WESTERN BUREAU:

Riding on its robust arrival figures, Jamaica is beefing up its flight security for the upcoming winter tourist season.

Speaking from his hotel room in Europe yesterday, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said he had just wrapped up meetings with one of Italy's biggest charter operators to the Caribbean, Blue Panorama.

"They brought in more than 100,000 passengers to the Caribbean last year and plan to bring tourists to Jamaica via Cuba this winter," said an elated Bartlett, tagging the development "a huge one".

The news comes days after JetBlue Airways announced that it would add more jets to Jamaica from its Boston and Orlando gateways while increasing its flights from the Big Apple.

Most successful

"The launch into Montego Bay in May has been our most successful, it has been phenomenal. Load factors are very high and we are performing well ahead of where we expected to be in the first year," Scott Laurence, JetBlue's vice-president of route planning, told The Gleaner recently.

He added that in the first month, the loads were greater than 75 per cent and he, throughout the summer, was expecting the loads to exceed 80 per cent.

"This is certainly strongest launch in the region," he explained, noting that the airline flies to other Caribbean countries including St Maarten, Aruba, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.

Yesterday, the airline sent out a release stating that it had applied to the Jamaican Government to begin offering two new routes linking Montego Bay to cities in Boston and Orlando, Florida. The airline says it intends to launch service on both routes this winter, subject to receipt of government operating authority, bolstering an already robust Caribbean schedule.

Match made in heaven

"Jamaica and JetBlue are truly a match made in heaven - or paradise, as it were. In just a few months in the market, we've developed a strong following among travellers looking for more from their airline - more value, more comfort and more customer service," said Laurence.

For Minister Bartlett, the announcement is like a dream come true. "This is a significant addition to our airlift capacity, and will certainly add muscle to our marketing efforts in North America. This opportunity gives us access to JetBlue's impressive network of loyal clients." In addition to its two new Montego Bay routes, JetBlue also plans to increase service on its existing route between the tourism capital and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport over the winter holidays, offering up to 11 weekly flights. And while JetBlue finalises its Orlando and Boston itineraries, which commence in January and February 2010, British Airways gets ready to restart service to the Second City on October 29 and Virgin Atlantic is expected to shed light on its plan for December to January.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com