are still a critical issue for all of the airlines.

The USVI Tourism Department is “putting its money where its mouth is” by investing $1.5 million of its money into partnering with American, Delta and, “to a lesser degree,” Spirit Airlines to advertise the territory and the airlines!  This is BIG news! The USVI knows that it is a win/win if they can drive more traffic to these airlines in order to keep these routes as full as possible - even though they have cut back many of their flights.  Their ads include radio and newspaper advertisements, billboards and airport signage. Additionally, in Atlanta buses were wrapped with ads touting the U.S. Virgin Islands and a tag line to call Delta Vacations.

In return for the USVI advertising investment, Nicholson-Doty said, the airlines provided complimentary airplane seats for travel agents, travel writers and sweepstakes winners. One of the target cities for this ad program is Charlotte, North Carolina. “The USVI Tourism Board is spending $375,000 to advertise St. Croix in radio, newspaper and Internet ads,”  Nicholson-Doty said. U.S. Airways flies to St. Croix from Charlotte on Saturdays. “The ad campaign encourages early bookings to the USVI,” Nicholson-Doty said.  Some of the other airlines thinking of serving the Caribbean have contacted the USVI Tourism Board seeking revenue guarantees, but Nicholson-Doty stated, “The USVI could be paying for empty seats, and we are only developing marketing relationships that are a win/win for both sides.”  Another Hurricane has been averted by the foresight and determination of the current USVI administration to face the issues head-on and find solutions.  So, those of you who were worried about how you were going to get to your favorite spot in Paradise - have a rum punch at Duffy’s Love Shack  in Red Hook instead.  Until next time…your Caribbean lifestyle reporter  remains on duty!!!