Photo by Andrew Pries | AeroNewsX
This is the most ambitious route expansion a Caribbean airline has done in recent years as almost all regional countries will be connected in some way. The Turks and Caicos based airline revealed plans to add flights into the eastern and southern Caribbean by utilizing Barbados Grantley Adams International Airport(BGI/TBPB) as a hub. The move comes after the demise of Leeward Island Air Transport(LIAT), which became liquidated late June following successive months of little profit due to COVID-19.
Ever since the airline rebranded in 2014 from Air Turks and Caicos to interCaribbean, they have been building their network in the Northwestern Caribbean and adding some presence in the Eastern Caribbean. Founder and Chairman, Mr. Gardiner, stated:
“Building interCaribbean into what it is today has taken the full dedication of my entire team. The direction of the last 10 years culminates in introducing these new services to deliver a Caribbean-born and grown airline and become a leader in the region. It is my desire that every budding entrepreneur follows their calling and works towards their dreams. I did not start out imagining what we have become today, but continually calibrated and maximized every potential opportunity to grow this company. Our goal now is to fully consolidate ourselves in the region and become a globally recognized brand.”
Many island Ministers of Tourism praised the expansion with one stating, “The demographic of tourism is changing, and we must develop and diversify in tandem. We need to partner closely with the private sector to harness our regional integration thrust.”
InterCaribbean Airways' future route map after the expansion. Map by InterCaribbean Airways
InterCaribbean CEO, Trevor Sadler went on to add:
“The demand for our flights across the Caribbean continues to grow, with the introduction of jet aircraft into our fleet with more coming soon. We truly look forward to offering an optimal interCaribbean experience to the satisfaction of all customers. Never has it been easier to get around the Caribbean.”
This reason is viewed by many as necessary as the lack of connectivity between the Northwest and Southeast islands made it extremely difficult to travel intraregional. However, this move added to recent announcements by some Caribbean governments to reduce intraregional travel taxes can be seen as a rebirth in the travel sector. InterCaribbean operates a fleet of four Embraer ERJ145s, ten Embraer EMB 120s, and the airline will be adding an ATR 42 to the fleet to help with the expansion.
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