AirSXM News

Printed in The Daily Herald, Sat 1-Oct-2005

Caribbean Sun to execute eight weekly flights to St. Eustatius

St. Eustatius - Caribbean Sun Airlines is commencing eight weekly flights between Puerto Rico and St. Eustatius. The flights to St. Eustatius will be executed with a 37-seat Dash8 Q100 aircraft.

Caribbean Sun Airlines aircraft in St. Kitts

The inaugural flight is scheduled to arrive on November 15, the even of Statia-America Day celebrations. It will be carrying representatives of Government, Caribbean Sun Airlines and regional media representatives, Lt. Governor Hyden Gittens stated in a release Friday.

St. Eustatius will become the tenth Caribbean Sun destination to be serviced from the San Juan gateway. There will be a daily flight, with exception of Wednesdays, and two flights on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Caribbean Sun service will also link St. Eustatius to St. Kitts with four flights each way per week. Using an alternating flight pattern (flight loops), four flights will call on St. Eustatius before continuing on to St. Kitts and ending in San Juan and the other four flights will call on St. Kitts first, continue on to St. Eustatius and return to San Juan.

Lt. Governor Gittens said that Statia residents are expected to turn out in large numbers to welcome Caribbean Sun Airlines to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Airport.

The schedule offers many travel opportunities for visitors and residents alike. In addition to the direct connections with the US mainland and Canada with code sharing partners such US Airways, Puerto Rico offers interesting shopping and business opportunities.

The St. Kitts hub, from which Caribbean Sun's sister airline Caribbean Star operates, will allow passengers traveling to and from the Southern Caribbean a seamless connection.

Family, shopping and medical travel between St. Kitts and St. Eustatius, which has always been brisk in the past, will now be further facilitated.

Negotiations have been ongoing between Caribbean Sun's representatives and the Government of St. Eustatius since April 2004, the Lt. Governor said.

The Government of St. Eustatius and key private sector stakeholders continue to meet in preparation for the arrival of the Ft. Lauderdale based Airline.

The Caribbean Sun flight is viewed as a unique opportunity to further growing tourism arrivals and boost the overall economy of St. Eustatius.

Said the Lt. Governor, "The Government has undertaken this initiative in an effort to open the island to further growth as a tourism destination. In the tourism business, access and airlift are crucial. Travellers among the resident population and the local business community will benefit greatly as well."

Gittens calls on the entire community to lend this flight full support, as its success and sustainability are dependent on collective efforts.

Commissioner Adelka Spanner congratulated the people of Statia and thanked John Wrightington, Ilonka Heisterkamp and the entire Caribbean Sun Airlines team, St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation, St. Eustatius Business Association (Steba) and Killy Killy Travel for their involvement and support throughout the process.

Caribbean Sun Marketing Director Sandra Scotland and Director of Tourism Alida Francis are working in close cooperation to secure the necessary publicity for the new flights at a number of upcoming events, including the DEMA dive show in Las Vegas in the first week of October and World Travel Market, London in November.

Other Caribbean Sun destinations include Antigua, Santiago in the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Croix and Tortola BVI.


Click here to book your next flight to St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Caribbean Sun Airlines through our local agent. Flights commence November 15.

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