The Tribune

The Bahamas has seen “significant airlift growth” to Nassau and two other islands as its pushes its “open for business” message in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

Tyrone Sawyer, senior director of airlift development for the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, said: “There has been significant growth in air seat capacity to Nassau, North Eleuthera and Exuma, major Bahamas markets, from the following hubs: Charlotte, Atlanta, Toronto, Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth and Newark.

“These are some of the key hubs undergirding airlift to the islands of The Bahamas, and this increase in airlift to The Bahamas is well-positioned to drive the country’s tourism growth. There is a high volume of non-stop flights from key tourist markets in close proximity The Bahamas. This proximity advantage gives The Bahamas the unique ability to attract high income visitors, with the desire to achieve a foreign, accessible, authentic vacation experience at competitive prices.”

Mr Sawyer also pointed to the new and increased flights that will affect the upcoming winter travel season, and added: “The islands of The Bahamas have - and will - benefit from increases in non-stop air seat capacity from core tourist markets like New York, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Boston, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville and Chicago.”

He said the upcoming increases in airlift include:

• JetBlue will add a second daily flight from Boston to Nassau in March and April 2020

• United Airlines will add a new non-stop Saturday-only jet from Denver to Nassau in March 2020

• Silver Airways is adding a Fort Lauderdale to Bimini flight, supported by connections through its code share partners, JetBlue and United

• Air Canada will increase its Montreal to Nassau non-stop flights from two to four flights per week in December 2019

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said: “Over the past two years we have seen improved load factor performance by most of our airline partners serving the islands of The Bahamas from origin and destination markets.

“This increase in consumer demand, driven by vigorous promotional efforts in the marketplace by the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and our industry partners, has given our airline partners renewed confidence to increase air seat capacity from key markets to set the stage for further growth.”

Mr Sawyer added: “The goal is to build upon a proven formula: Build strong demand and airlift will follow.”