ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

Minister of Tourism, Culture & Civil Aviation, the Hon. John Maginley and other tourism officials were at the VC Bird International Airport on Wednesday 8th December 2010 to welcome senior executives from Jet Blue Airlines who arrived in Antigua for a short familiarization visit. The two executives Chad Meyerson, Director of Global Sales and Scott Laurence, Vice President of Planning spent the afternoon in discussions with officials from the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Authority, the Airport Authority and other tourism private sector stakeholders.

Minister of Tourism Civil Aviation and Culture the Hon John Maginley who chaired the negotiating meetings with Jet Blue commented “Negotiations with airlines can be a slow and detailed process. We have been in ongoing discussions with Jet Blue for some time now and this visit indicates that significant progress has been made. Securing additional airlift from Jet Blue will ensure that our destination remains competitive. This will allow our vacation packages  to be that much more affordable and so provide the catalyst to help grow arrivals out of the US market.” said Minister Maginley.

CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James indicated that this joint initiative with the private sector where a unified approach is presented to airline partners is crucial to the development of new airlift. He commended the private sector particularly the Sandals group for the support that they had given to the process thus far.

Jet Blue which is headquartered in New York is known for the new concept of providing affordable air travel to destinations across the US, Latin America and the Caribbean. Much of the airline’s success is attributed to a focus on customer service and a superior in-flight experience. 

The two executives who are being hosted by Sandals Grande Antigua will spend the night enjoying the facilities at the resort and then tour the island in the morning before departing on Thursday afternoon.