NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC):
VETERAN UNITED States low cost carrier, Spirit Airlines, has no plans to put the regional and international carriers of the Caribbean out of business. In fact, one of the airline's senior executives, says Spirit's services into the region should help expand the market for other carriers.
Spirit's vice-president of Planning, Victoria Moreland, said her airline's new services to new northern and western Caribbean destinations, complements schedules on other carriers.
"Spirit's position is not to put the national carrier out of business. That' s not our business plan. I didn't go into the Caribbean to put American Airlines out of business - it's not going to happen," Moreland told reporters at the recent Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) in Nassau.
"And we offer different kinds of products. For example, Air Jamaica has more flights and markets - (they fly) different places that I don't. They can give you service into St. Lucia (and) Cuba which I cannot serve right now," said Moreland.
ECONOMY BENEFITS
One of the founding employees of the 15-year-old carrier, Moreland says that when Spirit entered the Santo Domingo market a year ago, traffic from Fort Lauderdale exploded by 300 per cent. "(Passengers) don't all fly on Spirit because if they did, I'd be making a whole lot more money than what I am making. So the benefit is to the economy, to the traveller and to anybody in the market."
The executive said her airline is prepared to take a serious look at increasing capacity into the region in a year's time to assist with the demand for the 2007 Cricket World Cup and already by this February, Spirit will serve 12 destinations in the Caribbean basin from its hub in Fort Lauderdale and from several cities in the United States.
Spirit's 12 Caribbean destinations include Cancun, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Kingston, Montego Bay, Nassau, Providenciales, Punta Cana, San Juan, San Salvador, Santo Domingo and St. Thomas.
