Liat Air and Air Caraïbes Interline Agreement
Beginning with a significant effort to improve regional travel options, LIAT (Limited) (2020) trading as Liat Air has agreed to an Interline Agreement with Air Caraibes. This agreement is intended to increase air service connectivity throughout the Caribbean and provide seamless travel opportunities into Europe.
Travelers may book and pay for travel on either airline’s network, utilizing a single ticket, under a single point of sale. The two airlines’ networks will enable seamless travel by combining Air Caraibes’ network of regional services in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana with Liat Air’s comprehensive Eastern Caribbean network including Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic.
LIAT (Limited) (2020), Liat Air states that one of its main objectives for establishing the interline agreement was to alleviate the “disjointed journey” that has made traveling throughout the Caribbean so difficult.
With the establishment of the interline agreement, travelers may benefit from:
• A single flight itinerary representing travel on both airlines.
• Through checked baggage; enabling passengers to check their bags once at their point of origin and they will then be delivered directly to their final destination without having to recheck them while transferring airports.
• Coordinated reservations through travel agencies or Global Distribution Systems.
As well as improving travel within the Caribbean, the agreement provides a considerable advantage to travel to Europe. Travelers from all of Liat Air’s island destinations can now easily connect onto flights to Paris-Orly Airport, and other European destinations through Air Caraibes’ Long Haul Hubs in Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort de France.
Hafsah Abdulsalam, Chief Executive Officer of LIAT (Limited) (2020) stated that she views the agreement as an important way to respond to demand from Caribbean travelers and businesses to link their air transportation needs.
“Together we make it much easier to move between the English-, French- and Dutch speaking Caribbean” stated Abdulsalam.
Hugues Heddebault, Commercial Director of Air Caraibes concurred stating that “we believe that a better connected Caribbean is more accessible and dynamic.”
The collaborative efforts between these two airlines should act as a catalyst for regional tourism and economic integration.
By making inter island travel less expensive and more efficient the two airlines expect an increase in tourist arrivals in the region, an increase in business travel and greater ease of movement for Caribbean diaspora communities.