(Jamaica Observer) – President of Haiti-based Sunrise Airways Philippe Bayard reckons that the Haitian carrier will be operating flights to and from Jamaica by fall next year.
It’s an initiative that the airline has been working on for the past two years, and on Wednesday the carrier announced that it had entered into the final phase of its application process with the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) towards initiating its first-ever Jamaica flights.
The move would also mean that Jamaicans travelling to Haiti would no longer have to go through Miami to get to Haiti. What’s more, Sunrise Airways intends to serve all three of Jamaica’s international gateways – Norman Manley in Kingston, Sangster International in Montego Bay, and Ian Fleming International Airport in Boscobel, St Mary – with overseas flights.
The Haitian carrier expects to receive final approval by September 2016 and to become operational by next September.
“Our journey to this point has been long, with some minor turbulence endured along the way, but I’m very pleased to say that we are now, indeed, on the final approach to spread our wings to Jamaica this fall,” Bayard stated in a release.
He told the Jamaica Observer that the carrier has had a vested interest in Jamaica because of its tourist numbers and the need for intra connectivity between the Caribbean islands for trade. New flights are planned for Jamaica; Providenciales, Turks & Caicos; and Nassau, Bahamas.
Sunrise Airways’ proposed flights from Jamaica will connect all three of the country’s international airports with destinations in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. The carrier also has its eyes on the phasing in of a number of new routes from a total of 25 under its application to the JCAA. The first phase is to link Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and Kingston, Jamaica.
“We see tremendous potential for growth along all of our proposed lines of flying, especially the Jamaica-Cuba routes,” said Bayard. “We’re committed to serving more of Cuba from more of Jamaica than any other airline, creating valuable links for foreign commercial and cultural exchange, as well as unique leisure travel options enabling vacationers to experience the best of both countries in a more seamless fashion,” the president continued.
In line with the expansion of its route network, Sunrise Airways augmented its fleet in 2016, adding new 46-seat ATR 42-320 aircraft to serve alongside its pre-existing cadre of 19-seat Jetstream 32 EP turboprops. With newly refurbished cabins, the flagship ATR 42-320 aircraft has maximum seating capacity of 46 seats, in-flight service, on-board lavatory, ample overhead space, legroom, and cargo capacity. Sunrise believes its ATRs are setting a new standard for excellence in Western Caribbean skies.
From its hub in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian-owned carrier currently serves Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba in Cuba; and Cap Haitien, Haiti.
