The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A LEADING Bahamian airline executive has seen a major spike in bookings due to a special rate offering on its Freeport/Fort Lauderdale route, with those for its Nassau/Fort Lauderdale route hitting a 90 per cent high.

Sky Bahamas launched its $299.99 round-trip package for its Freeport/Fort Lauderdale route on August 1, and Captain Randy Butler, its chief executive, said bookings for the service were up to 65 per cent for this week.

Expecting that to increase further, he said: “We’re offering that at a special rate. I’m dead set on seeing the communities of the Bahamas, especially the Family Islands, develop.

“One of the things that’s really going to help is efficient and good-priced airline service. We are a part of the Freeport community, so we think that we could make the sacrifice and say we could to this for the community for one month.

“This is the time most people travel for Back to School shopping, and this could also stimulate the tourist arrivals.”

Captain Butler said the promotion was also sparking other business opportunities for the airline.

“I had one hotel call me and ask whether they could partner and do some other things, so this is already stimulating business for me,” he explained.

“We are already talking with a hotel about a hotel and air transportation package. It was a marketing tool that is already starting to pay off by phone calls we have been receiving. If we get more people flying we could probably do this a little longer.”

Captain Butler said the Nassau/Fort Lauderdale route, which the airline is operating seasonally, is seeing bookings as high as 90 per cent.

“On the Nassau Fort Lauderdale route you can’t get a seat right now,” he added. Coming back you probably could. That’s why we do this seasonally; it has to be because we can’t compete on that with the incentives other airlines are getting.

“Right now we are paying the bills, keeping the lights on and keeping our staff employed. We don’t want to let our staff go.”

Captain Butler acknowledged that due to higher taxes and operational costs, the airline had to raise passenger rates, with taxes being passed on to customers, yet still the airline was offering some of the lowest fares in the market.