Thursday’s start of daily JetBlue service from Fort Lauderdale is obviously good news as the island continues to rebound from the catastrophic impact of record-strength Hurricane Irma in September 2017. An annual 62,500 additional airline seats for the destination will no doubt contribute in no small measure to the recovery of its dominant hospitality industry.
“Thousands of heads-in-beds,” as Minister Geerlings put it, are crucial to especially the hard-hit stayover tourism sector. These should in turn translate to higher occupancy rates, more income and ultimately additional jobs.
The flights are also a welcome complement to others out of the US Southeast, notably American Airlines (Miami, Charlotte) and Delta (Atlanta). That’s important not just in terms of quantity, frequency and alternatives, but also to stimulate price competition.
Up to the end of last year fares from that area to St. Maarten/St. Martin were often relatively high, sometimes up to four-digit numbers in dollars. When there are more players on the market it usually benefits the traveller.
The new flights arrive at an opportune time, still in the high season, with the Heineken Regatta just two weeks away and the golden anniversary edition of Carnival in two months. Both events tend to draw considerable crowds from abroad who need enough options to get here.
Of course, they will need places to stay as well and less than 70 per cent of the Dutch side’s pre-Irma room inventory was projected to be available by the end of April. However, many residents are now making use of home sharing to rent out visitor accommodations, which can help relieve possible shortages of space at peak times, so too many people wanting to come don’t have to be disappointed.
While not quite what it used to be yet, airlift to “The Friendly Island” is slowly but surely growing to former levels, particularly from its main source markets North America –including Canada – and Europe. That’s why it remains crucial to fully restore Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) to its former glory one way or the other, sooner rather than later.
