BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH a new airline added to the fleet of international flag carriers, Seaborne Airlines is said to be another avenue for tourists in the San Juan district to experience St. Kitts.
Speaking at the welcoming ceremony for the new carrier on Tuesday (Jan. 21), Minister of Tourism the Hon. Richard ‘Ricky’ Skerritt told those in the attendance at the VIP lounge of the R.L. Bradshaw International Airport that the airlines daily service from San Juan would see more than 12 000 international inbound flights coming into St. Kitts annually.
“What excites me most about the Seaborne connection over San Juan is the chance it gives our destination to attract travellers who are flying on new carriers such as Jet Blue, which has not yet serviced St. Kitts, allowing passengers on such airlines to get to St. Kitts via San Juan with Seaborne,” the Minister said.
He added that the new initiative would allow a much welcomed air connection between the Federation and San Juan, which has not been in existence for several years.
Meanwhile, Director of Business Development at Seaborne Airlines, Mike Ritzi said the airline “followed its heart” and decided to choose the Federation as one of its destination stops.
“Seaborne would not have been here if it was not for your leaders, especially those in tourism. And I need to send my personal appreciation to the Honorable Ricky Skerritt,” Ritzi said.
The Director added that he has been working with the national security official and a number of individuals from the Tourism Authority who made the initiative a success thus far.
“Seaborne is a Caribbean-based company. We live and work in the Caribbean…safety is our number one priority here at Seaborne. We are also one of the largest non-governmental organisations and we have transported over 2.7 million customers”, Ritzi said during his explanation about the airline.
Ritzi further noted that Seaborne has an excellent safety record, stating that for the past 20 years of business the airline has not recorded any major incidents.
“We are always in the 90 percent of on-time service and we complete 98 percent of all our flights. By April we can see an additional 600 departures, which is a 45 percent increase of our total departures,” Ritzi said.
He however noted that since 2007 the airline has been voted the best small carrier in the Virgin Islands.
