News that Spirit will resume its weekly flights out of Fort Lauderdale a month from now (see related story) is most welcome. For the time being the low-cost carrier will use a 145-seat Airbus 301, but the intention is to eventually go back to a 228-seater.
Along with recent word of American Airlines (AA) reinstating the Charlotte hub and – at a later date – its overnight flight, this means the destination’s formerly extensive North American airlift is slowly but surely being restored. It is also important in the sense of price competition, especially as fares to and from SXM have been rather high, to say the least.
The temporary facilities at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) are apparently adequate for these developments to take place. The same goes for Copa Airlines returning with two weekly flights from Panama in June and plans to go up to four, as well as Air France/KLM expanding their service from Europe next winter.
Still, the main terminal’s reconstruction remains crucial to really restore the island to its former glory as a stayover tourism spot. Considering that various large resorts don’t plan to reopen until the end of 2019, this should be the ultimate deadline for having the country’s infrastructure, including its airport facilities, completely ready for an increased flow of passengers to be expected once the room capacity is near normal levels again.
However, putting “heads” in all these “beds” won’t occur on its own. St. Maarten will have to do some serious promotion to get into the international travel picture again.
After also-quite-devastating Hurricane Lenny in November 1999 emergency marketing funds were provided by the Dutch Government from development cooperation means reserved for the Social Economic Initiative (SEI) programme, which helped St. Maarten regain its position as favoured vacation destination in the following years. Something similar should now be considered, because ultimately the hospitality industry is what drives the economy.
