American “ultra-low fare airline” Frontier Airlines is now offering a non-stop service to Puerto Rico to and from Trinidad and Tobago—its 12th Caribbean destination.
At the launch of the service yesterday at Piarco International Airport, the airline’s senior director of network planning Jonathan Kaufman said this will allow T&T to experience the shopping and old Spanish colonial cities, among other attractions.
He added, “We’re very excited to be able to use San Juan as a gateway to a wealth of destinations that we serve along the eastern seaboard of the US, with seamless connections in both directions.”
Some of the 120 destinations offered by the airline that Kaufman mentioned were New York, JFK, Newark, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Philadelphia.
He added: “Importantly, we’re also hopeful to bring ultra-low fares in this market that will stimulate demand for more Americans to come and experience the wealth that this country has to offer.”
Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell, who attended the launch, said the route will be operated three times a week and will considerably enhance T&T’s connectivity with Puerto Rico, North America and beyond.
“The introduction of these flights will add over 2,000 seats monthly between our diasporic markets in North America and T&T via Puerto Rico,” he said.
While speaking to the media, Mitchell said he believes Frontier Airlines did its market research in spite of news reports and travel advisories on the crime situation.
He said other Caribbean countries are also plagued with and worried about crime, but “what you don’t see is crime plastered on social media or on the front pages of the media. So it doesn’t have that psychological impact on the visitors wishing to go to their island, but we’re all affected by illegal guns and we are all working together”.
