The Tribune

A WATER salute and a large contingent of Haitian officials greeted Bahamasair’s inaugural flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as it touched down shortly before 9am on Saturday at Toussaint Louverture International Airport.

The ATR-42, 50 seat, turbo prop aircraft, one of the national flag carrier’s newest acquisitions, provides non-stop service to Port-au-Prince two days per week, Wednesday and Saturday, and is expected to boost revenue for the airline as the frequency increases. It will be the longest route that Bahamasair flies.

Bahamasair chairman Valentine Grimes, head of the delegation to Haiti, hailed an “important” day in the history of Bahamasair, saying the carrier was in “for the long haul”.

Also participating in the brief ceremony was Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pierrot Delienne, and Tourism Minister Didier Hyppolite.

The airline’s team comprised Frederick Donathan, director, Sales snd marketing; Captain Augustus Roberts, director; John Fowler, director of customer service; and Claudius Rolle, chief financial officer. Senior government officials included Godfrey Rolle, Bahamas Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and Haiti; Lorraine Armbrister, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Aviation; and Tyrone Sawyer, Ministry of Tourism senior director of airlift development. Haitian Ambassador to The Bahamas, Jean Victor Geneus, led Haitian community leaders in The Bahamas on the flight.

Bahamasair Acting Managing Director, Tracy Cooper, said the national flag carrier plans to embrace more technology to become more “efficient” and to improve the revenue base. “We’re very excited about the move. It is the only direct flight between The Bahamas and Port-au-Prince. We expect it to be not just beneficial to The Bahamas, but also to the people of Haiti.”

He explained that strategic timing was considered to facilitate customers arriving in Haiti and utilising the busing system: timely co-ordination with the transportation system was factored in.

“We expect to grow this flight from an ATR eventually to a jet,” said Woody Wilson, Bahamasair senior manager for marketing. “There is a lot of culture in Haiti and we have Bahamians travelling back and forth as tourists and vice versa. We expect to have the Haitian population travelling to The Bahamas as tourists. We expect this to be a great revenue generator for us.”

The airline is offering an introductory airfare of $450 for January. Bahamasair is also partnering with Agence Citadelle for airport shuttle and land packages, as well as Patrick Coach Line and Sans Souci Bus to provide ground transportation for passengers travelling beyond the Haitian capital.

“Traditionally, the longest flight flown before was to Orlando,” Mr Wilson said. “We’ve also flown to Cuba, but this will be our longest flight.”